Equities markets bounced around within a recent trading range, ending the week only fractions of a point higher or lower than they started. The Dow once again outpaced other domestic indexes for the week. As the dollar exhibited renewed strength, gold continued to come back down to earth and oil fell beneath $70 a barrel. Light bidding at last week's Treasury auctions--not unusual for the post-Thanksgiving period--sent Treasury yields up.
| Market/Index | 2008 Close | Prior Week | As of 12/11/09 | Week Change | YTD Change |
| DJIA | 8776.39 | 10388.90 | 10471.50 | .80% | 19.31% |
| NASDAQ | 1577.03 | 2194.35 | 2190.31 | -.18% | 38.89% |
| S&P 500 | 903.25 | 1105.98 | 1106.41 | .04% | 22.49% |
| Russell 2000 | 499.45 | 602.79 | 600.37 | -.40% | 20.21% |
| Global Dow | 1526.21 | 1978.67 | 1963.49 | -.77% | 28.65% |
| Fed. Funds | .25% | .25% | .25% | 0 bps | 0 bps |
| 10-year Treasuries | 2.24% | 3.48% | 3.54% | 6 bps | 130 bps |
Last Week's Headlines
- Consumer credit fell in October for the ninth straight month. Revolving credit, such as credit cards, fell at an annualized rate of 9.3%, while nonrevolving credit, such as car and student loans, rose at a 2.6% annual rate. Compared to last October, non-real-estate consumer debt is down 3.6%.
- U.S. exports rose faster than imports in October, narrowing the trade deficit by 7.6% to $32.94 billion. Exports rose 2.6%, the most in almost a year.
- Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner announced that the $700 billion TARP bank bailout program, which had been scheduled to end this year, will be extended through October 3, 2010. It's now expected to cost $500 billion, though President Obama proposed that some of that $200 billion be used to stimulate lending to small businesses, help finance infrastructure projects and business tax credits, and assist state and local governments.
- The Government Accountability Office estimated that taxpayers will lose $30.4 billion instead of $43.7 billion on the GM and Chrysler bailouts, and $30.4 billion instead of $31.5 billion on the AIG bailout.
- Time Warner's spinoff of AOL completed AOL's decade-long round trip from online powerhouse to megamerger partner to solo act once again.
- November retail sales were up 1.3% from the previous month (however, October's increase was revised down from 1.4% to 1.1%). Though rising gas prices played a part in the higher number, sales of autos and other retail goods also rose.
- October business inventories rose 0.2%--the steepest increase since August of last year--though they're still down 12.6% from a year ago.
- Abu Dhabi announced it will provide $10 billion to help Dubai's state-run investment conglomerate avoid defaulting on its debt.
The last Fed meeting of the year will be watched for any smoke signals that might indicate when the "extended period" of low interest rates might come to an end; Wednesday's announcement will coincide with the latest inflation numbers. There could be volatility leading up to Friday's quadruple witching options expiration.
Key data releases: Wholesale inflation, industrial production (12/15); consumer inflation, housing starts, FOMC announcement (12/16); quadruple witching options expiration (12/18).
Data source: Includes data provided by Brounes & Associates. All information is based on sources deemed reliable, but no warranty or guarantee is made as to its accuracy or completeness. Neither the information nor any opinion expressed herein constitutes a solicitation for the purchase or sale of any securities, and should not be relied on as financial advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) is a price-weighted index composed of 30 widely traded blue-chip U.S. common stocks. The S&P 500 is a market-cap weighted index composed of the common stocks of 500 leading companies in leading industries of the U.S. economy. The NASDAQ Composite Index is a market-value weighted index of all common stocks listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange. The Russell 2000 is a market-cap weighted index composed of 2000 U.S. small-cap common stocks. The Global Dow is an equally weighted index of 150 widely traded blue-chip common stocks worldwide. Market indexes listed are unmanaged and are not available for direct investment.
--see disclaimer below--
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