Weekly Market News for the Week of February 8, 2010

Presented by Mark Lund, The Investor Coach.

Quote of the week. “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.”– Leonardo da Vinci

Jobless rate falls to 9.7%. The January statistic from the Labor Department was encouraging – a 0.3% drop from December. Bizarrely, there was no job growth even with that sizable decline – payrolls slimmed by about 20,000 positions last month. Revised federal figures showed a gain of 64,000 jobs for November and a loss of 150,000 in December.¹

ISM index hits 5½-year high. The Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing index rose to 58.4 in January, a peak unseen since August 2004. Economists surveyed by Reuters thought it would come in at 55.5. As for ISM’s service sector gauge, it read 50.5 for January, showing growth.^2,3

Spending, wages & savings rate rise. The Bureau of Economic Analysis said that consumer spending went up 0.2% in December. Wages rose 0.4% (the sixth straight monthly increase) and the personal savings rate went north to 4.8%.⁴

Factory orders up 1.0%. So indicates December data from the Commerce Department. This was the eighth monthly gain in the last nine. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast an 0.5% adavance.⁵

Wild week takes stocks a bit lower. After two triple-digit rallies and a major Thursday selloff triggered by sovereign debt concerns, the Dow pulled out of a descent and pulled off a 10-point gain on Friday, ending the week above 10,000. The S&P 500 closed Friday at 1,066.19, and was down 0.79% for the week. The NASDAQ wrapped up Friday at 2,141.12, down 0.29% last week. The Dow’s weekly loss was 0.55%, leaving it at 10,012.23.⁶

(Source: CNBC.com, CNNMoney.com, ustreas.gov, bls.gov, 2/5/10)^6,7,8,9
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. A family has a mother, father and four daughters. Each daughter has one brother. How many people are in the family?

Contact my office or see next week’s Update for the answer.

Last week’s riddle: A plastic bottle filled with cola weighs one liter. What do you need to add to it to make it weigh less than two ounces?

Last week’s riddle answer: If you add a hole to the bottle, the cola will drain out and the liter bottle will weigh less than two ounces. (Actually, a liter is a measure of volume, not weight – but for the purposes of this riddle it is neither here nor there.)

Citations.
1 kansascity.com/444/story/1729270.html [2/5/10]
2 abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=9717254 [2/1/10]
3 marketwatch.com/story/us-jan-ism-services-index-rebounds-to-505-2010-02-03?reflink=MW_news_stmp [2/3/10]
4 latimesblogs.latimes.com/money_co/2010/02/personal-income-spending-climb.html [2/1/10]
5 businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9DLECSO0.htm [2/4/10]
6 cnbc.com/id/35259652 [2/5/10]
7 money.cnn.com/quote/historical/historical.html?pg=hi&close_date=2%2F5%2F09&mode=add&symb=DJIA [2/5/10]
7 money.cnn.com/quote/historical/historical.html?pg=hi&close_date=2%2F4%2F05&mode=add&symb=DJIA [2/5/10]
7 money.cnn.com/quote/historical/historical.html?pg=hi&close_date=2%2F4%2F00&mode=add&symb=DJIA [2/5/10]
7 money.cnn.com/quote/historical/historical.html?pg=hi&close_date=2%2F5%2F09&mode=add&symb=COMP [2/5/10]
7 money.cnn.com/quote/historical/historical.html?pg=hi&close_date=2%2F4%2F05&mode=add&symb=COMP [2/5/10]
7 money.cnn.com/quote/historical/historical.html?pg=hi&close_date=2%2F4%2F00&mode=add&symb=COMP [2/5/10]
7 money.cnn.com/quote/historical/historical.html?pg=hi&close_date=2%2F5%2F09&mode=add&symb=SPX [2/5/10]
7 money.cnn.com/quote/historical/historical.html?pg=hi&close_date=2%2F4%2F05&mode=add&symb=SPX [2/5/10]
7 money.cnn.com/quote/historical/historical.html?pg=hi&close_date=2%2F4%2F00&mode=add&symb=SPX [2/5/10]
8 ustreas.gov/offices/domestic-finance/debt-management/interest-rate/real_yield.shtml [2/5/10]
8 ustreas.gov/offices/domestic-finance/debt-management/interest-rate/real_yield_historical.shtml [2/5/10]
9 treasurydirect.gov/instit/annceresult/press/preanre/2000/ofm11200.pdf [1/12/00]

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.