Don't Let The Bad Economy Get You Down!
Oct 23, 2009 6:02 pm US/Eastern
Earnings And Housing Dominates Wall Street's Week
NEW YORK (CBS4) ―
Apple, Google and the housing market all helped drive the Dow Jones Industrial average up…and down through the past week. The tech giants reported good earnings, while a mixed bag of housing numbers gave economists pause on whether or not the housing market has truly hit bottom just yet.
Monday, the Dow moved above 10,000 again thanks to solid corporate earnings reports by multiple companies. Apple's stock enjoyed a week-long rally that took the stock above $200 per share. But analysts cautioned that gains from the large companies have been based on cutting costs and not on higher revenues from consumers spending again.
By Tuesday, the housing market reported both good and troubling news. Home construction was up 0.5 percent during the month of September, but that was less than analysts had expected. A new study also warned that home prices are likely to see a double-digit dive through the next year, especially in South Florida.
On Wednesday, the Fed joined in the good news/bad news economic reports. The Fed says there are new signs the recession is ending, but then warned that bad loans on commercial real estate (similar to the bad home loans that recently went belly-up) could be the next big problem for the economy.
Thursday, the government reported new numbers that show there will be more pain for now, as jobless claims rose by 11,000. But, a separate report said that the economic recovery should be well underway by early in 2010. The only question will be whether the recovery is for job seekers, or for companies who have continued to cut back.
And on Friday, the latest housing report showed consumers are rushing to take advantage of the new first-time homebuyer's tax credit of $8,000. Wholesale oil prices ran around $80 a barrel throughout the week. And while the corporate earnings show many companies still struggling, they aren't in as bad of a shape as they were earlier in the year.
CBS4's Donna Thomas contributed to this report
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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