All the news you need to stay informed about what’s currently driving the market – courtesy of Raffa Wealth Management, LLC.
US stocks rose over the week on positive earnings and economic reports. The Dow hit a record high during the week and rose 0.9% while the S&P 500 was up 0.95%. Abroad, Europe gained 1.3% and Japan edged up 0.2%. The 10 year Treasury ended at 2.59%, its lowest level in three months. Article
The April Jobs reports bear expectations with 288,000 new jobs being added. In addition, the March and April reports were revised higher so that the three month average has been 238,000, well above last year’s pace, and the unemployment rate ticked down from 6.7% to 6.3%. The total payroll level is just short of reaching the all time high set in early 2008. However, the labor force participation rate dipped again and wages remain stagnate despite the increased hiring. Article
US GDP barely was positive for the first quarter posting a 0.1% growth rate. The number was likely down on the adverse winter weather experienced over much of the country. The number fell well below expectations of 1.1%. Article
The Fed agreed to continue to reduce its support for the economy by lowering its bond buying by another $ 10 billion. They felt the economy was improving and recent numbers were hit by rough winter weather.
US manufacturing picked up steam in April for the third straight month and reached the highest level since December.
US auto sales rose in April.
A miscommunication at Bank of America caused the firm to cancel their share buyback and dividend increase as they overstated their capital reserves by $4 billion.
Berkshire Hathaway’s and Twitter posted earnings that disappointed.
Power company Exelon agreed to buy Pepco for $6.8 billion to expand its footprint to the mid-Atlantic.
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