Money Watch: Weekly Wrap
Don't worry about Super Bowl superstitions: a victory by either team has been good for stocks! In the year following their wins, here are the results for stocks: Steelers: +25 percent, Packers +24 percent.
Stocks continued upward, as both the Dow and the S&P 500 breached new levels of 12,000 and 1300, respectively (see this post for more details). The trend held through the confusing employment report, which may have been distorted due to extreme weather. (QUESTION: How can the rate drop when so few jobs were created? The number of jobs created comes from a survey of businesses, while the rate comes from a survey of households. When unemployed people stop looking for jobs, the government no longer counts them as unemployed, which can cause the unemployment rate to drop.)
- DJIA: 12,092, up 2.2% on week, up 4.4% YTD
- S&P 500: 1310, up 2.7% on week, up 4.2% YTD
- NASDAQ: 2769, up 3% on week, up 4.3% YTD
- March Crude Oil: $89.03, down 0.3% on week
- April Gold: $1349, up 0.5% on week
FACTOIDS OF THE WEEK: January Employment edition
- Jobs created: +36,000
- Revisions to two prior months: +40,000
- Unemployment rate: 9 percent, from 9.4 percent
- Under-Employment Rate (marginally attached, part-time): 16.1 percent, down from 16.7 percent (high was 17.4 percent in October 2009)
- Unemployed persons: 13.9 million, from 14.5 million
- Long-term unemployed (jobless for 27 weeks +): 6.2 million, down from 6.4 million
- Part-timers (or had hours cut for economic reasons): 8.5 million, from 8.9 million
- Government: -14K, third consecutive month of losses, due mostly to state and local cuts
- Construction: -32K
- Manufacturing: +49K (largest since August, 1998)
Mon 2/7:
Hasbro
3:00 Consumer Credit
President Obama addresses the US Chamber of Commerce
Tues 2/8:
Avon, UBS, Walt Disney, Toyota
Weds 2/9:
Cisco, Coca Cola, Ingersoll Rand, Met Life
Ben Bernanke testifies before House Budget Committee
Thurs 2/10:
Kraft Foods
8:30 Weekly Claims
10:00 Wholesale Trade
2:00 Treasury Budget
Verizon iPhone available
Fri 2/11:
8:30 International Trade
9:55 Consumer Sentiment
