All the news you need to stay informed about what’s currently driving the market – courtesy of Raffa Wealth Management, LLC.
US stocks posted their fourth straight week of gains on generally solid economic news. The S&P 500 gained 1.2% and the Dow climbed 1.6% for the week. Internationally, Japan rose 1.4% and Europe edged up 0.3% for the week. The yield on the 10 year Treasury ticked up for the week ending at 2.37%. Article
The September jobs report surprised to the downside with a loss of 33,000 jobs, the first decline in seven years. In addition, August and July were revised and resulted in a decline of 38,000 jobs. On the positive side the unemployment rate fell to 4.2% its lowest level since early 2001 while the labor force participation rate expanded 0.2% to 63.1%. Wage growth also jumped to 2.9%a breakout from the recent increases seen in recent months. However, all of the data was likely impacted significantly by Hurricanes Irma and Maria. Article
Manufacturing activity reached a 13 year high in September, well outpacing economists’ expectations.
Auto sales hit their fastest pace of 2017 in September, climbing 6.1%, driven by replacing storm damaged vehicles.
Berkshire Hathaway purchased approximately 40% of Pilot and Flying J truck stops in a bet on us economic growth.
Yahoo’s hacking scandal was worse than originally let on with all 3 billion accounts with the firm impacted.
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