Economic update for the week ending December 29, 2018
Stocks rebound to end week higher - Stock markets snapped a three week losing streak to end the week higher. It was a wild week. Monday marked the largest Christmas eve loss ever. Tuesday markets were closed. Wednesday stocks had their best point gain in history, with the Dow up over 1,000 points! Thursday stocks were down all day, but rebounded with the Dow ending the day up over 200 points, a swing of over 800 points for the day. Friday the Dow lost 76 points. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed the week at 23,062.49, up from 22,445.37 last week. It is down 6.7% year to date. The S&P 500 closed the week at 2,485.74, up from 2,416.62 last week. It is down down 7% year to date. The NASDAQ closed the week at 6,584.62, up from 6,332.99 last week. It is down 4.6% year to date. Treasury Bond Yields ended the week slightly lower - The 10-year treasury bond closed the week yielding 2.72%, down from 2.79% last week. The 30-year treasury bond yield ended the week at 3.04%, unchanged from 3.03% last week. We watch treasury bond yields because mortgage rates follow bond yields. Mortgage rates near the lowest level of the year - The December 27, 2018 Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Survey reported that the 30-year fixed mortgage rate average was 4.55%, down from 4.62% last week. The 15-year fixed was 4.01%, down from 4.07% last week. The 5-year ARM was 4.00%, almost unchanged from 3.98% last week. Southern California housing market was less active in November - CoreLogic reported this week that the number of homes sold in Los Angeles County fell 16% in November from the number of homes sold November 2017. The median price paid for a home in Los Angeles County was up 5.8% from one year ago. The median price in all of Southern California was up 3.5% from November 2017. 13% fewer homes sold in Southern California this November compared to last November. Author, Syd Leibovitch
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Economic update for the week ending December 22, 2018
Stock markets suffer the worst weekly loss this year - Stock markets officially entered correction territory and the NASDAQ is now in a bear market. It’s down 20% from its peak. Fears of higher interest rates after The Fed raised rates for the fourth time this year, increased trade tensions with China, slowing economic conditions in Europe and Asia, falling oil prices, fears of a government shutdown, and political tensions had investors running for cover. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed the weekat 22,445.37, down from 24,100.51 last week. It was down 6.9% for the week and is now down 9.2% year to date. The S&P 500 closed the week at 2,416.62, down from 2,599.95 last week. It was down 7.1% for the week and is down 9.6% year to date. The NASDAQ closed the week at 6,332.99, down from 6,910.77 last week. It was down 8.4% for the week and down 8.3% year to date. Treasury Bond Yields dropped this week as investors moved money from stocks to treasury bonds - The 10-year treasury bond closed the week yielding 2.79%, down from 2.89% last week. The 30-year treasury bond yield ended the week at 3.03%, down from 3.14% last week. We watch treasury bond yields because mortgage rates follow bond yields. Mortgage rates remain at the lowest level in three months - The December 20, 2018 Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Survey reported that the 30-year fixed mortgage rate average was 4.62%, unchanged from 4.63% last week. The 15-year fixed was 4.07%, unchanged from 4.07% last week. The 5-year ARM was 3.98%, down from 4.04% last week. Rates ended the week slightly lower. California housing market continues to struggle in November - The California Association of Realtors reported that existing single-family home sales totaled 381,400 on a seasonally adjusted annualized rate in November. Year over year the number of homes sold was down 13.4% from last November. The statewide median price was $544,000, down 3% from October and up 1.5% from November 2017. The unsold inventory index was 3.7 months, up from 2.9 months last November. Author, Syd Leibovitch Economic update for the week ending December 15, 2018
Stocks ended the week down - Signs of a slowing economy in Asia and Europe wiped out gains earlier in the week as stocks fell 2% on Friday. Earlier in the week it looked like stocks would end the week higher as investors felt more optimistic that a trade deal would be worked out with China after President Trump tweeted that progress has been made, and talks with China have been productive. An inflation report showed inflation in check which lowers the risk of higher interest rates. Unfortunately, Friday’s repots that showed weakness in Asia and Europe wiped out the earlier weekly gains, and stocks had another losing week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed the week at 24,100.51, down from 24,338.94 last week. It was down 1.2% for the week and is now down 2.5% year to date. The S&P 500 closed the week at 2,599.95, down from 2,633.08 last week. It was down 1.3% for the week and is down 2.8% year to date. The NASDAQ closed the week at 6,910.77, down from 6,969.25 last week. It was down 08% for the week and down 0.1% year to date. Treasury Bond Yields unchanged this week - The 10-year treasury bond closed the week yielding 2.89%, up slightly from 2.85% last week. The 30-year treasury bond yield ended the week at 3.14%, unchanged from 3.14% last week. We watch treasury bond yields because mortgage rates follow bond yields. Mortgage rates dropped to the lowest level in three months - The December 13, 2018 Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Survey reported that the 30-year fixed mortgage rate average was 4.63%, down from 4.75% last week. The 15-year fixed was 4.07%, down from 4.21% last week. The 5-year ARM was 4.04%, down from 4.07% last week. Rates ended the week even lower. Author, Syd Leibovitch Economic update for the week ending December 8, 2018
U.S. employers added 155,000 new jobs in November - Unemployment remains at 3.7% - The Department of Labor Statistics reported yesterday that 155,000 new jobs were added in November. That did not meet experts expectations of 195,000 new jobs, but it was a solid number which indicates that employers are still confident in the economy. The unemployment rate held steady at 3.7%, the lowest rate since 1969. Wages grew 3.1% from last November’s average hourly rate. That matched last months year over year increase, which was the swiftest wage gain pace since 2009. Stocks give up all of last week’s gains and are now in negative territory for the year - Trade tensions, fears of higher interest rates, lower oil prices, and fears of a slowing economy weighed heavy on investors this week causing stocks to stop over 4%. The positive was that as stocks dropped long term interest rates dropped as investors fled to the safety of treasury bonds. This brought home mortgage rates down to the lowest level in three months. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed the weekat 24,338.94, down sharply from 25,538.46 last week. It was down 4.5% for the week and is now down 1.3% year to date. The S&P 500 closed the week at 2,633.08, down from 2,760.17 last week. It was down 4.6% for the week and is down 1.5% year to date. The NASDAQ closed the week at 6,969.25, down from 7,330.54 last week. It was down 4.9% for the week and up 1% year to date. Treasury Bond Yields lower this week - The 10-year treasury bond closed the week yielding 2.85%, down from 3.01% last week. The 30-year treasury bond yield ended the week at 3.14%, down from 3.30% last week. We watch treasury bond yields because mortgage rates follow bond yields. Mortgage rates lower for the week - The December 6, 2018 Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Survey reported that the 30-year fixed mortgage rate average was 4.75%, down from 4.81% last week. The 15-year fixed was 4.21%, down from 4.25% last week. The 5-year ARM was 4.07%, down from 4.12% last week. Rates ended the week even lower. Author, Syd Leibovitch |
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