Weekly Economic Update: October 31, 2016

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Weekly Quote

“Really, there is no normal. There’s only change and resistance to it and then more change.” –Meryl Streep

Weekly Tip

If you are newly married and don’t have a will, why not create one? It is a thoughtful and very responsible move.

Weekly Riddle

There is one question that nobody can possibly answer “yes” to with 100% honesty. What is that question?

Last week’s riddle

Ray pulls out of his driveway and immediately drives at 55 miles per hour, but he is not cited even though a police car sees him. Why?

Last week’s answer

He lives on a major road, and the speed limit on that road is at least 55mph.

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Economy Expands 2.9% In Third Quarter

After just 1.4% growth in Q2, this was welcome news. Surging exports and greater inventory investment and federal spending made Q3 the best quarter for the economy in two years, according to the Department of Commerce. The federal government’s core PCE price index was up 1.7% for the quarter versus 1.8% in Q2.¹

Consumer Confidence Indices Descend

Last week, the Conference Board’s gauge of household confidence came in at 98.6 for October, down from 103.5 in September. The University of Michigan’s final October consumer sentiment index slipped to 87.2 from its prior mark of 87.9.²

Pending Home Sales Rebound

The National Association of Realtors noted a 1.5% gain in housing contract activity in September, following a 2.5% downturn in August. The August S&P/Case-Shiller home price index revealed a 5.3% annual rise in U.S. home values.²

Blue Chips Fare Best During a Mixed Week

Across five trading days, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.09% to settle at 18,161.19 Friday. Weekly losses struck the S&P 500 (0.69% to 2,126.41) and Nasdaq Composite (1.28% to 5,190.10).³

This Week

Monday: September consumer spending figures are out on Monday, along with earnings from Aegion, Anadarko Petroleum, Loews, Nautilus, and Tesoro.
Tuesday: ISM releases its October factory PMI and Archer Daniels Midland, Coach, Cummins, Electronic Arts, Gilead Sciences, Kellogg, Molson Coors, Mosaic, Noble Energy, Occidental Petroleum, Papa John’s, Pfizer, Square, U.S. Steel, Western Union, and Wingstop announce earnings.
Wednesday: The Federal Reserve makes its latest policy statement, ISM’s service sector PMI appears, ADP issues its September payrolls report, and earnings news arrives from Allergan, Allstate, AIG, Anthem, Avis Budget, Clorox, Estee Lauder, Facebook, GoDaddy, iHeartMedia, Marathon Oil, MetLife, Office Depot, Prudential, Red Robin, Sunoco, Take-Two Interactive, Time Warner, Transocean, Whole Foods, Yelp, and Zynga.
Thursday: The October Challenger job-cut report and the latest initial claims figures come out Thursday, and Alamo Group, AMC Networks, Avon, Chesapeake Energy, Cigna, Fluor, GoPro, Hyatt Hotels, Icahn Enterprises, Kemper, Kraft Heinz, Lions Gate, Monster Beverage, Noble Corp., Starbucks, and TiVo all join the earnings parade.
Friday: The Department of Labor provides its October jobs report, and Duke Energy, Humana, Jamba, and Revlon present earnings.

% CHANGE	Y-T-D	1-YR CHG	5-YR AVG	10-YR AVG
DJIA	+4.22	+2.15	+9.70	+5.02
NASDAQ	+3.65	+1.85	+17.92	+12.08
S&P 500	+4.03	+1.73	+13.09	+5.44
REAL YIELD	10/28 RATE	1 YR AGO	5 YRS AGO	10 YRS AGO
10 YR TIPS	0.13%	0.63%	0.19%	2.37%

Table Sources

forexlive.com, bigcharts.com, treasury.gov – 10/28/16^1,4,5,6 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. [/column]

Disclosure

This material was prepared by MarketingPro, Inc., and does not necessarily represent the views of the presenting party, nor their affiliates. This information has been derived from sources believed to be accurate. Please note – investing involves risk, and past performance is no guarantee of future results. 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 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. This is neither a solicitation nor recommendation to purchase or sell any investment or insurance product or service, and should not be relied upon as such. All indices are unmanaged and are not illustrative of any particular investment. 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. This material represents an assessment of the market environment at a specific point in time and is not intended to be a forecast of future events, or a guarantee of future results. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Investments will fluctuate and when redeemed may be worth more or less than when originally invested. 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.