Category: Economic UpdatesFACEBOOK DEBUT DIVERTS ATTENTION FROM EUROPE Facebook’s IPO set a new record for a stock debut Friday – volume surpassed 578 million shares. The gain was small: shares closed at $38.23 at the end of regular trading, up 0.61% from the initial $38 offering price. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 ended the trading week below 1,300, […]
CONSUMER SENTIMENT HITS A 4-YEAR PEAK May’s initial Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment survey came in with an index reading of 77.8, the highest mark since January 2008. The current economic conditions sub-index rose to 87.3 from last month’s final 82.9 reading. Descending oil and gas prices may have been factors promoting some optimism.1 […]
UNEMPLOYMENT DOWN TO 8.1% The jobless rate dipped 0.1% in April, but Wall Street didn’t exactly cheer about it as just 115,000 non-farm jobs were added to the economy. Economists polled by Briefing.com thought payrolls would expand by 162,000. The Dow fell 168 points Friday on the news. On the bright side, job gains across […]
THE MONTH IN BRIEF The Dow gained 0.01% in April – a month in which the impressive bull run of the first quarter moderated and more pessimism crept onto Wall Street. Some domestic indicators were tepid – but others did provide nice surprises. Signals out of Europe flashed hints (or confirmations) of recession. Some key […]
Q1 GDP: +2.2% The federal government’s initial estimate disappointed many analysts, even with plenty of potential for upward revision later. After all, Q4 2011 had brought growth of 3.0%. Economists polled by Briefing.com expected the Q1 estimate to come in at +2.5%. Personal spending rose by 2.9% for the quarter, with car sales playing the […]
WHAT HELD UP HOMEBUYING LAST MONTH? The National Association of Realtors said existing home sales fell 2.6% for March. A 1.3% drop in inventory for the month might have been a factor, and mild weather in January and February may have helped homes that would have sold in March sell earlier. Warmer January and February […]
CONSUMER PRICES ROSE 0.3% IN MARCH Last month’s gain in the federal government’s Consumer Price Index matched the consensus forecast of economists polled by Briefing.com and followed gains of 0.4% in February and 0.2% in January. Gasoline prices were up 1.7% last month. Core CPI rose 0.2%, so that put annualized consumer inflation at 2.7%, […]
THE MONTH IN BRIEF March brought gains and milestones. The NASDAQ ended the month above 3,000, which it hadn’t done in nearly 12 years. The Dow pulled off its sixth straight monthly advance, and the S&P 500 and Russell 2000 rose as well. Gas prices continued their march upward, but consumer spending did not fall. […]
Presented by Mark Lund, Investor Coach. WEEKLY QUOTE “It is every man’s obligation to put back into the world at least the equivalent of what he takes out of it.” – Albert Einstein HOUSING MARKET COOLS DOWN IN February Nationally, home sales took a step back last month. Last week, the National Association of Realtors reported […]
Presented by Mark Lund, Investor Coach. WEEKLY QUOTE “A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” – Winston Churchill PRICES RISE MOST IN TEN MONTHS Consumer prices were up 0.4% in February according to the Commerce Department, yet core inflation rose only 0.1%. A 6% jump in gasoline […]
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