20 Jun 2003

Posted at 16:43h in The Friday Brief by
Early this week investors were treated to a very nice surprise when the Federal Reserve reported that manufacturing in New York State expanded considerably more than expected this month.   Orders and sales grew the most since January, bolstering expectations the economy will accelerate in the second half.  The DOW rose 202 points as investors said the report may foreshadow a strengthening in U.S. manufacturing, which contracted from March through May.  The New York results prompted Bear, Stearns & Co. and Lehman Brothers Inc. to raise their forecasts for Thursday's Fed report on factories in the Philadelphia area according to Bloomberg.

13 Jun 2003

Posted at 16:50h in The Friday Brief by
During the next two weeks, as the second quarter comes to a close, we will hear from those corporations who wish to better prepare their shareholders for the actual results they expect to report later in July and August.  The ‘pre-announcement’ season is typically used by corporations to soften the blow of bad earnings news.  Pre-announcements can be vague and, therefore, cause a less a dramatic impact on the stock than the reporting of actual results might.  At this point the companies themselves don’t know their final results, so they must be somewhat vague.

06 Jun 2003

Posted at 15:15h in The Friday Brief by
In nine of the last ten trading days the S&P 500 index has increased.  While two weeks is not a market trend, as the market is random in the short-term, it surely makes people feel better.  On the anecdotal side, my conversations with clients, friends, and business associates have unanimously confirmed a growing optimism about the economy.  Government statistics remain mixed, but are showing signs of improvement. 

30 May 2003

Posted at 15:17h in The Friday Brief by
The S&P has risen five of the past six days or 3.3%, as investors demonstrate more optimism about this country’s economy.  Investor optimism continued to be fueled this week with several positive economic reports.  The first came on Tuesday as the Conference Board reported that consumer confidence in theU.S.rose in May to its highest level in six months.  The confidence index rose to 83.8 in May from 81 in April, the second consecutive monthly increase as energy prices fell and the stock market rose.  An index in the report that measures consumers' attitudes about conditions six months from now rose from 84.8 to 94.4, the highest level since September of last year.