Weekly Economic Update for the Week of April 26, 2010 by Rose Greene CFP®

Quote of the week

It is wonderful what we can do if we are always doing – George Washington

New home sales up … 26.9%? Yes. The stampede was on in March as buyers raced to qualify for expiring tax credits, leading to the greatest month-over-month jump in new home purchases since 1963. According to the Census Bureau, new home prices averaged $258,600, almost unchanged from 12 months ago.₁

Existing home sales also jump. National Association of Realtors data had residential resales up 6.8% for March. In year-over-year terms, sales were 16.1% improved.₂

Notable gain in PPI. In March, wholesale inflation increased by 0.7%, above the 0.4% forecast by economists. Labor Department figures showed core PPI (minus energy and food costs) up by 0.1%.₃

Durable goods orders down. They slipped by 1.3% last month according to the Commerce Department. The silver lining? With transportation orders taken out, the category was +2.8% in March.₄

(Further) indications of improvement. The Conference Board’s index of leading indicators went up 1.4% in March, the twelfth straight monthly gain. February’s gain was revised upward to 0.4%.₅

8 straight for the Dow. Eight consecutive winning weeks, that is – on Friday, the Dow closed at 11,204.28 after rising 1.68% across five trading days. Even with fresh concerns over the debt of Greece, the NASDAQ gained 1.97% last week and the S&P 500 advanced 2.11%

Citations.

1 money.cnn.com/2010/04/23/news/economy/new_home_sales/index.htm [4/23/10] 2 npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2010/04/home_sales_rise_68.html [4/23/10]3 smartmoney.com/Investing/ETFs/Late-Rally-Boosts-ETFs-and-Stocks/ [4/22/10]4 online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703709804575201793952864632.html [4/23/10]5 marketwatch.com/story/march-leading-indicators-rise-recovery-continuing-2010-04-19 [4/19/10]6 cnbc.com/id/36738472 [4/23/10]7 bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?detect=1&symbol=DJIA&close_date=4%2F23%2F09&x=0&y=0 [4/23/10]7 bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?detect=1&symbol=COMP&close_date=4%2F23%2F09&x=0&y=0 [4/23/10]7 bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?detect=1&symbol=SPX&close_date=4%2F23%2F09&x=0&y=0 [4/23/10]7 bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?detect=1&symbol=DJIA&close_date=4%2F22%2F05&x=0&y=0 [4/23/10]7 bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?detect=1&symbol=COMP&close_date=4%2F22%2F05&x=0&y=0 [4/23/10]7 bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?detect=1&symbol=SPX&close_date=4%2F22%2F05&x=0&y=0 [4/23/10]7 bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?detect=1&symbol=DJIA&close_date=4%2F24%2F00&x=0&y=0 [4/23/10]7 bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?detect=1&symbol=COMP&close_date=4%2F24%2F00&x=0&y=0 [4/23/10]7 bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?detect=1&symbol=SPX&close_date=4%2F24%2F00&x=0&y=0 [4/23/10]8 ustreas.gov/offices/domestic-finance/debt-management/interest-rate/real_yield.shtml [4/23/10]8 ustreas.gov/offices/domestic-finance/debt-management/interest-rate/real_yield_historical.shtml [4/23/10]9 treasurydirect.gov/instit/annceresult/press/preanre/2000/ofm11200.pdf [1/12/00]

Tagged as: Consumer News, Financial News, home sales, Taxes, Weekly Economic Commentary, Weekly Market Commentary