Seven Things You Should Know 9/23/09

Seven Things You Should Know
October 23rd 2009

1. The trailing 10-year total return for the S&P 500 as of the end of 2008 was negative, the first time this had occurred at the end of a calendar year since 1939. (source: BTN Research)

2. The actual results for fiscal year 2009 (i.e., the 12 months ending 9/30/09) were $2.1 trillion of tax receipts and $3.5 trillion of government spending, producing a $1.4 trillion deficit. (source: Treasury Dep’t).

3. In the first 9 months of 2009, the total market value of all US stocks increased by $2.0 trillion, reaching $12.6 trillion on 9/30/09. Stock values fell by $7.1 trillion during 2008. (source: Wilshire)

4. The weighting of the Financial sector in the S&P 500 has made a huge move since the March lows. After being the biggest sector of the market for six years in a row, the weight of the Financials dropped all the way down to 8.9% (6th place) on March 9th, 2009. After the recent rally we've had, the Financial sector has nearly doubled its weight to 15%, and it now ranks 2nd behind the Technology sector (18.8%). (source: Bespoke Investment Group)

5. Existing-home sales – including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops – jumped 9.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.57 million units in September from a level of 5.10 million in August, and are 9.2 percent higher than the 5.10 million-unit pace in September 2008. (source: NAR)

6. On the economic calendar next week: Case-Shiller Home Price Index, Durable Goods and New Home Sales.

7. Earnings reports on tap for next week include Verizon, Corning, E*Trade, Valero, Visa, Goldfields, Met Life and Sprint Nextel.

Have a great weekend!

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