Succinct Summations week ending December 12, 2014
Positives:
1. Average gasoline prices fell to $2.60, the lowest levels since 2009, as Crude Oil continues to crash.
2. U.S. retail sales rose 0.6% m/o/m, better then he 0.5% expected rise.
3. Consumer confidence came in at 93.88, which was the biggest beat relative to expectations since December 2013.
4. NFIB small business optimism came in at 98.1, the highest reading since early 2007.
5. Initial jobless claims came in at 294k, down 3k from last week and a touch lower than expected.
6. MBA refi applications rose 13.2% w/o/w.
Negatives:
1. It was a rough week for stocks; the Dow lost 3.7%, its worst week since 2011. The S&P 500 didn’t fare much better, wiping out the last 5 weeks of gains.
2. Crude Oil continues to crash, falling 12.6% this week and down 49% from highs set in August.
3. Deflation alert: Producer prices fell 0.2%, bigger than the 0.1% expected decline.
4. The Athens stock market fell by 20%
5. Europe industrial production rose just 0.1% m/o/m, vs the paltry 0.2% expected.
6. Fitch cuts France to AA from AA+
Thanks, Mike!
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