Growth Report for Monday, November 24, 2014

HOME SALES IMPROVE, PERMITS HIT 6-YEAR PEAK
Last month saw a 1.5% gain in existing home sales, according to the National Association of Realtors. That took the annualized increase in home buying to 2.5%. NAR measured the inventory of unsold homes at 5.1 months in October; compare that with 11.9 months in July 2010. Census Bureau data showed building permits at a high unseen since June 2008 thanks to a 4.8% October jump (there was a 10.0% leap in permits for apartment projects alone). October did see less groundbreaking, with housing starts slipping 2.8%; year-over-year, they were still up 7.7%.1,2

CPI STAYS STILL IN OCTOBER
The overall Consumer Price Index didn’t budge last month, although the Labor Department did report the core CPI (which excludes energy and food prices) advancing 0.2%. The Producer Price Index was up 0.2% last month after an 0.1% September decline.3

FACTORY OUTPUT DISAPPOINTS
Economists surveyed by MarketWatch expected U.S. industrial production to rise 0.2% after the 0.8% gain in September. Instead, the Federal Reserve’s latest report showed industrial output down by 0.1% for October.3

STIMULUS SIGNALS PUSH STOCKS HIGHER
A surprise interest rate cut by the Bank of China and a pledge from European Central Bank President Mario Draghi to stoke euro area inflation gave U.S. equities a lift Friday. The S&P 500 ended the week 1.16% higher at 2,063.50; across five days, the Dow rose 0.99% to 17,810.06 and the Nasdaq 0.52% to 4,712.97. The S&P has now surged more than 11% off of its October low.4,5

THIS WEEK: Nothing major is slated for Monday. Tuesday sees the release of the September S&P/Case-Shiller home price index, the Conference Board’s latest consumer confidence index and the BEA’s second estimate of Q3 GDP; Wall Street also interprets earnings from Campbell’s Soup, Hewlett-Packard, Hormel Foods, Tiffany and TiVo. Wednesday brings November’s final University of Michigan consumer sentiment index, reports on October durable goods orders, personal spending, new home sales and pending home sales, the latest initial claims figures and quarterly results from Deere & Co. Thursday is Thanksgiving Day, so U.S. stock and bond markets will be closed; OPEC oil ministers will meet in Vienna. Wall Street will be open for a short trading day Friday, with the NYSE and NASDAQ closing at 1:00pm EST and the bond market likely closing at 2:00pm EST; investors will react to eurozone inflation and unemployment numbers for October.

% CHANGE Y-T-D 1-YR CHG 5-YR AVG 10-YR AVG
DJIA +7.44 +11.24 +14.52 +6.98
NASDAQ +12.84 +18.74 +23.92 +12.60
S&P 500 +11.64 +14.90 +17.81 +7.53
REAL YIELD 11/21 RATE 1 YR AGO 5 YRS AGO 10 YRS AGO
10 YR TIPS 0.45% 0.60% 1.21% 1.62%

Sources: online.wsj.com, bigcharts.com, treasury.gov – 11/21/146,7,8,9
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.

WEEKLY QUOTE

“We touch other people’s lives simply by existing.”

– J.K. Rowling

WEEKLY TIP

You have until April 15, 2015, to make IRA contributions for the 2014 tax year. If you want to make your 2014 contribution in early 2015, just be sure to note that the contribution should apply to 2014.

WEEKLY RIDDLE

I often exist in the unaware; I persist, yet they don’t care. My hosts may have a blind eye, and a deaf ear; inform them, and I will disappear. What am I?

Last week’s riddle:
The more of these you take, the more of these you will likely leave behind. What are they?

Last week’s answer:
Footsteps and footprints.

Citations.
1 – haver.com/comment/comment.html?c=141120E.html [11/20/14]
2 – haver.com/comment/comment.html?c=141119A.html [11/19/14]
3 – marketwatch.com/economy-politics/calendars/economic [11/21/14]
4 – bloomberg.com/news/2014-11-21/u-s-index-futures-rise-as-s-p-500-heads-for-fifth-weekly-gain.html [11/21/14]
5 – markets.on.nytimes.com/research/markets/usmarkets/usmarkets.asp [11/21/14]
6 – markets.wsj.com/us [11/21/14]
7 – bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=DJIA&closeDate=11%2F21%2F13&x=0&y=0 [11/21/14]
7 – bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=COMP&closeDate=11%2F21%2F13&x=0&y=0 [11/21/14]
7 – bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=SPX&closeDate=11%2F21%2F13&x=0&y=0 [11/21/14]
7 – bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=DJIA&closeDate=11%2F20%2F09&x=0&y=0 [11/21/14]
7 – bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=COMP&closeDate=11%2F20%2F09&x=0&y=0 [11/21/14]
7 – bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=SPX&closeDate=11%2F20%2F09&x=0&y=0 [11/21/14]
7 – bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=DJIA&closeDate=11%2F22%2F04&x=0&y=0 [11/21/14]
7 – bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=COMP&closeDate=11%2F22%2F04&x=0&y=0 [11/21/14]
7 – bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=SPX&closeDate=11%2F22%2F04&x=0&y=0 [11/21/14]
8 – treasury.gov/resource-center/data-chart-center/interest-rates/Pages/TextView.aspx?data=realyield [11/21/14]
9 – treasury.gov/resource-center/data-chart-center/interest-rates/Pages/TextView.aspx?data=realyieldAll [11/21/14]

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, The 401k Advisor, Investor Coach and author of The Effective Investor. Mark offers investment advisory services through Stonecreek Wealth Advisors, Inc. an independent, fee-only, Registered Investment Advisor firm providing 401k consulting for small businesses and private investment management services for professional athletes and select individuals. Stonecreek is located in Salt Lake City, Murray, West Jordan, Sandy, Draper, South Jordan, Provo, Orem, Lehi, Highland, Alpine, American Fork all in Utah.

Category: Blog, Growth Report