There have been various developments over the past several weeks which investors may consider relevant in allocating their resources or evaluating alternatives that are available to them. Some of the more significant developments include, but are not limited to, the following:
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average opened the week at 9,713 and, on Monday, the market jumped 77 points.
- On Tuesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 18 points.
- On Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 30 points.
- On Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 204 points.
- On Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 17 points and closed the week at 10,023.
- Unemployment in the U.S. reached 10.2% in October as 190,000 workers were dropped from payrolls. Meanwhile, the so-called underemployment rate reached 17%.
- The unemployment rate for teenage Americans has hit an astounding 27.6%. As unemployment rates have soared across all age groups, many adults are seeking jobs that have traditionally been held by teenagers.
- Johnson & Johnson announced that it was cutting up to 8,000 jobs.
- Nokia Siemens Networks said it will lay off as many as 5,700 members of its global workforce.
- HSBC Holdings PLC reported that it will eliminate 1,700 jobs in the U.K.
- British Airways plans to slash 3,000 more jobs.
- More than 5 million workers have been looking for a job for six months or longer.
- Congress agreed to extend unemployment benefits for approximately two million people who have been out of work for one year or longer. The action extends benefits for 14 weeks to those who have exhausted federal benefits.
- Various reports released this week suggest that the economy is improving. Reports on pending home sales, manufacturing activity and construction spending were all better than expected.
- USA Today reports that more and more homeowners are walking away from their homes and turning them over to mortgage lenders. Last year approximately 588,000 homeowners walked away from their homes and the number is expected to increase. At present over 16 million homeowners owe more on their homes than the homes are worth and as many as 25 million homeowners are expected to be in this position by 2011.
- Fannie Mae is seeking an additional $15 billion in financing from the government after reporting a third quarter loss of $18.9 billion.
- Congress approved an extension of the tax credit for home purchases through April 30, 2010.
- Federal authorities charged 14 people in a widening insider trading case related to hedge fund operator the Galleon Group.
- JPMorgan Chase agreed to pay $700 million to settle charges brought by the SEC that it made illegal payments to procure municipal bond business in Alabama.
- The U.K.’s financial Regulator, the Financial Services Authority, fined UBS $13.3 million for unauthorized trading in customers’ accounts.
- A former portfolio manager at Jefferies Group was indicted for insider trading.
- New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo charged Intel with violating antitrust laws.
- Five more banks were shuttered this week bringing the yearly total to 120.
Page Perry’s Market Monitor is published periodically to give investors an overview of certain recent developments impacting the economy and/or the investment markets.