September’s Market volatility extends into October
Clarksville, TN – The two weeks of trading this month took investors on a wild ride. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, for example, posted its biggest point gain and loss back to back for the first time since 1997, according to the Wall Street Journal
Last Tuesday’s 273-point “Dow Dive” was reversed by Wednesday’s 275-point “Dow Wow.” But then the Dow slumped again, dropping 335 points on Thursday.
Frazier Allen
Hankook Tire Held Groundbreaking Ceremony on Clarksville Tennessee Plant; First in the United States
Hankook Tire broke ground for the new Tennessee Plant as the first U.S.-based production facility, expected to be completed by 2016.
Clarksville, TN – Hankook Tire, the leading and one of the fastest growing tire companies in the world, held a groundbreaking ceremony today for its new United States plant based in Clarksville, Tennessee.
The Tennessee Plant is Hankook Tire’s eighth global production base and the first U.S.-based facility. Tennessee Governor, Bill Haslam and various local and state officials as well as media representatives.
Hankook Tire executives and VIP guests break ground on the new facility
Clarksville Weekly Market Snapshot from Frazier Allen for the week of October 7th, 2014
Clarksville, TN – There were plenty of economic data reports, but the financial markets mostly obsessed about other things (quarter–end positioning, soft global growth, geopolitical tensions, Ebola). The headline figures from the employment report were better than expected, a positive for stocks and a negative for bonds.
Nonfarm payrolls rose by 248,000 in September, while the two previous months were revised a net 69,000 higher. Some of the strength reflected a rebound from special factors that had reduced the August total.
Frazier Allen
Quarterly gains endure September’s volatility
Clarksville, TN – September reinforced its reputation as one of the worst months for stocks. The S&P 500, for example, dropped 1.5%. Thankfully, the declines over the past two weeks weren’t enough to entirely erase the gains we have seen over the past quarter.
In fact, the broad-market index, which reached a record high on September 18th, just managed to post its seventh straight quarterly gain.
Frazier Allen
Valvoline Complete Car Care goes “pink” for Breast Cancer awareness
Clarksville, TN – The next time you drive down Wilma Rudolph Boulevard, you might notice the color scheme on the building of the Valvoline Complete Car Care Center.
Pink!
October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, and in a campaign to raise awareness to the fight against cancer, Valvoline painted their building pink.
Candace Ursery, President of Convenient Car Care Inc., who owns the Valvoline franchise in Clarksville explains their promotion:
Valvoline Complete Car Care on Wilma Rudolph Boulevard paints it’s building “pink” for Breast Cancer awareness Month.
Clarksville Weekly Market Snapshot from Frazier Allen for the week of September 28th, 2014
Clarksville, TN – The economic data were mixed. The estimate of second quarter gross domestic product (GDP) growth was revised upward from 4.2% to 4.6%, as expected.
Existing home sales fell in August, reflecting a decline in speculators (i.e., fewer all-cash transactions). New home sales surged 18.9%, but that likely reflects the usual volatility in the data.
Durable goods orders fell 18%, reflecting an unwinding of July’s sharp spike in civilian aircraft orders. The three-month averages of shipments and orders for nondefense capital goods (ex-aircraft) suggest good strength in business fixed investments.
Frazier Allen
Clarksville Tennessee Top Ten City for Millennials looking for Bigger Paychecks
Clarksville, TN – Of the top 10 cities the Millennial Generation is looking to for bigger paychecks, Middle Tennessee lands two – Clarksville at 6 and Nashville at 10.
“Our dedication to recruit higher paying jobs and to create a top-rated quality of life, both of which are attractive to a young, educated workforce, is a driving force behind us making this list,” said Cal Wray, Executive Director of the Clarksville-Montgomery County Economic Development Council.
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Clarksville Weekly Market Snapshot from Frazier Allen for the week of September 21st, 2014
Clarksville, TN – Fed policymakers reduced the monthly pace of asset purchases (QE3) by another $10 billion, to $15 billion, on track to finish buying at the end of October. The Fed repeated that “it likely will be appropriate to maintain the current target range for the federal funds rate for a considerable time after the asset purchase program ends.”
Fed officials’ projections of the appropriate year-end federal funds target rate indicated that most expect to begin raising short-term interest rates sometime in 2015, but there was a wide range in the individual forecasts (and implicitly, in their expectations of when rates will start to rise – with most spread roughly evenly between March and September).
Frazier Allen
Clarksville Weekly Market Snapshot from Frazier Allen for the week of September 14th, 2014
Clarksville, TN – The economic data calendar was thin. Retail sales rose as expected in August. However, the figures for June and July were revised higher.
While the pace of consumer spending growth does not appear to be especially strong into 3Q14, it’s not terrible weak either (and certainly not as bad as the data suggested a month ago). Financial market participants didn’t seem to care much about the retail sales data.
Global anxieties receded a bit as the “no” vote for Scottish independence regained an upper hand in the polls. The markets didn’t react much to President Obama’s call for military action in the Middle East.
Frazier Allen
Clarksville Weekly Market Snapshot from Frazier Allen for the week of September 7th, 2014
Clarksville, TN – The economic data were mixed. ISM surveys were stronger than expected. Unit auto sales rocketed to a 17.4 million seasonally adjusted annual rate, the strongest pace since January 2006.
The Fed’s Beige Book, the summary of anecdotal economic information from the 12 Federal Reserve districts, was essentially more of the same (growth described as “modest to moderate”). The August Employment Report was disappointing.
Frazier Allen
