Market Focus: At the beginning of the week I thought it was all about earnings. The actual reports were not too hot or too cold. They were just right.
The Week of July 22, 2013 was a week of give and take. Hence a stock market that was up a little down a little and pretty quiet overall. First the Real Estate news was both up and down. Existing home sales were down for the month but up year over year but still below the peak of 2007. FHFA house price index advanced but not as much as was expected. It was the 16th consecutive monthly increase but we are still 11.2% below the 2007 peak. New Home sales were up above expectations by 16,000 units but the prior two months were revised down 30,000 units. Prices of new homes was up again.
The Chicago Fed Activity Index was soft but less soft than the month before. Durable Goods Orders were up significantly but if you take out orders for aircraft there was no change from last month. But inventories look light so restocking shelves should be a positive. Finally Consumer sentiment was at the highest level since July 2007. The better our sentiment the more likely we are to spend more money.
Looking back can be an interesting look forward. As you step back you can expand the vision forward We appear to be in a bit of a “goldilocks” economy. Not to hot not too cold. Maybe just right?
Next week may have something more to say. Stay tuned….
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