Growth Report – Monday, October 15, 2018

UNCERTAINTY BREEDS SELLING, FOLLOWED BY A RELIEF RALLY
On Friday, Wall Street rebounded from a disquieting slump that saw the blue chips take an almost 1,400 point dive. The S&P 500 gained 1.42% to snap a 6-session losing streak, the Nasdaq Composite rose 2.29% to fight back from a correction, and the Dow rose 1.15%. A new earnings season may take investors’ minds off the insecurities they have felt recently about bond yields, tariffs, and interest rate hikes. Those uncertainties weighed on equities again this past week: the Dow fell 4.19% to 25,339.99; the S&P, 4.10% to 2,767.13; the Nasdaq, 4.86% to 7,496.89. Small caps had it worse than the big three last week: the Russell 2000 lost 5.23%.1,2

INFLATION SOFTENED LAST MONTH
Advancing only 0.1% for September, the headline Consumer Price Index showed a yearly gain of 2.3%, quite a contrast from the 2.9% increase measured in July. The core CPI also advanced 0.1%, and its 12-month gain was unchanged at 2.2%. If further deceleration in the annual inflation rate occurs, that might give the Federal Reserve some pause.3

A LITTLE LESS CONFIDENCE ON MAIN STREET
The latest University of Michigan consumer sentiment index fell short of the heights forecast by economists surveyed by Briefing.com. They expected a preliminary October reading of 100.0. Instead, the index fell to 99.0, 1.1 points below its final September mark.4

SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS WILL GROW 2.8% IN 2019
Retirees will soon see a boost in their Social Security payments. Thursday, the Social Security Administration announced that retirement benefits will receive their largest cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) since 2012 next year. The improvement will lift the average monthly payment to an individual from $1,422 to $1,461. The mean monthly payment to a retired couple will rise from $2,381 to $2,448.5

T I P O F T H E W E E K

Looking for more money to save or invest? You may find it by eating out less. If you spend $300 a month eating out, you could lower that to $100 a month and free up $2,400 a year to put into a retirement account or emergency fund.

THIS WEEK
On Monday, Bank of America reports Q3 results and the Census Bureau releases its latest monthly retail sales snapshot. | BlackRock, Comerica, CSX, Del Taco, Domino’s, J.B. Hunt, IBM, Infosys, Johnson & Johnson, Morgan Stanley, Netflix, UnitedHealth, and W.W. Grainger all announce earnings Tuesday. | Minutes from the Federal Reserve’s September policy meeting surface Wednesday, along with data on September housing starts and building permits and earnings from Abbott Labs, Alcoa, Kaiser Aluminum, Kinder Morgan, Northern Trust, Union Bank, U.S. Bank, United Rentals, and Winnebago. | American Express, Bank of New York Mellon, BB&T, Blackstone Group, Celanese, E*Trade, KeyCorp, Novartis, Nucor, PayPal, Philip Morris, Snap-On, Sonoco, Textron, Travelers Companies, and WD40 present earnings Thursday, when the latest initial jobless claims figures also appear. | Friday, Honeywell, Manpower, Procter & Gamble, Schlumberger, State Street, SunTrust, VF Corporation, and Volvo offer earnings news, and September existing home sales data emerges from the National Association of Realtors.

Q U O T E O F T H E W E E K

“The most important thing in life is to learn how to give out love and how to let it come in.”
MITCH ALBOM

Sources: wsj.com, bigcharts.com, treasury.gov – 10/12/182,6,7,8
Indices are unmanaged, do not incur fees or expenses, and cannot be invested into directly. These returns do not include dividends. 10-year TIPS real yield = projected return at maturity given expected inflation.

T H E W E E K L Y R I D D L E

It gives you information and control, and without it, no work can be done – yet it costs you nothing. What is it?

LAST WEEK’S RIDDLE: They can pass through state after state, all while never moving. What are they?
ANSWER: Interstate highways.

CITATIONS:
1 – thestreet.com/markets/stocks-on-wall-street-rebound-friday-14742963 [10/12/18]
2 – markets.wsj.com/us [10/12/18]
3 – marketwatch.com/story/housing-costs-nudge-inflation-higher-in-september-cpi-shows-2018-10-11 [10/11/18]
4 – briefing.com/investor/calendars/economic/2018/10/08-12 [10/12/18]
5 – kiplinger.com/article/retirement/T051-C001-S001-social-security-benefits-to-increase-in-2019.html [10/11/18]
6 – bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=DJIA&closeDate=10%2F12%2F17&x=0&y=0 [10/12/18]
6 – bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=COMP&closeDate=10%2F12%2F17&x=0&y=0 [10/12/18]
6 – bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=SPX&closeDate=10%2F12%2F17&x=0&y=0 [10/12/18]
6 – bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=DJIA&closeDate=10%2F11%2F13&x=0&y=0 [10/12/18]
6 – bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=COMP&closeDate=10%2F11%2F13&x=0&y=0 [10/12/18]
6 – bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=SPX&closeDate=10%2F11%2F13&x=0&y=0 [10/12/18]
6 – bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=DJIA&closeDate=10%2F13%2F08&x=0&y=0 [10/12/18]
6 – bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=COMP&closeDate=10%2F13%2F08&x=0&y=0 [10/12/18]
6 – bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=SPX&closeDate=10%2F13%2F08&x=0&y=0 [10/12/18]
7 – treasury.gov/resource-center/data-chart-center/interest-rates/Pages/TextView.aspx?data=realyield [10/12/18]
8 – treasury.gov/resource-center/data-chart-center/interest-rates/Pages/TextView.aspx?data=realyieldAll [10/12/18]

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. This material was prepared by MarketingLibrary.Net Inc., for Mark Lund, Mark is known as a Wealth Advisor, The 401k Advisor, Investor Coach, The Financial Advisor, The Financial Planner and author of The Effective Investor. Mark offers investment advisory services through Stonecreek Wealth Advisors, Inc. a fiduciary, independent, fee-only, Registered Investment Advisor firm providing investment and retirement planning for individuals and 401k consulting for small businesses. Cities served but not limited to are: Park City, Salt Lake City, Murray City, West Jordan City, Sandy City, Draper City, South Jordan City, Provo City, Orem City, Lehi City, Highland City, Alpine City, and American Fork City in Utah.

Category: Blog, Growth Report