Succinct Summations week ending February 28, 2014
Positives:
1. Core Cap-ex jumped 1.7%, economists were expecting a 0.2% decline.
2. The S&P 500 made new all-time highs, closing above 1850 for the first time ever.
3. U.S. home new home sales grew 9.6% vs expectations of -3.4%, the fastest pace in more than 5 years.
4. Small caps had a win streak of 14/15 days, has never happened before.
5. Dec home prices rose 13.4%, the 10th straight month of double digit gains.
6. Home prices in 2013 saw their biggest annual gain since 2005 (still 21% below the ’06 peak)
7. German business morale beat expectations and rose to its highest level since July 2011
8. January durable goods fell 1%, vs expectations of a 1.7% drop.
9. Japan industrial production had the largest growth since 2011, rising 4% in January.
10. The Dow had its best month since January 2013.
11. U of Mich. Consumer confidence came in at 81.6, up from 81.2 in January.
12. Chicago PMI rose to 59.8 v expectations of 56.4.
Negatives:
1. MBA mortgage application index fell 8.5% last week. (The lowest level since 1995!)
2. Q4 GPD was revised down to an annualized 2.4% pace, from initial estimates of 3.2%.
3. Initial jobless claims rose to 348k, up from 336k last week.
4. Consumer confidence came in at 78.1, below expectations. Numbers were revised down last month.
5. The US Citi surprise economic index closed at -13.4, down from -7.7 last week.
6. The Shanghai index closed down 2.7% on the week.
Thanks, Batman
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