Kevin M. Nast Presents: WEEKLY ECONOMIC UPDATE

“A mistake is to commit a misunderstanding.”

– Bob Dylan

WEEKLY TIP

As you shop for groceries, how many impulsive purchases do you make? Impulsive buying might negate the dollars you are saving through coupons and preferred customer cards.

WEEKLY RIDDLE

A librarian finds that pages have been ripped out of a novel. Pages 28, 29, 148, 211 and 212 are torn out. Given this, how many separate sheets of paper have been torn from the book?

Last week’s riddle:
What is the number missing within this sequence? 4, 7, 11, 18, 29, 47, __, 123, 199, 322.

Last week’s answer:

76. Starting with the third number in the sequence, each number equals the sum of the two preceding numbers.

July 11, 2011

MINIMAL JOB CREATION IN JUNE
The Labor Department issued a disappointing unemployment report Friday. In June, non-farm payrolls expanded by just 18,000 jobs. (May’s net job gain was revised down from 54,000 to 25,000.) The unemployment rate was 9.2% in June; it has increased in each month since March.¹

SERVICE SECTOR GROWS FOR 19^th STRAIGHT MONTH

The Institute for Supply Management’s June non-manufacturing index decreased to 53.3 from May’s 54.6 reading, falling a bit below the 54.0 consensus forecast of economists surveyed by Reuters. Prices paid by service-sector companies fell to their lowest level since August, a sign of reduced inflation pressure.²

MORE CAPITAL INVESTMENT IN MAY

Factory orders increased by 0.8% in that month. The Commerce Department also noted a 1.6% improvement in non-defense capital goods orders, a 1.8% increase in non-defense capital goods shipments, and a 2.1% rise in demand for hard goods. Separately, the Federal Reserve estimated that factory output rose by 0.4% in May.³

IMPRESSIVE WEEK FOR OIL & GOLD
Gold futures advanced 3.97% across July 5-8 to settle at $1,541.20 on the COMEX Friday. It was gold’s first weekly gain since mid-June. Oil prices rose 1.33% last week to get to at $96.20 a barrel at the NYMEX’s closing bell Friday.⁴

A WIN STREAK BEGINS ON WALL STREET

The S&P 500 advanced 0.31% last week to close at 1,343.80 Friday. The Dow wrapped up the week at 12,657.20; its weekly gain was 0.59%. The NASDAQ was the pacesetter, rising 1.55% across four market days to a Friday close of 2,859.81.⁵

THIS WEEK: Monday is the start of earnings season as Alcoa kicks things off with 2Q results. Tuesday, the Federal Reserve releases the minutes from the June FOMC meeting. Wednesday, Fed chairman Ben Bernanke will present the Fed’s Semiannual Monetary Policy Report to Congress and Yum Brands announces 2Q earnings. Chairman Bernanke’s testimony continues on Thursday, a day with plenty of other news items: we get the June PPI, data on June retail sales from the Commerce Department and fresh initial and continuing claims reports. Friday brings the June CPI, the initial July consumer sentiment survey from the University of Michigan, a report on June industrial output and earnings from Citigroup and Mattel.

Sources: cnbc.com, bigcharts.com, treasury.gov, treasurydirect.gov – 7/8/11^5,6,7,8

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

These returns do not include dividends.

This material was prepared by MarketingLibrary.Net Inc., and does not necessarily represent the views of the presenting party, nor their affiliates. 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. 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.

LD40923-07/11

Citations.

1 – latimesblogs.latimes.com [7/8/11]

2 – chicagotribune.com [7/6/11]

3 – businessweek.com [7/5/11]

4 – blogs.wsj.com [7/8/11]

5 – cnbc.com [7/8/11]

6 – bigcharts.marketwatch.com [7/8/11]

6 – bigcharts.marketwatch.com [7/8/11]

6 – bigcharts.marketwatch.com [7/8/11]

6 – bigcharts.marketwatch.com [7/8/11]

6 – bigcharts.marketwatch.com [7/8/11]

6 – bigcharts.marketwatch.com [7/8/11]

6 – bigcharts.marketwatch.com [7/8/11]

6 – bigcharts.marketwatch.com [7/8/11]

6 – bigcharts.marketwatch.com [7/8/11]

7 – treasury.gov [7/8/11]

7 – treasury.gov [7/8/11]

8 – treasurydirect.gov [7/11/01]

9 – montoyaregistry.com [7/10/11]