Weekly Newsletter September 9th - September 15th

Current Events: Credit a very strong Thursday for last week's big gains in all major U.S. equity indexes, including the Dow Jones, Nasdaq, and S&P. Gold, which has shown some signs of life over the last two months, also had a very strong week in the markets.

What to Look for This Week

All eyes will be on the Fed this week as the U.S. and the world a wait to see if QE3 will take place. Another round of quantitative easing is being heavily debated as many investors worry such drastic measures may hurt the overall health of the U.S. more than it will benefit from the move. While serious discussions will take place this week on the hot topic, it is unlikely that Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will give the go ahead on QE3 this week.

 News Affecting the Markets

 Lackluster August jobs data surprisingly fueled the markets last week as speculation grew that the Federal Reserve may start another round of monetary stimulus. This stir in the markets helped U.S. equities finish modestly higher Friday, following Thursday's massive surge. Such speculation, coupled with relatively favorable progress being made within euro zone, has boosted major indexes to their highest levels in years.

Smart Investing

 Dividend Reinvestment Plans (DRIPS):  Dividend Reinvestment Plans (also known as DRIPS) are investment plans that allow individuals to reinvest dividends and to use dividends to buy more stocks without paying brokerage commissions. Some Dividend Reinvestment Plans allow purchasing additional stocks, also without paying brokerage commissions. Usually Dividend Reinvestment Plans don't charge commissions. On the other hand the company might give you a discount of 2-5%. To sign in to the Dividend Reinvestment Plans you should already have at least one share of the company on your name. Some companies request owning a minimal number of shares in order to sign in to their Dividend Reinvestment Plan. Therefore, you must use a broker to buy the first shares, or buy them directly from the company. Note that not all companies allow direct purchasing. Usually a company that allows direct purchase allows Dividend Reinvestment Plans.

Earnings for the Week

 Monday: No major announcements.

Tuesday: No major announcements.

Wednesday: No major announcements.

 Thursday: No major announcements.

Friday: No major announcements.
* Earnings dates and times are subject to change

Economic Data this Week

Monday

Consumer Credit @ 3:00 PM for July (Est. = $8.0b to $10.0B, Prior = $6.5B)

Tuesday

Trade Balance @ 8:30 AM for July (Est. = -$44.0B to $-46.0B, Actual = -$42.9B)

 Wednesday

MBA Mortgage Index @ 7:00 AM for 09/08 (Est. = n/a, Prior = -2.5%)
Wholesale Inventories @ 10:00 AM for July (Est. = 0.0% to 0.3%, Prior = -0.2%)
Crude Oil Inventories @ 10:30 AM for 09/08 (Est. = n/a, Prior = -7.426M)

 Thursday

Initial Claims @ 8:30 AM for 09/08 (Est. = 369K to 370K, Prior = 365K)

Continuing Claims @ 8:30 AM for 09/01 (Est. = 3315K to 3300K, Prior = 3322K)

PPI @ 8:30 AM for August (Est. = 1.2%, Prior = 0.3%)

FOMC Rate Decision @ 12:30 PM for September (Est. = 0.25%, Prior = 0.25%)

 Friday

Retail Sales @ 8:30 AM for August (Est. = 0.7% to 1.0%, Prior = 0.8%)
CPI @ 8:30 AM for August (Est. = 0.6%, Prior = 0.0%)
Industrial Production @ 9:15 AM for August (Est. = 0.2% to 0.3%, Prior = 0.6%)
Capacity Utilization @ 9:15 AM for August (Est. = 78.9% to 79.2.%, Prior = 79.3%)
Michigan Sentiment @ 9:55 AM for September (Est. = 73.0 to 73.3, Prior = 74.3)
Business Inventories @ 10:00 AM for July (Est. = 0.2% to 0.4%, Prior = 0.1%)