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:
- On Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rocketed up 936 points, its largest gain ever.
- On Tuesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 76 points.
- On Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 733 points.
- On Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 401 points.
- The U.S Treasury Department committed $250 billion to buy stock in banks, including 9 of the biggest financial institutions in the United States.
- New York City may lose as many as 165,000 jobs as a result of the credit crisis.
- Top executives of American International Group spent thousands of dollars during a recent English hunting trip while AIG was asking for an additional $37.8 billion loan from the Federal Reserve.
- American International Group, which has borrowed another $12 billion in emergency funding in the past week, has agreed to curb millions of dollars of spending on exotic trips and benefits for executives.
- Housing starts fell more than forecast in September; construction of single family homes dropped to the lowest level in a quarter century.
- The New York Times has reported that Warren Buffett says he is buying U.S. stocks for his personal account.
- General Motors announced plans to lay off an additional 1,600 workers at three factories.
- Social Security benefits are scheduled to increase by 5.8% next year. This increase would mean an additional $63/month for the average retiree.
- The credit crunch has significantly reduced the charitable giving by many large banks and corporations.
- Several regional banks have reported weak third quarter results. Comerica and First Horizon National, among others, reported disappointing results.
- Oil prices dropped below $70/barrel for the first time in 16 months.
- Various well known experts, including former Federal Reserve Chairman, Paul Volcker, believe that the United States in confronting a deep recession.
- While retail stores suffer declining sales as a result of the credit crisis, many malls are also facing serious problems. Sharp jumps in store vacancies could force closures of many such malls and result in the loss of many additional jobs.
- Experts believe that “the worst is yet to come” in the retail sector. Slumping sales and prospects for a dismal holiday season could result in many more retail failures in 2009.
- Consumer purchases fell 1.2% in September; this was the third straight monthly decline in consumer purchases.
- After suffering its most recent quarterly loss, Citigroup shed another 11,000 jobs.
- The Federal Reserve has reported that banks have borrowed record amount of money from its emergency lending facility over the past week.
- Southwest will cut back flights after reporting its recent quarterly loss.
- The average interest rate on 30 year fixed rate mortgages rose to 6.46% this week, up from 5.94% last week.
- The International Air Transport Association reports that premium airline traffic is down 15%.
- Coca Cola reported a 14% jump in third quarter profits.
- Google reported a profit of $4.92/share in the third quarter which was much higher than expected by analysts.
- Honeywell’s profit rose 16%.
- Both Citigroup and Merrill Lynch reported substantial losses as a result of the ongoing credit crisis.
- Southwest Airlines reported its first loss in 17 years; Southwest lost $120 million in its most recent quarter.
- Pepsi posted a lower than expected third quarter profit.
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.