C.W. Copeland & Associates presents
Weekly Economic Update for the Week of November 9, 2009
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Quote of the week."Amusement to an observing mind is study."- Benjamin Disraeli
Jobless rate lags behind recovery.America's unemployment rate reached 10.2% in October, higher than the 9.9% analysts at Briefing.com had forecast. One silver lining to the highest jobless rate in 26 years: net October layoffs were at 190,000 compared to 219,000 in September.1
More help for jobless + homebuyers. President Obama signed H.R. 3548 into law Friday, extending unemployment benefits an extra 14-20 weeks for roughly 2 million Americans. Additionally, the first-time homebuyer credit of up to $8,000 will be available through next June as long as a buyer signs a binding contract by the end of April. Move-up buyers may be eligible for a $6,500 variation of this credit.2
Could a wave of hiring start soon? Maybe. New Labor Department figures show that employee productivity increased by a whopping 9.5% in 3Q 2009. Also, labor costs fell by 5.2% in 3Q 2009, resulting in the largest four-quarter drop since 1948.3
Service sector growth continues.The Institute for Supply Management's September service sector index topped 50 again - 50.6, a bit down from 50.9 in August but still showing expansion. The real attention-getter: a 1.4% jump north in new orders and a 2.0% increase in the backlog of new orders.4
Gold tops $1,100.Gold futures did that twice last week, finally settling at $1,095.70 on the NYMEX Friday; prices rose 5% last week. Oil prices gained $0.43 last week to close at $77.43 a barrel Friday.5,6
Stocks make big gains.The Federal Reserve left interest rates alone, and the good news from the ISM, the Labor Department and various earnings reports outweighed the jobless data. The Dow and S&P 500 both rose 3.20% last week; the Dow closed Friday at 10,023.42. The NASDAQ climbed 3.29% last week.7
% Change | Y-T-D | 1-Yr Chg | 5-Yr Avg | 10-Yr Avg |
DJIA | +14.21 | +15.28 | -0.70 | -0.64 |
NASDAQ | +33.95 | +31.31 | +0.72 | -3.19 |
S&P 500 | +18.38 | +18.17 | -1.66 | -2.20 |
Real Yield | 11/6 | 1 Yr Ago | 5 Yrs Ago | 10 Yrs Ago |
10YrTIPS | 1.37% | 2.81% | 1.71% | 4.14% |
(Source: CNNMoney.com, ustreas.gov, bls.gov, 11/6/09)8,9,10
Indices are unmanaged, do not incur fees or expenses, and cannot be invested into directly. These returns do not include dividends.
Riddle of the week.Determine the numeral between 1 and 100 which is also nine times the sum of its digits.
Contact my office or see next week's Update for the answer.
Last week's riddle: What is the only planet within our solar system that rotates clockwise?
Last week's riddle answer:Venus.
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