There have been various developments over the past several weeks which investors may consider relevant in allocating their resources or evaluating alternatives that are available to them. Some of the more significant developments include, but are not limited to, the following:
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average opened the week at 9321 and, on Monday, dropped 186 points.
- On Tuesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 83 points.
- On Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 61 points.
- On Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 37 points.
- On Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 156 points and closed the week at 9506.
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average broke 9500 for the first time since November, 2008. Part of the jump was attributed to positive remarks about the economy made by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke.
- The unemployment rate rose in 26 states in July but improved slightly in 17 states. Sixteen states currently have unemployment rates above 10%.
- Unemployment problems are not limited to the U.S. China reportedly have 12 million people unemployed.
- Three more banks were closed by banking regulators bringing the yearly total to 81. One of the closed banks, Guaranty Bank of Austin, Texas, was the second biggest bank to fail this year.
- Government officials warned that the H1N1 swine flu could become severe enough to create serious disruptions for businesses.
- Commercial real estate values fell 27% in the first six months of 2009.
- The delinquency rate of U.S. mortgage loans hit an all-time high in the second quarter of 2009; 9.24% of outstanding mortgages were delinquent and another 4% were in foreclosure. Unfortunately, the news continues to get worse. Foreclosure filings in July were up 7% and were 32% higher than in July, 2008.
- Sales of existing homes reached the highest level in two years in July while median home prices continue to fall.
- The three billion dollar “cash for clunkers” program ends next Monday and has clearly given a boost to automakers.
- Millions of retired Americans will apparently not see their social security checks increase next year. This would be the first time since 1975 that payments have not risen.
- During the past twelve months, banks and credit card companies have cut the credit limits on approximately one-third of all outstanding cards.
- Credit card defaults hit record highs during the second quarter of 2009. Credit card defaults reached 9.6% during the quarter. Credit card defaults are deemed to occur when credit card companies give up on trying to collect the debt.