Locations & Hours Forms Help Desk Contact Us Home Checking & Savings Loans Investments Business Services & Benefits Rates About July Monthly Economic Update THURSDAY, JULY 13, 2017 FSCU Investment Services CUNA Brokerage Services, Inc. Jason M. HealyFinancial Advisor Family Security Credit Union 2204 Family Security Place, SW Decatur, AL 35603 256.340.2018 Office 608.218.2321 Fax jason.healy@cunamutual.com www.myfscu.com/investments MONTHLY ECONOMIC UPDATE MONTHLY QUOTE “Nobody goes undefeated all the time. If you can pick up after a crushing defeat, and go on to win again, you are going to be a champion someday.” - Wilma Rudolph MONTHLY TIP If a car accident leads to a talk with your insurer, do not take blame for the crash, even if you think you were at fault. An investigation may reveal otherwise. Saying you were at fault could prompt a premium increase you might not deserve or a smaller settlement than circumstances merit. MONTHLY RIDDLE What can appear white and yellow at the same time, yet not appear to the world most of the time? Last month’s riddle: Poke your fingers in my eyes and I will open wide my jaws. Linen, hair, or paper, I can reduce it all. What am I? Lastmonth’sanswer: A pair of scissors. July 2017 THE MONTH IN BRIEF June brought some definite headwinds to Wall Street, but the broad stock market still advanced. The S&P 500 added 0.48% across the month, even with tech shares selling off. As anticipated, the Federal Reserve raised the federal funds rate by another quarter point. Last month was a trying one for European stocks as well as oil and many other commodities. The latest round of U.S. economic indicators contained some disappointments; though, manufacturing and home sales surprised to the upside. All in all, increased volatility, terrorist incidents, and political happenings did not have much of an effect on investor confidence.1 DOMESTIC ECONOMIC HEALTH Hours before the June Federal Reserve policy meeting, traders put the odds of a rate hike at 99%. The central bank did not challenge that expectation. On June 14, it took the benchmark interest rate north to a range of 1.00-1.25%. As it did so, it made one unexpected move: it set a rough start date for unwinding its balance sheet. The Federal Open Market Committee’s latest policy statement said that process would begin “this year.” Initially, the Fed plans to let $6 billion in Treasury notes and $4 billion in mortgage bonds mature each month, with the amounts gradually rising to $30 billion per month in Treasuries and $20 billion per month in mortgage-backed securities.2 Judging by the latest reading on the Consumer Price Index, the Fed might have to address low inflation again. The annualized inflation rate fell 0.3% in May to 1.9%, beneath the Fed’s long-established 2% target. Through May, core consumer prices had only advanced 1.7% in a year. In contrast, producer prices were up 2.4% in 12 months, even with the headline Producer Price Index flat in May.3 The Department of Labor’s latest employment report also fell short of expectations. The May job gain was merely 138,000. While the headline jobless rate hit a 16-year low of 4.3%, that was partly due to a reduction in the labor force. The U-6 rate (which measures both unemployment and underemployment) fell to 8.4%, a 10-year low. Wages were up a decent 2.5% in 12 months.4 The Fed rate move and the latest inflation and jobs data did not upset Main Street. The Conference Board’s consumer confidence index, already remarkably high at 117.6 in May, climbed to 118.9 in June. (The University of Michigan’s household sentiment index came in at a final June mark of 95.1, down 2.0 points from the end of May, but up 1.6 points from June 2016.)3,5 Consumer wages were up 0.4% in May according to the Department of Commerce, yet consumer spending rose just 0.1%. May retail sales figures were troubling – overall retail purchases decreased by 0.3%, while core retail sales (minus gas and autos) were flat. Statistics like these did not exactly signal strong second-quarter growth for the economy. Looking back at the first quarter, the Bureau of Economic Analysis upgraded the Q1 GDP number to 1.4% from its previous 1.2% estimate.3 On the factory front, the Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing purchasing manager index rose slightly to 54.9 in May; an index above 50 indicates sector expansion. The Institute’s non-manufacturing PMI, which tracks service sector growth, arrived at a mark of 