Kevin M. Nast Presents: WEEKLY ECONOMIC UPDATE

“We are what we repeatedly do; excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.”   

– Aristotle

WEEKLY TIP

How financially literate are your children? Encourage them to read up on investing and money matters before they turn 18.

WEEKLY RIDDLE

I am gentle enough to soothe the skin, light enough to reflect the sky, yet hard enough to crack rocks. What am I?

Last week’s riddle:

You can rearrange the letters in insatiable to make another ten-letter word that starts with the letter b. What is this ten-letter word?

Last week’s answer:

Banalities.

January 28, 2013

HOME BUYING DECREASES IN DECEMBER

Last month, existing home sales slumped 1.0% and new home sales tumbled 7.3%. Year-over-year numbers, however, remain hugely positive. Residential resales improved 12.8% in 2012, with December’s median single-family home price up 11.5% from a year before to $180,300. New home sales rose 19.9% last year, representing the first annual increase since 2005 and the best year since 1983.^1,2

HOUSE VOTES TO EXTEND DEBT CEILING

The House of Representatives voted 285-144 last week to suspend the current limit on federal borrowing through May 18, in a measure demanding that both houses of Congress approve a budget by April 15 or work for free. The Senate  is expected to pass the bill this week, a formality en route to President Obama’s signature.³

LEADING INDEX RISES 0.5%

The gain in the Conference Board’s Index of Leading Economic Indicators matched the expectations of analysts polled by Dow Jones Newswires. The 0.2% November retreat in the index was revised upward to show no change.⁴

S&P 500 SETTLES ABOVE 1,500

Rising 0.54% in five days, the index ended the week at 1,502.96, its highest close since December 2007. Friday afternoon, the blue chips were on track for their best January since 1989: the Dow rose 0.51% on the week to settle at 13,895.98 Friday. The NASDAQ went +0.62% last week to close Friday at 3,149.71. Oil ended the week at $95.88, gold at $1,656.60.^5,6

THIS WEEK: NAR’s December pending home sales report arrives Monday, plus December durable goods orders data and earnings results from Caterpillar, Yahoo! and BMC Software. Tuesday, the November Case-Shiller Home Price Index and the Conference Board’s newest consumer confidence poll complement earnings from Broadcom, Valero, Ford, Nintendo, Eli Lilly, DR Horton, Corning and AK Steel. Results from Facebook, Qualcomm, Boeing, Marathon Petroleum, Phillips 66, ConocoPhillips and Electronic Arts appear Wednesday, plus a Fed policy statement, a new ADP employment report and the government’s first estimate of Q4 GDP. December’s consumer spending figures are in Thursday, plus earnings from Honda, Royal Dutch Shell, UPS, Aetna, Altria, AutoNation, Colgate-Palmolive, Pulte Group, Viacom, AstraZeneca, Deutsche Bank and MasterCard. Friday’s economic releases include January’s jobs report, auto sales figures and ISM manufacturing index, the University of Michigan’s final January consumer sentiment survey, and earnings from Merck, Mattel, Chevron, ExxonMobil and Tyson Foods.

 Sources: cnbc.com, bigcharts.com, treasury.gov, treasurydirect.gov – 1/25/12^5,8,9,10

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. 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.  LD045783-1/13

Citations.

1 – usatoday.com [1/22/13]

2 – sfgate.com [1/25/13]

3 – thehill.com [1/23/13]

4 – nasdaq.com [1/24/13]

5 – cnbc.com [1/25/13]

6 – nasdaq.com [1/25/13]

7 – montoyaregistry.com [1/25/13]

8 – bigcharts.marketwatch.com [1/25/13]

8 – bigcharts.marketwatch.com [1/25/13]

8 – bigcharts.marketwatch.com [1/25/13]

8 – bigcharts.marketwatch.com [1/25/13]

8 – bigcharts.marketwatch.com [1/25/13]

8 – bigcharts.marketwatch.com [1/25/13]

8 – bigcharts.marketwatch.com [1/25/13]

8 – bigcharts.marketwatch.com [1/25/13]

8 – bigcharts.marketwatch.com [1/25/13]

9 – treasury.gov [1/25/13]

9 – treasury.gov [1/25/13]

10 – treasurydirect.gov [1/8/03]