Market Commentary 11/24/2008
The Markets
The U.S. markets halted its decline on Friday as news that President-elect Obama was likely to appoint the chief of the New York Federal Reserve, Timothy Geithner, as the next Treasury Secretary. The Dow, which had broken even for the day, finished 494 points higher as news of Geithner’s nomination leaked about an hour before the markets closed. For the week, the U.S markets closed down, with the Dow 5.20 percent lower finishing at 8,046.42. The S&P ended the week down 8.33 percent closing at 800.03 and the NASDAQ closed 8.74 percent lower to finish the week at 1,384.35.
Source: Morningstar.com. * Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Indexes are unmanaged and cannot be invested into directly. Three and five-year returns are annualized. The S&P, excluding “1 Week” returns, is a reflection of return to an investor, by reinvesting dividends after the deduction of withholding tax.
Stocks And Politics - In the past 50 years (1958-2007), the S&P 500 has been up 21.3 percent per year (total return) under a Democratic President and a Republican-led Congress, Read more…
Market Commentary 11/17/2008
The Markets
Wall Street continued its dramatic swings last week. The Dow charted its third-largest single session point gain Thursday with a 550-point rally. Hedge fund selling accounted for some of the downturn, as funds liquidated assets to meet the 45-day notice for investor withdrawal requests by year-end. The Dow closed the week down 4.87 percent to 8.497.31. The S&P lost 6.11 percent to close the week at 873.29, and the NASDAQ fell 7.92 percent to finish the week at 1,516.85.
Source: Morningstar.com. * Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Indexes are unmanaged and cannot be invested into directly. Three and five-year returns are annualized. The S&P, excluding “1 Week” returns, is a reflection of return to an investor, by reinvesting dividends after the deduction of withholding tax.
Trade Deficit Drop - The U.S. trade deficit dropped by 4.4 percent in September to $56.5 billion, Read more…
Market Commentary 11/10/2008
The Markets
Wall Street enjoyed a record Election Day rally on Tuesday with the Dow and S&P both up more than 3 percent and the NASDAQ up more than 4 percent. The Labor Department unemployment report of 240,000 lost jobs came in lower than Goldman Sachs’ estimate of 300,000 but higher than the median forecast of 200,000. Investors will have more economic data to digest this week with readings on the labor market and trade deficit due Thursday and the October retail sales index coming out Friday. For last week, the Dow ended down 3.93 percent to 8,943.81. The S&P lost 3.78 percent to close the week at 930.99, and the NASDAQ lost 4.27 percent to finish the week at 1,647.40.
Source: Morningstar.com. * Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Indexes are unmanaged and cannot be invested into directly. Three and five-year returns are annualized. The S&P, excluding “1 Week” returns, is a reflection of return to an investor, by reinvesting dividends after the deduction of withholding tax.
Medicare Open Enrollment - Open enrollment for Medicare begins Nov. 15 and continues through Dec. 31, 2008. Read more…
Market Commentary 11/3/2008
The Markets
The Dow had its best week in 34 years last week, gaining 11.31 percent. On Tuesday, the Dow recorded its second highest daily gain on record, jumping 889 points in anticipation of the Federal Reserve rate cut. Wednesday the Fed came through with half a percentage point cut, lowering to 1 percent the rate that banks charge on overnight loans. The Dow ended the week at 9,325.01, and the S&P gained 10.53 percent to close the week at 968.75. The NASDAQ rose 10.88 percent to finish the week at 1,720.95.
Source: Morningstar.com. * Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Indexes are unmanaged and cannot be invested into directly. Three and five-year returns are annualized. The S&P, excluding “1 Week” returns, is a reflection of return to an investor, by reinvesting dividends after the deduction of withholding tax.
More Planes, Autos - U.S. orders for big-ticket manufactured items experienced its largest gain in three months during September September on demand for airplanes and cars. Read more…