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 10,270 and, on Monday, the market soared 136 points.
- On Tuesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 30 points.
- On Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 11 points.
- On Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 94 points.
- On Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 14 points and closed the week at 10,318.
- Verizon is planning to lay off more than 1,000 employees in Washington, D.C., Virginia and Maryland.
- Aetna is eliminating 625 jobs and plans to eliminate a similar number next year.
- AOL announced plans to eliminate 2,500 jobs or approximately one-third of its workforce.
- Approximately one million Americans without a job are facing the loss of benefits in January unless Congress extends benefits.
- Over 14% of the mortgages owed by Americans were either in foreclosure or delinquent on their payments at the end of the third quarter of 2009.
- According to Moody’s Economy.com, another wave of foreclosures is on the horizon. Moody’s estimates that there will be 2.4 million homes lost through foreclosure and similar proceedings next year compared with 2 million this year.
- Global Insights reports that housing problems may be worse next year than this year.
- Population growth has slowed dramatically in many suburbs of big cities. The housing crisis and adverse economic conditions are contributing to this slow down.
- USA Today reported that approximately one out of every six Americans had insufficient food during certain periods of 2008.
- USA Today also reported that more and more middle class Americans are filing for bankruptcy.
- More than 14,700 Americans who have offshore bank accounts have taken advantage of the IRS tax leniency program.
- The federal government is creating an interagency task force to fight financial fraud of all types.
- Wells Fargo agreed to repay customers approximately $1.4 billion to settle claims that it improperly sold auction rate securities.
- Chrysler is considering the termination of as many as 145 more dealerships in the U.S.
- Many states are facing a shortage of state police. The shortage has been fueled by two major causes. First, over recent years, many states have failed to add an adequate number of police to keep up with rural growth. Second, current budget problems are forcing states to cut back on the cost of police protection.
- The Postal Service lost $3.8 billion in 2008.
- The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation announced that 124 banks have now been closed this year.
- President Obama expressed concerns that the U.S. may be facing a “double-dip recession.”
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.