Presented by Mark Lund, The Investor Coach.
Quote of the week. “One worthwhile task carried to a successful conclusion is worth half-a-hundred half-finished tasks.” – Malcolm Forbes
Existing home sales up 7.2%. They have not soared so much in a month since the National Association of Realtors began keeping the statistic in 1999. (The median resale price did decline 15.0% last month.) The NAR said the pace of residential resales was up 5.0% in July 2009 from a year ago.1
Bernanke: recovery is near. “The prospects for a return to growth in the near term appear good,” Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Friday at the Kansas City Fed’s annual symposium. He sees short-term lending occurring “more normally” and new activity in “previously moribund” securitization markets. Stocks made big gains after his remarks.2
Leading indicator index up again. For the fourth straight month, the Conference Board’s index of leading economic indicators rose. The 0.6% July gain seems to offer more evidence of a fading recession.3
PPI & housing starts down. Producer prices fell 0.9% in July and were down a remarkable 6.8% from July 2008. Housing starts fell 1.0% in July: single-family starts rose 1.7%, apartment starts fell 13.0%.4
Oil, metals gain. Oil futures hit a 2009 peak Friday, closing at $73.89 a barrel on the NYMEX after a 6.1% gain for the week. Copper futures gained 5.o% on Friday alone to $2.88 per pound; gold gained $13 Friday to end the week at $954.70 an ounce. 5,6
C.A.R.S. ends 8/24. At still-participating dealers, applications for the government’s cash-for-clunkers rebates may be accepted until 8:00pm EST Monday.7
New YTD highs. Where did the major indices stand at Friday’s close? The DJIA: 9,505.96. The S&P 500: 1,026.13. The NASDAQ: 2,020.90. That put the Dow up 45.19% from the March 9 low, the NASDAQ up 59.30% from March 9, and the S&P 500 up 51.68% since that trough.8
|
Change |
Y-T-D |
1-Yr Avg |
5-Yr Avg |
10-Yr Avg |
|
DJIA |
+8.31 |
-16.83 |
-1.20 |
-1.44 |
|
NASDAQ |
+28.15 |
-15.10 |
+1.99 |
-2.37 |
|
S&P 500 |
+13.60 |
-19.69 |
-1.32 |
-2.32 |
|
10YrTIPS Yd |
-26.20 |
+4.97 |
-1.12 |
-5.28 |
(Source: CNNMoney.com, ustreas.gov, bls.gov, 8/21/09)9, 10,11
Indices are unmanaged, do not incur fees or expenses, and cannot be invested into directly. These returns do not include dividends.
Riddle of the week. Name a vegetable or fruit that is never sold frozen, canned, processed, cooked or in any other form except fresh.
Contact my office or see next week’s Update for the answer.
Last week’s riddle answer: Shoes, socks, sandals, sneakers, slippers, skis, skates, snowshoes, stockings, stilts.
Disclosure:
These views are those of Peter Montoya Inc., and not the presenting Representative or the Representative’s Broker/Dealer, and should not be construed as investment advice. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is a price-weighted index of 30 actively traded blue-chip stocks. The NASDAQ Composite Index is an unmanaged, market-weighted index of all over-the-counter common stocks traded on the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation System. The Standard & Poor’s 500 (S&P 500) is an unmanaged group of securities considered to be representative of the stock market in general. It is not possible to invest directly in an index. NYSE Group, Inc. (NYSE:NYX) operates two securities exchanges: the New York Stock Exchange (the “NYSE”) and NYSE Arca (formerly known as the Archipelago Exchange, or ArcaEx®, and the Pacific Exchange). NYSE Group is a leading provider of securities listing, trading and market data products and services. The New York Mercantile Exchange, Inc. (NYMEX) is the world’s largest physical commodity futures exchange and the preeminent trading forum for energy and precious metals, with trading conducted through two divisions – the NYMEX Division, home to the energy, platinum, and palladium markets, and the COMEX Division, on which all other metals trade. All information is believed to be from reliable sources; however we make no representation as to its completeness or accuracy. All economic and performance data is historical and not indicative of future results. The market indices discussed are unmanaged. Investors cannot invest in unmanaged indices. The publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting or other professional services. If other expert assistance is needed, the reader is advised to engage the services of a competent professional. Please consult your Financial Advisor for further information. Additional risks are associated with international investing, such as currency fluctuations, political and economic instability and differences in accounting standards.
Citations.
1 bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aaCRVTkj_Idk [8/21/09]
2 nytimes.com/2009/08/22/business/economy/22fed.html [8/22/09]
3 bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aOyeOf_IfbqE [8/20/09]
4 marketwatch.com/story/home-depot-target-housing-starts-in-focus-2009-08-18 [8/18/09]
5 marketwatch.com/story/crude-oil-natural-gas-retreat-as-dollar-gains-2009-08-21 [8/21/09]
6 marketwatch.com/story/copper-jumps-5-gold-also-gains-2009-08-21 [8/21/09]
7 bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=a0IhboIoG_Fg [8/21/09]8 cnbc.com/id/32511569 [8/21/09]
9 money.cnn.com/data/markets/dow/ [8/21/09]
9 money.cnn.com/data/markets/nasdaq/ [8/21/09]
9 money.cnn.com/data/markets/sandp/? [8/21/09]
9money.cnn.com/quote/historical/historical.html?pg=hi&close_date=8%2F21%2F08&mode=add&symb=DJIA [8/21/09]
9 money.cnn.com/quote/historical/historical.html?pg=hi&close_date=8%2F20%2F04&mode=add&symb=DJIA [8/21/09]
9 money.cnn.com/quote/historical/historical.html?pg=hi&close_date=8%2F20%2F99&mode=add&symb=DJIA [8/21/09]
9 money.cnn.com/quote/historical/historical.html?pg=hi&close_date=8%2F21%2F08&mode=add&symb=COMP [8/21/09]
9 money.cnn.com/quote/historical/historical.html?pg=hi&close_date=8%2F20%2F04&mode=add&symb=COMP [8/21/09]
9 money.cnn.com/quote/historical/historical.html?pg=hi&close_date=8%2F20%2F99&mode=add&symb=COMP [8/21/09]
9 money.cnn.com/quote/historical/historical.html?pg=hi&close_date=8%2F21%2F08&mode=add&symb=SPX [8/21/09]
9 money.cnn.com/quote/historical/historical.html?pg=hi&close_date=8%2F20%2F04&mode=add&symb=SPX [8/21/09]
9 money.cnn.com/quote/historical/historical.html?pg=hi&close_date=8%2F20%2F99&mode=add&symb=SPX [8/21/09]
10 ustreas.gov/offices/domestic-finance/debt-management/interest-rate/real_yield.shtml [8/21/09]
10 ustreas.gov/offices/domestic-finance/debt-management/interest-rate/real_yield_historical.shtml [8/21/09]
10 ustreas.gov/offices/domestic-finance/debt-management/interest-rate/yield_historical_1999.shtml [8/21/09]
11 bls.gov/news.release/history/cpi_08171999.txt [9/15/99]
