Economy
-Economists have raised their expectations for 4th quarter GDP. The projections range from 3.9% to 3.4%, which would make the 4th quarter the best for growth since the second quarter of 2010. 12/13
-Retail sales rose 0.2% in November short of expectations of a 0.5% increase. 12/14
-Industrial production dropped in November by 0.2% the first fall since April. 12/15
-Weekly initial jobless claims dropped precipitously to 366,000. The lowest reading since May of 2008; positive news for the labor market. 12/16
-The CPI held steady in November compared to October and prices have risen 3.4% over the past 12 months. 12/17
Corporate
-Intel is now expecting 4th quarter revenue to fall $1 billion below their prior projections driven by supply chain problems. 12/13
-Chrysler said it expected to generate $3 billion in operating profit next year based on expected increases in U.S. sales. 12/14
-Best Buy saw rising sales over its most recent quarter, but they were driven by deep discounts dropping profits for the quarter by 29%. 12/14
-Morgan Stanley announced plans to layoff 1,600 employees. 12/16
-Zynga priced its IPO at $10 a share raising about $1 billion for the internet gaming firm. It was the largest internet IPO since Google. 12/16
-Research in Motion’s problems continue as it will delay a major product launch until late in 2012, and its earnings release showed profits plummeted 71% in their third quarter. 12/16
Regulatory
-The SEC brought civil suits against six former top executives at Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae over their actions related to subprime mortgages alleging they knowingly misled investors. 12/17
Market
-J.P. Morgan Chase, George Soros and another hedge fund have snapped up Italian bonds at a discount that were once held by MF Global. 12/13
-World markets fell after investors analyzed the EU summit and found little to cheer. The Dow fell 1.3%, the S&P dropped 1.5%, and Europe was down 1.9%. The yield on 10 year Treasury’s dropped to 2.009%. 12/13
-The Euro fell to its lowest level in close to a year against the dollar on increased concerns the euro zone ahs not done enough to combat the crisis. 12/14
-OPEC met and agreed to hold production steady which sent oil prices down $5.19 a barrel to $94.95. 12/15
-More stress from the European crisis was evident in world markets as the Euro continued to fall against the dollar. Several European banks took measures to fortify themselves. Gold fell $75.60 a troy ounce to $1,584.30. Italian bond spread over German bonds reached a new high. The U.S. 10 year Treasury yield fell again to 1.903%. The Dow and S&P dropped 1.1% and European stocks dropped 2%. 12/15
-It was a pessimistic week on Wall Street as concerns over Europe continued to permeate the markets. The Dow finished down 2.6% for the week, while the S&P sank 2.8%, Japan fell 1.6% and Europe dropped 2.8%. The 10 year Treasury fell to 1.853%. 12/17