What This Last Week Brought Us (Feb. 7, 2011)
February 7, 2011 by Pete Mitchell
Filed under All Posts, Weekly Updates
Unemployment fell dramatically in January: the Labor Department reported a second straight .4% monthly drop, resulting in the largest two-month reduction of the jobless rate since 1958. While the decrease puts unemployment at 9.0% (the lowest figure since April 2009), just 36,000 net new jobs were created. The implication: due to the weather or discouragement, many job seekers didn’t look for work. “The thumbprints of the weather were all over this report,” Bank of America Merrill Lynch economist Neil Dutta told the Associated Press. “We know the job market is recovering.”1,2
The Month in Brief
February 3, 2011 by Pete Mitchell
Filed under All Posts, Monthly Update
Turmoil in the Middle East didn’t stop U.S. stocks from posting a sizable January advance. The S&P 500 rose 2.26% on the month and the Dow and NASDAQ posted strong gains as well. We received encouraging news about home sales, retail sales, manufacturing and service sector growth and personal spending. There was a real sense that things were improving for American consumers and corporations.1
Annual Review for 2010
January 14, 2011 by Pete Mitchell
Filed under All Posts, Other Market Info
THE YEAR IN BRIEF 2010 was a very nice year on Wall Street. At the closing bell on December 31, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was sitting just eight points beneath a two-year high recorded two days earlier. The S&P 500 finished up 12.78% for the year and the Dow, NASDAQ and S&P all posted [...]
