Economy
-Retail sales rose 1.1% in February the largest rise in 5 months. 3/14
-The Fed gave a cautiously optimistic assessment of the US economy, kept rates unchanged and said no new actions to accelerate growth would be taken. 3/14
-Weekly jobless claims dropped 14,000 for the past week, however the 4 week moving average remained flat. 3/16
-The ECB projected that real GDP growth will pick up in the second half of the year. 3/16
-The CPI rose 0.4% in February, with gas prices being the major driver. 3/17
Corporate
-The Fed announced that the vast majority of banks passed their annual stress tests potentially allowing firms to increase dividends and share buybacks. 3/14
-The Fed rejected Citigroup’s request to raise its dividend and institute a share buyback. 3/14
-J.P. Morgan announced it would buy $15 billion worth of stock. 3/14
-Goldman Sachs was in damage control mode as a VP who resigned wrote an op-ed piece for the New York Times blasting the firm for a culture that cares little about clients and is driven by a short term view. 3/15
Regulatory
-Government officials sued three futures trading firms and fined Goldman Sachs for inappropriately commingling customer money with their own. 3/14
-The SEC brought charges against two money managers who were running a fund designed to invest in pre IPO shares for misleading and overcharging investors. 3/15
Market
-Italian borrowing costs have dropped steeply in 2012. At year end of 2011 the yield on the 10 year Italian bond was 7%, but it has fallen to 4.92%. 3/13
-Buoyed by strong retail sales, an upbeat outlook by the Fed and virtually all banks passing their stress tests gave the markets a shot in the arm for their best day of the year. The S&P 500 gained 1.8% and is just shy of the 1,400 level. It’s the highest point for the index since June of 2008. The Dow rose 218 points or 1.7% to reach 13,178. It’s the highest level since December of 2007. The Nasdaq rose above 3,000 for the first time since late 2000. International markets saw gains with Europe rising 1.8% and Japan up as well. On the equity surge Treasuries were dumped with the 10 year yield rising to 2.102%. 3/14
-US markets were relatively flat, but Japan surged to a 7 month high. The Nikkei climbed above 10,000 and is up 19% this year. With the surge in equities investors have been bailing out of Treasurys. The 10 year Treasury yield reached the highest level since October, 2.276%. News that the Fed will likely not take action due to the improving economy also led investors to move out of the investment. 3/15
-Another stock market milestone was reached with the S&P 500 crossing the 1,400 level for the first time since June of 2008. 3/16
-Gas prices rose 6% in February with an average gallon now at $3.83. 3/17
-US markets had their largest weekly gains of the year. The S&P 500 and Dow rose 2.4% for the week, the largest gains since December. The S&P is up 12% for the year. Europe had a strong week as well up 2.6% and Japan gained 2.0%. The yield on the 10 year Treasury has risen to 2.301%. 3/17