“You work hard for your money. We’ll work hard to protect it.”
Market Direction Is Important –
Updated Chart of the S&P 500 and Secondary Signals
Of our Four secondary indicators under our MTI:
Relative Strength Index (RSI)-Positive
Chaikin Money Flow (CMF)-Positive
MACD- Positive
Money Flow Index-MFI-Positive
More on the Market and the Economy:
Stocks rallied on Friday following an interest rate cut by the Chinese central bank. The S&P 500 finished the week up 2.1%, turning positive for the year and marking its fourth straight weekly gain.
Source: dshort.com
This week data will be released on new home sales, durable goods, consumer spending, GDP and the FOMC meeting announcement.
The Conference Board’s leading economic index declined .2% in September, following no change in July and August. According to the Conference Board, “despite September’s decline, the U.S. LEI still suggests economic expansion will continue, although at a moderate pace. The recent weakness in stock markets, the manufacturing sector and housing permits was offset by gains in financial indicators, and to a lesser extent improvements in consumer expectations and initial claims for unemployment insurance. The U.S. economy is on track for moderate growth of about 2.5 percent in the coming quarters, despite the mixed global economic landscape.”
According to Oxford Economics, the 750 largest cities in the world will account for 61% of global economic growth in 2030 – and 9 of the world’s biggest cities will be in China.
The National Retail Federation’s Holiday Consumer Spending Survey expects the average spending per person to reach $805.65 this holiday season, the highest in the survey’s 14-year history. For the 14th year, 40% of respondents say they plan to start their shopping before Halloween. Among other highlights from the survey:
“Average spending per person reaches $805.65, comparable with spending in 2014 holiday season ($802.45).
Spending on gifts for family members will total $462.95, up from $458.75 last year, and a survey high.
Almost half of holiday shopping, consisting of browsing and buying, will be done online: average consumers say 46 percent of their shopping (both browsing and buying) this holiday season will be conducted online, up from 44 percent last year.
21.4 percent of smartphone owners will use their device to purchase holiday merchandise this year, the highest seen since NRF first asked in 2011.
Nearly half (46.7%) said free shipping/shipping promotions are important factors in their decision on where to shop.
55.8 percent of holiday shoppers will splurge on themselves and/or others for non-gift items, and will spend an average of $131.59, up from $126.37 last year”
As the United Nations designated last Tuesday as World Statistics Day, some statistics about the US from the Census Bureau:
“321.9 million
The estimated current U.S. population. We reached 300 million in 2006, 200 million in 1967 and 100 million in 1915. When our nation achieved independence in 1776, we had a population of only 2.5 million.
14.8 percent
The percentage of people in the U.S. living in poverty in 2014, which means there are 46.7 million people living in poverty.
$53,657
The median household income in the U.S. in 2014, which is not statistically different from the 2013 median income.
10.4 percent
The percentage of people without health insurance coverage in the U.S. in 2014, down from 13.3 percent in 2013. The number of people without health insurance declined to 33.0 million from 41.8 million over the period.
83.1 million
The number of millennials, people born between 1982 and 2000, in the U.S. This group exceeds the baby boomers, people born between 1946 and 1964, by 7.7 million.
30.5 million
The number of businesses in the U.S. in 2013. This number includes non-employer businesses as well as businesses with paid employees.
85.8 percent
The percentage of workers who commute by car.
161.9 million
The number of women in the U.S. in 2014. Overall, the U.S. had more women than men (156.9 million). In a few states, however, men outnumbered women, such as Alaska where there were 387,296 men and 349,436 women.
33.1 million
The number of U.S. residents who claimed Irish ancestry in 2014, which was six times the population of Ireland itself (4.9 million).
53,364
The number of centenarians (100 years old or more) in the U.S. in 2010. Projections indicate that in 2050, the number will be 387,000.
11.6 percent
The percentage of women age 25 and over holding an advanced degree in 2014.
86.9 percent
The percentage of people age 25 and over who held at least a high school degree in 2014.
30.1 percent
The percentage of people age 25 and over who held at least a bachelor’s degree in 2014.
29.3 percent
The percentage of householders who rated their homes a 10 on a scale of 1 to 10 in 2013.
26.0 minutes
The national mean travel time to work in 2014”
