WEEKLY ECONOMIC UPDATE FOR NOV. 21

2011-11-25T18:57:00.001-08:00

WEEKLY ECONOMIC UPDATE

WEEKLY QUOTE

"Accept no one's definition of your life; define yourself."
- Harvey Fierstein

WEEKLY TIP

If you pay your real estate taxes instead of your mortgage lender, you could
pre-pay some 2012 taxes this year to qualify for a deduction on your 1040.

WEEKLY RIDDLE

Gerald Ford was our 38th President, but he was actually the 37th man to take
the job. Why was that?

Last week's riddle:
A sudden noise startles a gopher, an owl and a skunk at the edge of a
forest. The owl flies off and the gopher retreats into his burrow, but the
skunk runs for the trees. How far can that skunk run into the forest?

Last week's answer:

Halfway; after he gets halfway in, he's running out of the forest.

November 21, 2011

CONSUMER PRICES RETREAT IN OCTOBER
For the first month since June, consumer inflation decreased. The biggest
influence on the 0.1% decline in the Consumer Price Index? Falling retail
gasoline prices. New car prices also saw their biggest one-month drop in
nearly two years. Core CPI rose 0.1% in October; annualized inflation
lessened to 3.5% with annualized core CPI at 2.1%. Producer prices declined
last month as well, going -0.3% after a +0.8% September showing; core PPI
was flat in October.1,2

RETAIL SALES, HOUSING STARTS, LEI ALL ENCOURAGE
The Commerce Department said U.S. retail purchases increased by 0.5% in
October - the fifth consecutive monthly gain. While overall housing starts
declined 0.3% last month, single-family home construction improved by 5.1%.
October housing permits were 17.7% above year-ago levels. The Conference
Board's index of leading economic indicators rose a striking 0.9% in
October, with the boost in home construction a key factor.2,3,4,5

GOLD & OIL PRICES SLIDE
In fact, gold had its roughest trading week since September, with prices
pulling back 3.5% to $1,720.10 at Friday's COMEX close. Oil prices also
descended: crude settled at $97.41 per barrel on the NYMEX at week's end.6,7

STOCKS LOSE SOME GROUND
Investors weren't buying much last week, what with one eye on Europe and
another on the "super committee" impasse in Congress. The Dow, S&P 500 and
NASDAQ all pulled back for the week as follows: DJIA, -2.94% to 11,796.23;
S&P 500, -3.81% to 1,215.67; NASDAQ, -3.97% to 2,572.50.8

THIS WEEK: Monday, the National Association of Realtors tells us about
October existing home sales and Hewlett-Packard and Tyson Foods issue 3Q
results. Tuesday brings the second estimate of 3Q GDP, the most recent
Federal Reserve policy meeting minutes and earnings from Campbell Soup and
Hormel Foods. Wednesday is big indeed: the day before Thanksgiving is the
deadline for the Congressional "super committee" to approve a
deficit-trimming plan. Wednesday will also see the release of data on
October consumer spending and October durable goods orders, plus the latest
initial claims figures and the final University of Michigan consumer
sentiment poll for the month. Thursday being Thanksgiving, all U.S.
financial markets will be closed. This Friday will be Black Friday, of
course; the NYSE will have a shortened trading day.

% CHANGE

Y-T-D

1-YR CHG

5-YR AVG

10-YR AVG

DJIA

+1.89

+5.50

-0.89

+1.82

NASDAQ

-3.03

+2.31

+1.04

+3.30

S&P 500

-3.34

+1.59

-2.65

+0.56

REAL YIELD

11/18 RATE

1 YR AGO

5 YRS AGO

10 YRS AGO

10 YR TIPS

0.05%

0.83%

2.33%

3.50%

Sources: cnbc.com, bigcharts.com, treasury.gov, treasurydirect.gov -
11/18/118,9,10,11

Indices are unmanaged, do not incur fees or expenses, and cannot be invested
into directly.

These returns do not include dividends.

Weekly Update

WEEKLY ECONOMIC UPDATE FOR NOV. 21