Succinct Summations for the week ending December 1st, 2017
Positives:
1. Dow, S&P 500, NASDAQ 100, and Russell 2000 each hit new all-time highs.
2. Corporate profits rose to an annualized rate of $1.86 trillion, a new record.
3. Personal income rose 0,4%, above the 0.3% expected increase.
4. Q3 GDP was revised from 3% to 3.3%.
5. New home sales rose to a 685k annualized rate, above the 620k expected; Pending home sales rose 3.5%, above the 1% expected increase.
6. Consumer confidence rose from 125.9 to 129.5, above the 124.5 expected.
7. Flynn plea deal means we are inching closer to a resolution of this entire sordid Russian meddling debacle.
Negatives:
1. Initial jobless claims came in at 238k. The 4-week moving average rose from 239.75k to 242.25k.
2. PMI manufacturing slowed from 54.6 to 53.9, still a fine reading.
3. Core PCE rose 0.2%, in line with expectations, which could give the Fed enough reason to move this month.
4. ISM manufacturing fell from 58.7 to 58.2, (still a decent reading).
5. Flynn plea deal means more volatility and potentially more erratic behavior from POTUS during a challenging period for international relations.
Thanks, Mike!
