M Notes: Mon, 9-21

LAST WEEK:   

Markets:   Mixed Markets last week.

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

Fed Balance Sheet:  It remained at $6.74 Trillion.  

Fed Meeting:   As expected, the Fed’s FOMC raised their interest rate a ¼ point.  Moving it up to 3.75-4.00.  Another small hike is expected before the end of the year.

Housing:  Starts were down -2.6% in August, and were down -1.2% Y/Y.

Industrial Production:  There was no change in August.

Metals:  Gold finished the week at $4,425.  Silver remained at $67.

National Debt:  $40.18 Trillion.   

Retail Sales: They were down -1.2% in August, but were up +6.0% Y/Y. 

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THIS WEEK:

Focus of the week:  The price of Oil has been determining the direction of Markets.   As I write this, WTI Oil is under $100 again.  Which could be a good omen for the week.  

Calendar:  New Home Sales (Thu); and Durable Goods Orders (Fri).  

* 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.