M Notes: Mon, 5-11

LAST WEEK:

Markets:  The Nasdaq crossed 26,000 for the first time ever last week. 

S&P roller coaster last week:  Down, Up a lot, Up really significantly, Down, and Up a lot.  

Fed Balance Sheet:  $6.710 Trillion.  Up $10 Billion last week.   

Housing:  New Home Sales were up +7.45% in March, and were up +3.3% Y/Y.  Two weeks ago, Starts were up +10.8% in March, and were also up +10.8% Y/Y.  

ISM:  Their Services index dropped from 54.0 (March) to 53.6 in April.  Services represent 70% of the U.S. economy.  Two weeks ago, their Manufacturing index remained at 52.7 for April.  Manufacturing represents 30% of the U.S. economy.  A number below 50 implied a contraction, while a number above 50 implied an economic expansion.  

Jobs:  The April Jobs number significantly beat the +60,000 consensus, coming in at +115,000.

Metals:  Gold finished the week at $4,731.  Silver finished the week at $81.

National Debt:  $39.228 Trillion.  

Trade Deficit:  The March deficit was -60 Billion.  

Unemployment:  The U3 rate (there are six numbers published each month) remained at 4.3%.  

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THIS WEEK:

Focus of the week:  Inflation.  Consumer Inflation (the CPI) gets updated on Tuesday.  Expectations are it will move from 3.3% up to 3.8% Y/Y.  Wholesale Inflation (the PPI) gets updated on Wednesday.  Expectations are it will move from 4.0% up to 4.8% Y/Y.   

Calendar:   Existing Home Sales (Mon); CPI (Tue);  PPI (Wed); Retail Sales (Thu); and Industrial Production (Fri).   

Earnings:  some of the companies reporting this week:  Amgen, Apple, BP, ConocoPhillips, Eli Lilly, Exxon Mobil, Ford, Honeywell, Starbucks, TJX, Unilever, and Visa.  

* The Standard & Poor's 500 (S&P 500) is an unmanaged group of securities considered to be representative of the stock market in general.    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.  Yahoo! Finance, the Wall Street Journal, Investor’s Business Daily and Barron’s are several of the sources used for financial information. 

* The National Debt figure comes from usdebtclock.org.   

* Opinions expressed are subject to change without notice and are not intended as investment advice or to predict future performance.  Consult your financial professional before making any investment decision.  You cannot invest directly in an index.   Past performance does not guarantee future results. No strategy can assure a profit or protect against a loss.  Investments in the securities markets involve risk, such as loss of your principal.