All the news you need to stay informed about what’s currently driving the market – courtesy of Raffa Wealth Management, LLC.
US markets ended the week at another record closing on positive economic news as the Dow surged past the 15,000 level. The S&P 500 and Dow rose 1.0% for the week. Japan rocketed up 6.7% over the week on the country’s easy money policies and Europe increased 1.3%. The 10 year Treasury yield rose to 1.90%. Article
Germany’s DAX index was the first European index to move into record territory since the financial crisis.
Junk bond yields have fallen below 5% for the first time ever as investors hungry for yield have bid up the prices of the low credit quality securities. Article
The dollar rallied against many currencies over the week. It rose to 102 Yen, its highest level since October 2008, even with the Australian dollar for the first time since June and hit its highest level against the euro in a month.
Mortgage rates have fallen back near their November lows as the average 30 year fixed mortgage rate stands at 3.35%.
Jobless claims fell to their lowest level since November 2007 prior to the great recession. Article
Walt Disney, News Corp, Groupon and Toyota all issued positive financials over the week.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac has benefited from the housing rebound as they both posted near record profits. Fannie Mae announced it would make a $59.4 billion dividend payment to the Treasury. Article
Philip Falcone, the renowned hedge fund manager, agreed to a settlement with the SEC that calls for him to be sidelined from the securities industry for two years as a result of civil fraud charges that were brought against the manager and his firm Harbinger. He plans to return investors money, liquidating his funds.
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