Financial Markets
Stocks rallied Friday, as the Dow rose 156 points for the day, and ended at 12,862, which is the highest close since 2008. The catalyst for the surge in stocks was January’s unemployment report. Nearly a quarter of a million jobs were created in January (243,000 to be more accurate), blowing past estimates of 150,000. Furthermore, November and December’s jobs reports were revised as 160,000 more jobs were created than initially thought. The national unemployment rate dropped from 8.5% to 8.3%, in what has to be considered one of the more favorable job reports in several years. It is a clear signal that the US economy is finally starting to gain momentum.
The bond market, and in particular, mortgage-backed securities are seeing an exodus of investors, as they look to seek juicer returns in stocks. Mortgage rates have gone up by .25% in the past 10 days.
Food for thought: My son is about to lose his tooth. The going rate for an 8yr olds’ tooth appears to be $5. I remembered growing up the Tooth Fairy slipped me a GW under my pillow ($1 bill) for losing my tooth. My parents were over for dinner, so I asked them what they cashed in from the Tooth Fairy, answer was “25 cents”. My grandmother was there as well, her answer….”A nickel”. The trend…The amount multiplies by 4 to 5 every generation. This means my grandkids will get $20 to $25 and my great grand kids, 50 years from now, will get $100 when they lose a tooth! Wonder if I get my kids to reimburse me Tooth Fairy fees if my teeth start falling out when I get old…Who needs social security??
Southern Nevada Real Estate and Economy
S/P Case-Shiller Home Price Index report was released along with predictions from a data contributor, Fiserv. Fiserv predicted another double digit decline in home values for Las Vegas, but predicted that home values will have increased a little more than 5.5% from middle of 2011 to 2016.
Food for thought: My son is about to lose his tooth. The going rate for an 8yr olds’ tooth appears to be $5. I remembered growing up the Tooth Fairy slipped me a GW under my pillow ($1 bill) for losing my tooth. My parents were over for dinner, so I asked them what they cashed in from the Tooth Fairy, answer was “25 cents”. My grandmother was there as well, her answer….”A nickel”. The trend…The amount multiplies by 4 to 5 every generation. This means my grandkids will get $20 to $25 and my great grand kids, 50 years from now, will get $100 when they lose a tooth! Wonder if I get my kids to reimburse me Tooth Fairy fees if my teeth start falling out when I get old…Who needs social security??
