All the news you need to stay informed about what’s currently driving the market – courtesy of Raffa Wealth Management, LLC.
US Stocks rose slightly over the week on generally positive economic news and additional stimulus measures announced by the ECB, but set new record highs yet again. The S&P 500 and Dow rose 0.2% for the week. Internationally, both Japan and Europe rose 1.6% for the week. The 10 year Treasury yield rose over the week as bonds fell to finish at 2.46%. Article
August saw the year’s slowest hiring rate with only 142,000 new jobs added. The hiring number disappointed investors who expected the US to be shifting into a higher gear. June and July were also revised down a combined 28,000 jobs. The unemployment rate dropped to 6.1% as less people looked for work. Article
The US purchasing managers’ index rose in August topping expectations of a decline and hitting the highest level since March 2011.
Construction spending ticked up 1.8% in July.
August auto sales rose to an annualized pace of 17.5 million, the fastest pace since January 2006.
The ECB announced a surprise rate cut to its main lending rate by 0.10 percentage points to 0.05% and -0.1% cut on deposits to -0.20% (banks pay to hold deposits with the ECB) in order to try to fight falling inflation and stimulate weak growth in the euro zone. They will also buy covered bank bonds and asset backed securities. Article
Alibaba announced plans for their IPO that values the company at $155 billion, which would make it one of the largest listed US Stocks and be one of the largest IPOs ever.
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