Kevin M. Nast Presents: WEEKLY ECONOMIC UPDATE

WEEKLY TIP

Some people open a retirement account only to “set it and forget it,” leaving the asset allocation unchanged for years. As you get older, be sure to review your allocation choices in light of your risk tolerance and time horizon.

WEEKLY RIDDLE

Ray slipped off of a 30-foot escalator and landed on a sidewalk. He was embarrassed, yet uninjured. How could this be?

Last week’s riddle:

Rhyming Riddle: My first is twice in apple but not once in tart. My second is in liver but not in heart. My third is in giant and also in ghost. Whole I’m best when I am roast. What am I?

Last week’s answer:

A pig.

November 26, 2012

MORE GOOD NEWS FROM THE HOUSING MARKET

Existing home sales rose 2.1% in October, according to the National Association of Realtors. NAR noted a 10.9% annual gain in the sales pace and an 11.1% year-over-year rise in the median sale price to $178,600. The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Housing Market Index came in at 46 for November, a six-and-a-half year peak. Housing starts increased 3.6% in October to a five-year high.^1,2

DID CONSUMER SENTIMENT IMPROVE THIS MONTH?

The University of Michigan’s bellwether consumer sentiment survey came in at a final mark of 82.7 for November, up 0.1 point from the final October reading. The index’s preliminary November reading had been 84.9.³

WILL HOLIDAY SHOPPING SURPASS FORECASTS?

The National Retail Federation projects 5 million fewer Black Friday weekend shoppers this year, but also a 4.1% annual gain in holiday retail sales. A Reuters survey showed that 21% of shoppers think they will spend less this holiday season, while 11% think they will spend more.⁴

CHEAPEST HOME LOANS IN DECADES

With a helping hand from QE3, the average interest rate on the 30-year FRM fell to 3.34%, a new record low, in Freddie Mac’s November 20 Primary Mortgage Market Survey. A year ago, interest rates on these loans were hovering near 4%.²

DOW CLOSES ABOVE 13,000

Congress took its Thanksgiving recess last week, and no discouraging news on the fiscal cliff talks amounted to relatively good news for Wall Street. The Dow (+3.35% to 13,009.68), S&P 500 (+3.62% to 1,409.15) and NASDAQ (+3.99% to 2,966.85) all advanced across three-and-a-half trading days. Gold settled Friday at $1,751.80 an ounce, oil at $88.36 a barrel.^5,6,7

THIS WEEK: No major U.S. economic reports are scheduled for Monday. On Tuesday, September’s Case-Shiller Home Price Index is out plus the Conference Board’s latest consumer confidence poll, data on October hard goods orders and earnings from Green Mountain Coffee Roasters. Wednesday, TiVo, Aeropostale, Neiman Marcus, Ann and Fifth Street Finance issue earnings reports and a new Fed Beige Book appears plus data on October new home sales. Thursday, NAR’s report on October pending home sales, the second estimate of Q3 GDP and the latest initial claims complement earnings from Kroger, Tiffany, Barnes & Noble, Mitel and Cracker Barrel. Friday sees the release of the October personal spending report.

Sources: thestreet.com, bigcharts.com, treasury.gov, treasurydirect.gov – 11/23/12^5,8,9,10

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LD045264-11/12

Citations.

1 – latimes.com [11/19/12]

2 – abcnews.go.com [11/20/12]

3 – latimes.com [11/21/12]

4 – reuters.com [11/23/12]

5 – thestreet.com [11/23/12]

6 – cnbc.com [11/23/12]

7 – montoyaregistry.com [11/23/12]

8 – bigcharts.marketwatch.com [11/23/12]

8 – bigcharts.marketwatch.com [11/23/12]

8 – bigcharts.marketwatch.com [11/23/12]

8 – bigcharts.marketwatch.com [11/23/12]

8 – bigcharts.marketwatch.com [11/23/12]

8 – bigcharts.marketwatch.com [11/23/12]

8 – bigcharts.marketwatch.com [11/23/12]

8 – bigcharts.marketwatch.com [11/23/12]

8 – bigcharts.marketwatch.com [11/23/12]

9 – treasury.gov [11/23/12]

9 – treasury.gov [11/23/12]

10 – treasurydirect.gov [7/10/02]