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“September is when
leaves and stocks tend to fall … On Wall Street it’s
the worst month of all.” - Trader’s Almanac
The
Markets If there’s one thing Wall Street
doesn’t like, it’s negative surprises and last
Friday, the Labor Department unleashed a doozy.
The Labor Department
reported that non-farm payrolls fell by 4,000 in August.
That was the first decline since August
2003 and was much lower than the estimate of an increase
of 115,000 that Wall Street economists expected, according
to a survey by MarketWatch. This heightened concern that
the economy might not be as strong as had been hoped.
Based
on the news, stocks fell from the opening bell on Friday
and stayed down the entire day. It’s typical
for investors to react in a knee-jerk fashion when material,
unexpected news occurs. However, we need to keep in mind
that one month’s data does not constitute a trend.
We’ll be looking for additional clues in the economy
to determine whether the August payroll data was an anomaly
or the start of an economic reversal. One clue may come on
September 18th when the Federal Open Market Committee meets.
The Fed has said they will do what is necessary to help keep
the economy chugging along. If they cut the federal funds
rate at that meeting, it may be a sign that they think the
economy needs a shot in the arm. The Fed’s action (or
inaction) on that day will be very closely scrutinized by
market watchers. Stay tuned.
| Returns through 09/07/07 |
1-Week |
Y-T-D |
1-Year |
3-Year |
5-Year |
10-Year |
| Dow Jones Industrials |
-1.8 |
5.2 |
15.1 |
8.9 |
9.4 |
5.5 |
| Nasdaq Composite |
-1.2 |
6.2 |
18.5 |
11.8 |
14.8 |
4.7 |
| Standard & Poor's 500 |
-1.4 |
2.5 |
11.9 |
9.5 |
10.3 |
4.7 |
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:
- The Fed's Beige
Book reported that economic
growth has continued to expand throughout the nation. The
indicator reported that recent financial market turmoil
has had negative effects on the lending and housing markets,
but has largely not disrupted other portions of the economy.
(9/5)
- Pending Home sales for the month of July fell 12.2%,
marking the largest single decrease since the indicators
inception in 2001. Each region of the country experienced
a decline from the previous month, led by 20.8% in
the western portion of the country. (9/5)
- Jobless claims fell this week to their lowest levels
since August 4, as Thursday’s initial claims
came in at 19,000. The report also noted the number
of Americans
receiving state jobless benefits rose to 2.60mln, the
highest level since February 17. (9/6)
- The ISM Services Index fell to 47.9% this week, its
lowest level since February 2003. The decline was a
result of only three of the index’s eighteen industries
reporting an increase in hiring, while eight reduced
their workforce. (9/6)
- For the first time in four years non-farm payrolls experienced
a monthly decline, as August saw an overall decrease
of 4,000. This number came as a shock to economists
as consensus for this month’s report was an increase
of 115,000. Despite the miserable payroll figures unemployment
held at 4.6% for the month. (9/7)
 As
many of you know, I am a member of the Hoboken
Rotary Club. This year I am on the
committee to get participants & sponsors for the 13th
Annual "Chip
in for the Children" Golf Benefit held
on Monday, September 24 at the Fox Hollow Golf Club.
If you are interested
in playing at the outing, donating items for raffle, attending
the dinner or sponsoring the event, please download
the invitation and return the form
to me.
Last year the event raised enough money
to accomplish several worthy
goals
including:
'Au' is the chemical symbol
for gold (Aurum), 'Ag' (Argentum) for silver and 'Cu' (Cuprum)
for copper.
The answer to each question below contains the letters 'Au',
'Ag' or 'Cu' within the word.
The hint tells you the length of the word
and which two letters are used. Good luck and have fun!
1. A person who is extremely poor? 6
letters (Au)
2. Acute
physical or mental pain, anguish? 5
letters (Ag)
3. The Roman god of love? 5
letters (Cu)
4. Country whose German name is 'Osterreich'? 7
letters (Au)
5. A game played on ice in which
heavy stones with handles are slid towards a target? 7
letters (Cu)
6. A wine bottle holding the equivalent of two normal bottles? 6
letters (Ag)
Click here for the answers.
Best Regards,
P.S. Please feel free to forward
this newsletter to family, friends, or colleagues.
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