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The Markets
After a week of earnings, Bernanke speeches, subprime
meltdowns, rising oil prices, the falling dollar, and record
setting Dow 14,000, the market failed to register a gain
when the market closed
on Friday.
The US dollar was sharply lower against its
major counterparts as foreign banks continue to raise interest
rates while
the US rates hold steady.
The dollar’s pain was gold’s gain as the yellow fellow reached
a two month high as crude prices continue to climb. As volatility
spiked, prices of treasury bonds rallied this week as investors
sought a flight to quality.
The yield on the 10-year now stands 4.956 – its lowest level in
nearly two months.
Google (GOOG) and Microsoft (MSFT) both announced earnings
after-hours on Thursday with Google coming in below expectations
and Microsoft reporting mostly inline. Citigroup (C)
announced earnings of $1.24 a share versus
expectations of $1.13 a share. Earnings were up 18% since
last year driven by Citigroup's trading and international
businesses. Intel (INTC) reported earnings up 44% from last
year citing a smaller workforce and solid microprocessor
shipments. For the quarter, Intel earned 22 cents a share beating expectations
of
19 cents a share.
Along with another heavy dose of earnings
reports this week, investors will also receive more info
on home sales, durable goods orders, GDP,
and consumer sentiment. If Friday was any indication, this
week is going to be an important one.
| Returns through 07/20/07 |
1-Week |
Y-T-D |
1-Year |
3-Year |
5-Year |
10-Year |
| Dow Jones Industrials |
-0.4 |
11.1 |
27.4 |
11.1 |
12.3 |
5.8 |
| Nasdaq Composite |
-0.7 |
11.3 |
33.0 |
12.2 |
16.1 |
5.8 |
| Standard & Poor's 500 |
-1.2 |
8.2 |
23.7 |
11.9 |
13.6 |
5.5 |
Source: Yahoo! Finance, Barrons
Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Indices
are unmanaged and cannot be invested into directly. Three-,
5-, and 10-year returns are annualized. Assumes dividends
are not reinvested.
Top Headlines:
- During his first
day of testimony on Capital Hill, Bernanke said that
he expects core inflation to continue to move lower over
the rest of the year and into next year. (7/18)
- During his second
day of testimony on Capital, Bernanke said he expect
significant losses from sub prime mortgages and that
things will likely get worse before they get better with
regard to foreclosures and delinquencies. (7/19)
- The producer
price index fell unexpectedly 0.2% during June while
the core rate excluding food and energy rose 0.3%. Economists
were expecting the core rate and the headline rate to
both rise 0.2%. (7/17)
- The headlines and core consumer
price index rose 0.2% versus expectations for the
core rate of 0.2% and the headline of 0.1%. (7/18)
- According to the FOMC
Minutes from the June meeting, members of the Federal
Reserve remain concerned about inflation and are not
convinced that the recent moderation of core inflation
is sustainable. (7/19)
- China's central bank raised interst rates
27 basis points from 6.57% to 6.84%. The move comes a day
after data showed the Chinese economy grew 11.1% during
the second quarter. (7/20)
WHAT’S SMALL ENOUGH THAT IT CAN
BE RUN BY THREE MOTHERS in a neighborhood, or large enough
to involve numerous communities and require incorporation
as a non-profit and a staff? A giving circle. With more than
400 operating nationwide, a giving circle is formed when
individuals pool their charitable dollars, decide where to
give their money and volunteer time, and learn together about
their community and philanthropy.
And we’re not talking about spare change. The 160
giving circles responding to a recent survey by the Washington,
DC-based Forum of Regional Associations of Grantmakers have
raised more than $88 million for community needs, granted
nearly $65 million, and engaged more than 11,700 donors.
In 2006 alone, giving circles granted $13 million for community
needs. Members’ individual donations range from less
than $100 to more than $100,000 each year.
The Forum’s
report More Giving Together: An Updated Study of the Continuing
Growth and Powerful Impact of Giving
Circles and Shared Giving showed giving circles to be a
trend with staying power. While one third of the giving circles
surveyed were newly formed in 2005 or 2006, some 27 percent
had been through more than five rounds of grantmaking.
From
small towns like Moscow, Idaho to big cities like Chicago,
the Forum’s database lists giving circles in 44 states
and the District of Columbia. At a time when we seem increasingly
disconnected from each other, giving circles provide a chance
to learn and make decisions together. You can visit www.givingforum.org for more information.
Now that the US
national debt is approaching $9 trillion, it might
be worthwhile to understand just what a trillion is. A
billion
seconds
add up to 31.7 years. But
a trillion seconds adds up to 31,700 years! One trillion dollars
end on end would reach 96.7 million miles, enough to go
from the earth to the sun with about
3.7 million miles of dollar bills left over. Suppose some
nice guy wants to make you a trillionaire by handing you
a hundred dollar bill every second -- day in
and day out 24 hours a day.
You would have to collect those hundred dollar bills every
second, seven day a week, for 317 years. How did the debt get where it is today? $2
trillion worth of dollars was put in circulation between
1776 and
1990,
$2 trillion more
dollars were added between 1991 and 2000, $2 trillion
more added between 2001 and 2003, and $2 trillion
more in 2004 and 2005! The National Debt has continued
to increase an average of $1.33 billion
per day since September 29, 2006!
Best Regards,
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