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 9972 and, on Monday, the market fell 104 points.
- On Tuesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rebounded 14 points.
- On Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 119 points.
- On Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 200 points.
- On Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 250 points and closed the week at 9713.
- U.S. Air announced that it was cutting 1,000 jobs.
- American Airlines also plans to cut approximately 700 jobs
- Caterpillar has decided to terminate approximately 2,500 workers that it had previously laid off.
- Bank of America and Citigroup paid 34 executives average compensation in excess of $17 million in 2008. What’s wrong with this picture?
- Economist Andrew Smithers of Smithers & Co. estimates that the S & P 500 Index is approximately 40% over valued and headed for a correction.
- Average daily newspaper circulation has dropped 10.6% in the past year.
- New home sales fell 3.6% in September.
- The Trustee appointed in the Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi Scheme reports that investors losses were $21.2 billion. To date, the Securities Investor Protection Corporation has paid investors $534 million to cover a portion of their losses.
- CNBC lists the “World’s Biggest Debtor Nations” as Ireland, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Austria and France. The United States ranked as the 20th biggest debtor nation.
- Costco announced that it would begin accepting food stamps at stores nationwide.
- Banking regulators closed nine more banks during the past week.
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.