Kevin M. Nast Presents: WEEKLY ECONOMIC UPDATE

– Aristotle

WEEKLY TIP

By maintaining an updated business projection sheet outlining expected income and expenses, you can keep a lender posted on how your small business is progressing.

WEEKLY RIDDLE

What has a tail and head, but no body?

Last week’s riddle:

You have 31 baseballs in a box. You have 31 kids lined up to get them. You give each kid a baseball, but at the end, one baseball remains in the box. How is this possible?

Last week’s answer:

As you give the last baseball away, you give it away within the box – that is, the 31st kid to get a baseball also gets the box.

April 22, 2013

INFLATION DECLINES

Consumer prices retreated 0.2% in March as fuel costs fell, a sea change from the 0.7% rise in the Consumer Price Index seen in February. (Labor Department data did show a 0.1% rise in core CPI.) Annualized consumer inflation was at 1.5% in March, down half a percent in a month. Year-over-year inflation hasn’t been so mild since July, and that is reassuring news for the Federal Reserve.¹

SURPRISE DIP FOR LEADING INDICATORS

After six straight months of advances, the Conference Board’s index of leading indicators unexpectedly retreated 0.1% for March. It had risen 0.5% across January and February. As for anecdotal evidence of the economy’s health, the latest Fed Beige Book noted “moderate” expansion, adding that household spending “grew modestly” even with the payroll tax hike and higher gas prices.²

HOUSING STARTS UP 7.0% IN MARCH

The Commerce Department noted that they reached a 1.04 million annual rate last month, a pace last seen in June 2008. While single-family projects dipped 4.8% in March, apartment starts jumped 31.0% to their highest level since January 2006.¹

VOLATILITY KEEPS STOCKS IN CHECK

The CBOE VIX rose 24.13% last week, and the DJIA (-2.14% to 14,547.51), NASDAQ (-2.70% to 3,206.06) and S&P 500 (-2.11% to 1,555.25) basically gave back the gains realized from April 8-12. NYMEX crude lost 3.1% last week to settle Friday at $88.01; COMEX gold fell another 7.1% last week to $1,395.60 at Friday’s close.^3,4,5

THIS WEEK: Monday brings earnings from Netflix, Caterpillar, Halliburton, Hasbro, Zions Bancorp, STMicro and Texas Instruments, and the NAR presents a new existing home sales report. Tuesday, the Census Bureau provides data on March new home sales, the latest FHFA housing index appears, and Discover Financial, Panera Bread, Delta Airlines, United Tech, DuPont, Travelers, Amgen, Apple, AT&T, Broadcom, Cree and Yum! Brands announce earnings. Wednesday, the Commerce Department reports on March durable goods orders; Credit Suisse, Akamai, GlaxoSmithKline, Barclays, Boeing, Ford, Eli Lilly, P&G, Sprint Nextel, Qualcomm, Aflac, Cabot Oil & Gas and Zynga are out with earnings. Starbucks, Coinstar, ExxonMobil, 3M, ConocoPhillips, Altria, AstraZeneca, Bristol-Myers, UPS, Altera, Baidu and Expedia report quarterly results Thursday; new weekly jobless claims figures also appear. The BEA publishes its first estimate of Q1 GDP Friday, which is also when the final April University of Michigan consumer sentiment survey arrives; complementing those releases, DR Horton, Honda and Chevron announce earnings.

Sources: cnbc.com, bigcharts.com, treasury.gov – 4/19/13^3,6,7,8

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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 – www.sfgate.com [4/16/13]

2 – www.futuresmag.com [4/18/13]

3 – www.cnbc.com [4/19/13]

4 – www.foxbusiness.com [4/19/13]

5 – www.cnbc.com [4/19/13]

6 – bigcharts.marketwatch.com [4/19/13]

6 – bigcharts.marketwatch.com [4/19/13]

6 – bigcharts.marketwatch.com [4/19/13]

6 – bigcharts.marketwatch.com [4/19/13]

6 – bigcharts.marketwatch.com [4/19/13]

6 – bigcharts.marketwatch.com [4/19/13]

6 – bigcharts.marketwatch.com [4/19/13]

6 – bigcharts.marketwatch.com [4/19/13]

6 – bigcharts.marketwatch.com [4/19/13]

7 – www.treasury.gov [4/19/13]

8 – www.treasury.gov [4/19/13]