Succinct Summations week ending March 21st, 2014
Positives:
1. S&P 500 made new all-time highs, despite Taper and tuning out noise continues to work.
2. U.S. factory output rose 0.8% in February, the biggest gain since August.
3. Energy prices fell for the first time in 3 months.
4. Building permits jumped 7.7% to 1.01M vs 960k expected.
5. European car sales rose 7.6% in February, up for the sixth straight month.
6. CPI rose 0.1% in February, in line with expectations, up just 1.1% y/o/y. Good for consumers.
7. Fed stress test shows 29 of 30 banks meet or top capital target, banks go wild
8. Philly fed had a huge beat, coming in at 9 v expectations of 3.2
9. Initial jobless claims came in at 320k, the 4-week moving average slid to 327k, from 330.5k.
10. The FOMC tapered by another $10B indicating continued optimism in the economy.
Negatives:
1. Fears that rate hikes might happen as soon as 2015 through the bond market into a frenzy.
2. Existing home sales were down 0.4 for February to an annualized pace of 4.6m units, the lowest pace of sales since July 2012.
3. Housing starts sunk 0.2% to an annualized pace of 907k v 910k expected.
4. NAHB homebuilder sentiment came in at 47, below expectations of 50.
5. The fed dropped its numerical thresholds and opted for qualitative guidance, gave markets indigestion.
5. Empire State manufacturing came in at 5.61 v expectations of 7.
Thanks Batman!
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