Kenneth Kendall, CLU© , CFP© Presents:

 

WEEKLY ECONOMIC UPDATE

 

 

 

WEEKLY QUOTE

   

“He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life.”

 

- Muhammad Ali

 

 

WEEKLY TIP

       

Trying to curb runaway household spending? Abide by this rule: if you can’t pay cash for it, you can’t afford it.

 

 

WEEKLY RIDDLE

       

How many times can you subtract the number 75 from 7,500?  

    

 

Last week’s riddle:

How could Gail drive her car from Cleveland to Miami with a flat tire?

 

Last week’s answer:

It was her spare tire that was flat, not any of the four tires she was driving on.

 

 

November 4, 2013

 

TAME INFLATION, 1.5% BOOST FOR SOCIAL SECURITY

Yearly inflation hit a 5-month low of 1.2% in September – the Labor Department noted a 0.2% rise in the headline Consumer Price Index. The core CPI rose 0.1%, with yearly core inflation at 1.7%. (Producer prices dipped 0.1% in September after a 0.3% advance in August.) With inflation so mild, the Social Security Administration announced a mere 1.5% increase in monthly benefit payments for 2014.1,2

 

MANUFACTURING SECTOR KEEPS GROWING

The Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing index rose 0.2 points in October to 56.4. This marks a 2013 peak for the index. American factory activity grew for a fifth straight month.3  

   

RETAIL SALES HOLD UP; CONSUMER CONFIDENCE DIPS

While headline retail purchases declined 0.1% in September, the Census Bureau said retail sales were up 0.4% excluding autos. The Conference Board’s consumer confidence index fell 9.0% to 71.2 in October; chalk it up to the shutdown.4

 

HOT & COLD NEWS OUT OF THE HOUSING MARKET

Pending home sales fell again in September; the National Association of Realtors reported a 5.6% dip after a 1.6% retreat in August. August’s S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index, however, saw a 12.8% annual gain in house prices across 20 cities.4

    

FED STANDS PAT, S&P RISES A BIT MORE

On October 30, the Federal Reserve announced no tapering of QE3 and no change to interest rates. This helped the S&P 500 go +0.11% for the week and close at 1,761.64 on Friday. The Dow settled at 15,615.55 Friday, rising 0.28% for the week; the NASDAQ lost 0.54% in five days to settle Friday at 3,922.04.5,6,7

 

THIS WEEK: Monday brings earnings from CME Group, HSBC, Vulcan Materials and Tenet Healthcare. ISM’s October non-manufacturing index arrives Tuesday, along with Q3 results from AOL, Liberty Interactive and Tesla Motors. Wednesday offers earnings from Toyota, Time Warner and Icahn Enterprises and the Conference Board’s September LEI index. Thursday offers earnings from Wendy’s, Apache, Tim Hortons, Disney and Groupon, new initial claims figures and the federal government’s first take on Q3 GDP. Friday sees the release of the Labor Department’s October jobs report, the Commerce Department’s September consumer spending report, the University of Michigan’s initial November consumer sentiment index and Q3 results from Tesoro Logistics and Leap Wireless.

 

% CHANGE

Y-T-D

1-YR CHG

5-YR AVG

10-YR AVG

DJIA

+19.17

+18.01

+13.49

+5.93

NASDAQ

+29.89

+29.87

+25.58

+10.30

S&P 500

+23.52

+23.40

+16.37

+6.77

REAL YIELD

11/1 RATE

1 YR AGO

5 YRS AGO

10 YRS AGO

10 YR TIPS

0.50%

-0.77%

3.14%

1.93%

 


Sources: usatoday.com, bigcharts.com, treasury.gov - 11/1/136,8,9,10

Indices are unmanaged, do not incur fees or expenses, and cannot be invested into directly.

These returns do not include dividends.

 

 

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This material was prepared by MarketingLibrary.Net Inc., and does not necessarily represent the views of the presenting party, nor their affiliates. Marketing Library.Net Inc. is not affiliated with any broker or brokerage firm that may be providing this information to you. This information should not be construed as investment, tax or legal advice and may not be relied on for the purpose of avoiding any Federal tax penalty. 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. Additional risks are associated with international investing, such as currency fluctuations, political and economic instability and differences in accounting standards. This material represents an assessment of the market environment at a specific point in time and is not intended to be a forecast of future events, or a guarantee of future results. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.  Investments will fluctuate and when redeemed may be worth more or less than when originally invested. 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. 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 assistance is needed, the reader is advised to engage the services of a competent professional.

 

Citations.

1 - bloomberg.com/news/2013-10-30/consumer-prices-in-u-s-rise-as-forecast-on-gain-in-fuel-costs.html [10/30/13]

2 - blogs.marketwatch.com/encore/2013/10/30/social-securitys-2014-raise-a-modest-1-5/ [10/30/13]

3 - ism.ws/ismreport/mfgrob.cfm [11/1/13]

4 - briefing.com/investor/calendars/economic/2013/10/28-01 [11/1/13]

5 - usatoday.com/story/money/business/2013/10/30/fed-october-meeting/3308411/ [11/1/13]

6 - usatoday.com/money/markets/overview/ [11/1/13]

7 - google.com/finance?q=INDEXDJX%3A.DJI%2CINDEXSP%3A.INX%2CINDEXNASDAQ%3A.IXIC&ei=PRt0UqjpHuGuiQKpyQE [11/1/13]

8 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=DJIA&closeDate=11%2F1%2F12&x=0&y=0 [11/1/13]

8 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=COMP&closeDate=11%2F1%2F12&x=0&y=0 [11/1/13]

8 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=SPX&closeDate=11%2F1%2F12&x=0&y=0 [11/1/13]

8 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=DJIA&closeDate=10%2F31%2F08&x=0&y=0 [11/1/13]

8 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=COMP&closeDate=10%2F31%2F08&x=0&y=0 [11/1/13]

8 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=SPX&closeDate=10%2F31%2F08&x=0&y=0 [11/1/13]

8 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=DJIA&closeDate=10%2F31%2F03&x=0&y=0 [11/1/13]

8 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=COMP&closeDate=10%2F31%2F03&x=0&y=0 [11/1/13]

8 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=SPX&closeDate=10%2F31%2F03&x=0&y=0 [11/1/13]

9 - treasury.gov/resource-center/data-chart-center/interest-rates/Pages/TextView.aspx?data=realyield [11/1/13]

10 - treasury.gov/resource-center/data-chart-center/interest-rates/Pages/TextView.aspx?data=realyieldAll [11/1/13]