19 Nov 2004

Posted at 16:35h in The Friday Brief by
Stocks on average were slightly down this week and headed for the first down week in four.  Fears about inflation fanned by the Producer Price Index on Tuesday and the Consumer Price Index on Wednesday weighed on investor enthusiasm.  Mid-week, however, Housing, Industrial Production, and growth in jobs provided good news, lifting stock prices.

30 Apr 2004

Posted at 16:33h in The Friday Brief by
The country’s gross domestic product grew at 4.2% in the first quarter of this year led by consumer spending and business investment in office equipment and software.  The report also showed that inflation rose the most since mid-2001. The number of Americans filing for unemployment insurance for the first time fell to a three-year low while employment costs rose, pushed by the largest jump in benefit costs in twenty years.