The initial unemployment claims for the week of September 4th were released by the Department of Labor today. Surprisingly, they decreased more than expected—by a total of 27,000—which helped to significantly reduce the 4-week moving average and put investors in a more positive state of mind, especially since the unemployment […]
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The September issue of the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book (a brief, countrywide economic snapshot created eight times per year) was released today. While the report gives a more comprehensive look at the many sectors of economic activity, the overarching theme was that there were some increases in consumer spending and […]
Despite the good economic news investors enjoyed late last week, U.S. markets fell today, the first trading day after the Labor Day holiday weekend. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 106.86 points to 10,341.07 and the Nasdaq lost 24.86 points to close at 2,208.89. The S&P 500 closed at 1,091.85 […]
Covestor Model manager James Hofmann’s Dividend Growth model has not only outperformed the S&P 500 for the past two months, but it has also managed a 9.24 percent return in July. We sat down with James to learn more about his investing decisions and to find out how he finds […]
The Department of Labor released August’s employment numbers on Friday. Overall, August saw a gain of 67,000 jobs in the private sector, a number that exceeded expectations. Although the unemployment rate also increased to 9.6 percent, the news was not devastating because most of that increase was the result of […]
The National Association of Realtors (NAR) released the July results for the Pending Home Sales Index today. Thanks to contracts for home sales signed in July, the index rose 5.2 percent. The chief economist for the NAR said that home sales will still be “soft” in the coming months. This […]
The Institute for Supply Management released their August 2010 manufacturing report today, and the report shows that 11 of 18 total manufacturing industries grew in August. Additionally, PMI (the Purchasing Managers Index) rose to 56.3 in August. PMI is considered an important economic indicator because its number can indicate the […]
Covestor model manager Harsh Nahar takes a bottom up approach to identifying appropriate investments for his Bottom Up Concentrated model. He also looks for positions with price movements created by short-term irrationalities. The top holding in this model is Citigroup Inc (NYSE: C). In 2009, C’s net revenues increased to […]
As always, we’ve got a great list of new Covestor model managers for you to check out. Below you’ll get an overview of their background, model goals and objectives, subscription minimums and top holdings. Be sure to click the links for more detailed information. Raymond Stoudt is a retired Air […]
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) released the results of its second quarter survey of the national banking system today. The report (which you can read in its entirety here) has some good news, including the fact that quarterly earnings at banks are the highest they’ve been in almost three […]
With concerns about a double dip recession rising and economic data showing waxing and waning recovery indicators, many investors are running toward the safety of bonds and bond funds. Covestor model managers understand that bonds and conservative exchange traded funds (ETFs) can offer less risk during downward economic slopes and […]
The Bureau of Economic Analysis released their Personal Income and Outlays report today. In the report, they indicated that consumer spending had increased by .4 percent in July, which was more than analysts expected. The report also notes a .2 percent increase in both personal income and personal disposable income, […]