{"id":2732,"date":"2010-06-12T07:10:11","date_gmt":"2010-06-12T12:10:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/?p=2732"},"modified":"2010-06-12T11:07:28","modified_gmt":"2010-06-12T16:07:28","slug":"the-weekly-market-snapshot-from-frazier-allen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/2010\/06\/12\/the-weekly-market-snapshot-from-frazier-allen\/","title":{"rendered":"The Weekly Market Snapshot from Frazier Allen"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Market Commentary by Scott J. Brown, Ph.D., Chief Economist for Raymond James Investment Services<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\"Scott<\/a>

Scott J. Brown Ph.D., Chief Economist Raymond James Investment Services<\/p><\/div>\n

The economic data were generally soft, consistent with a lackluster-to-moderate pace of economic growth. The Federal Reserve\u2019s Beige Book noted that \u201ceconomic activity continued to improve since the last report,\u201d although most Fed districts described the pace of growth as \u201cmodest.\u201d Retail sales were much weaker than anticipated, falling by 1.2% in May, down 1.1% excluding autos. Weakness was concentrated in building materials, which could reflect the acceleration in March and April (due to the pending expiration of the homebuyer tax credit). Ex-autos, building materials and gasoline, sales edged up 0.1% following a 0.2% decline in April.<\/p>\n

The stock market mood remained negative, with plenty of intraday volatility. However, Chinese export data suggested that the European debt crisis has not had a major impact on foreign trade. Global equity markets improved on that news and short-covering may have exaggerated the impact in the United States. The disappointing retail sales figures dampened the mood again on Friday.<\/p>\n

Next week, there will be plenty of economic data, but none of the reports seems likely to significantly alter \u2013 or add much clarity to \u2013 the overall economic outlook. Core inflation figures are expected to have remained low in May.<\/p>\n

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Indices<\/h3>\n\n\n<\/col>\n<\/col>\n<\/col>\n<\/col>\n<\/col>\n<\/colgroup>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\u00a0<\/th>\nLast<\/th>\nLast Week<\/th>\nYTD return %<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
DJIA<\/td>\n10172.53<\/td>\n10255.28<\/td>\n-2.45%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
NASDAQ<\/td>\n2218.71<\/td>\n2303.03<\/td>\n-2.22%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
S&P 500<\/td>\n1086.84<\/td>\n1102.83<\/td>\n-2.53%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
MSCI EAFE<\/td>\n1354.77<\/td>\n1374.52<\/td>\n-14.30%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Russell 2000<\/td>\n639.79<\/td>\n667.37<\/td>\n2.30%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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Consumer Money Rates<\/h3>\n\n\n<\/col>\n<\/col>\n<\/col>\n<\/colgroup>\n\n\n\n\n\n
\u00a0<\/th>\nLast<\/th>\n1-year ago<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
Prime Rate<\/td>\n3.25<\/td>\n3.25<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Fed Funds<\/td>\n0.25<\/td>\n0.25<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
30-year mortgage<\/td>\n4.84<\/td>\n5.74<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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Currencies<\/h3>\n\n\n<\/col>\n<\/col>\n<\/col>\n<\/colgroup>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\u00a0<\/th>\nLast<\/th>\n1-year ago<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
Dollars per British Pound<\/td>\n1.466<\/td>\n1.633<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Dollars per Euro<\/td>\n1.208<\/td>\n1.399<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Japanese Yen per Dollar<\/td>\n91.060<\/td>\n98.210<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Canadian Dollars per Dollar<\/td>\n1.033<\/td>\n1.111<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Mexican Peso per Dollar<\/td>\n12.744<\/td>\n13.636<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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Commodities<\/h3>\n\n\n<\/col>\n<\/col>\n<\/col>\n<\/colgroup>\n\n\n\n\n
\u00a0<\/th>\nLast<\/th>\n1-year ago<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
Crude Oil<\/td>\n75.48<\/td>\n71.33<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Gold<\/td>\n1224.45<\/td>\n952.93<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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Bond Rates<\/h3>\n\n\n<\/col>\n<\/col>\n<\/col>\n<\/colgroup>\n\n\n\n\n\n
\u00a0<\/th>\nLast<\/th>\n1-month ago<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
2-year treasury<\/td>\n0.74<\/td>\n0.79<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
10-year treasury<\/td>\n3.25<\/td>\n3.47<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
10-year municipal (TEY)<\/td>\n4.68<\/td>\n4.83<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n