Blog Post

This Thanksgiving Week Not a Turkey For the Markets

This Thanksgiving week ended up not being a turkey as stock indices closed substantially higher with the small company Russell 2000 outperforming on vaccine hopes.   

Treasury yields fell with the 30-year bond yield at 1.576% and the 10-Year note at 0.846%.  Crude oil rose to $45.52 a barrel and natural gas rose to $2.851 per MMBTUs.  The U.S. dollar index fell to 91.81 and gold prices fell to $1790.70 an ounce. 

In the economic numbers this week: 

  • The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller National Home Price Index was 7% higher in September than September 2019.
  • CPB Netherlands Bureau of Economic Policy Analysis reported that global trade flows increased 12.5% in the third quarter.  China has led the rebound increasing its share of exports which are only 2% lower than at thee end of 2019.
  • The Commerce Department reported
    • Imports rose 2.2% to $206.3B and exports rose 2.8% to $126B in October. 
    • Consumer spending rose 0.5% in October.
    • Household income fell 0.7% in October.
    • Durable goods orders rose 1.3% in October from a revised 2.1% rise in September.  Excluding aircraft and military goods, which is a measure of business investment, rose 0.7% in October following a revised 1.9% in September.
  • The Labor Department reported:
    • A seasonally adjusted 778,000 workers filed initial claims for unemployment in the week ending November 21st up 30,000 from a revised 748,000 the week before as virus restrictions created more layoffs.
    • The four week moving average of initial claims designed to smooth out weekly volatility rose 5,000 to 748,500.

Source: Department of Labor

    • Continuing claims for regular unemployment fell from 6.4M M to 6.1MM in the week ending November 14th.
    • A broader measure of claims including extended benefits, pandemic assistance and other programs rose from  20.3MM to 20.5MM as of November 7th.
    • For the full report go here:  https://www.dol.gov/ui/data.pdf .
  • The EIA weekly oil report is here http://ir.eia.gov/wpsr/wpsrsummary.pdf .  Also, the EIA reported in the past week:
    • Field production of crude oil was rose from 10.9MM barrels per day to 11.0MM barrels per day.
    • Natural gas storage fell 18BN cubic feet and is above the average level at this time of year during the past five years.
  • Baker Hughes reported the number of active oil rigs rose 10 to 241.  The number of active natural gas rigs rose 1 to 77.

Please call us if you have any questions. 

Best Regards,

Loren C. Rex, CFP®, AIF®, MA                                                   Erik A Smith AIF®

President                                                                                        Managing Partner

Generations Financial Planning & Wealth Management     269-441-4143

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Battle Creek, MI  49017

Tel 269-441-4090

Carrie Fuce, Assistant 269-441-4091

Toll Free: 800-513-8180

Fax 866-381-2301

Visit our Website:  www.genfinplan.com

Registered Representative of and securities offered through Cambridge Investment Research, Inc., a Broker/Dealer, Member FINRA/SIPC.  Investment Advisor Representative, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc., a Registered Investment Advisor.  Cambridge and Generations Financial Planning & Wealth Management are separate companies and are not affiliated. 

These are the opinions of Loren Rex and Erik Smith and are not necessarily those of Cambridge, are for informational purposes only, and should not be construed or acted upon as individualized investment advice.  The Indices mentioned are unmanaged and cannot be invested into directly.

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