56.9 in May. Federal government reports showed that industrial output was flat in May, while manufacturing output fell 0.4%. Looking to the near future, durable goods orders slipped 1.1% in May with core orders at just 0.1%.3,6 GLOBAL ECONOMIC HEALTH In the Asia-Pacific region, China saw another increase in manufacturing output. Its official purchasing manufacturer index rose half a point to 51.7 in June; economists surveyed by Reuters had forecast a slight retreat to 51.0. The P.R.C.’s official service sector PMI also strengthened 0.4 points to a mark of 54.9. China’s government estimated its first-quarter growth at 6.9%, topping a recent Reuters poll estimate of 6.8%. The nation’s debt level continued climbing, however – according to a Nomura estimate, it reached 251% of GDP during the first quarter. India was set to institute a new national goods and services tax as part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s financial reforms; business owners feared a near-term economic slowdown preceding Modi’s envisioned boost in government revenues.7,8 Commenting on the eurozone economy in late June, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said “the threat of deflation is gone and reflationary forces are at play,” noting that the region is enjoying “above-trend” expansion. Investors and economists alike took these words as a hint that the ECB would cut back its bond buying this year, perhaps as soon as September; some were worried that the ECB would commit a policy error and make hawkish moves too soon. For the record, euro area inflation ticked down to 1.3% in June per Eurostat’s flash estimate.9,10 WORLD MARKETS June was a rocky month for European equities. All of the major European exchanges gave up ground. The hardest fall among them was taken by the IBEX 35. Spain’s main index lost 3.98% in June. France’s CAC 40 tumbled 3.49%. In London, the FTSE 100 lost 2.84%. The regional FTSE Eurofirst 300 retreated 2.76% as did Russia’s Micex; Germany’s DAX lost 2.17%.11 With its minor June gain, our own S&P 500 also outperformed some other foreign indices. June brought a 1.66% loss for Brazil’s Bovespa, a 1.24% decline for Canada’s TSX Composite, and an 0.76% retreat for India’s Sensex. Some key Asian indices did much better than our broad equity benchmark: Japan’s Nikkei 225 advanced 1.81%; Korea’s Kospi, 2.05%; Taiwan’s TSE 50, 3.35%; China’s Shanghai Composite, 2.60%. Other June gains: Hong Kong’s Hang Seng, 0.24%; Mexico’s Bolsa, 1.18%; Australia’s All Ordinaries, 0.14%; MSCI World, 0.25%; MSCI Emerging Markets, 0.54%.11,12 COMMODITIES MARKETS Many commodity prices fell in June. Three key commodity futures advanced for the month – copper gained 4.46%; wheat, a remarkable 18.56%; soybeans, 2.97%. Beyond that, losses prevailed.13 Sugar took the largest June descent, dropping 15.27%. Cotton stumbled 8.60%; cocoa, 6.81%; unleaded gasoline, 5.99%. Light sweet crude fell 4.73%; WTI crude ended the month at $46.33 a barrel on the NYMEX. Silver sank 4.00% to a June 30 close of $16.57 an ounce. Smaller retreats were taken by coffee (3.06%), platinum (2.57%), gold (2.21%), heating oil (1.80%), the U.S. Dollar Index (1.38%), natural gas (1.27%), and corn (0.40%). When Wall Street’s trading day ended June 30, gold was worth $1,241.40 an ounce.13,14 REAL ESTATE Home sales accelerated again in May. The National Association of Realtors announced a 1.1% gain for resales, partly reversing a 2.5% April retreat. The Census Bureau found new home buying up by 2.9% after a 7.9% dip in the fourth month of the year.3 May saw a notable falloff in groundbreaking and permits for new projects, however. Housing starts weakened 5.5%, according to the Census Bureau, with permits down 4.9%. NAR’s pending home sales index also declined in May – just 0.8% compared to its 1.7% slip in April. While these real estate indicators fell, house prices, more or less, held up. April’s 20-city composite S&P/Case-Shiller home price index (arriving last month) advanced 0.9%, meaning it was up 5.7% on a yearly basis.3 The Federal Reserve has gradually lifted the federal funds rate, but mortgage rates are more affected by 10-year Treasury yields – and as 2017 has proceeded, those yields have not dramatically risen. Between Freddie Mac’s June 1 and June 29 Primary Mortgage Market Surveys, popular home loans grew cheaper. Average interest rates on the 30-year FRM fell from 3.94% to 3.88%, and for the 15-year FRM, rates lessened from 3.19% to 3.17%. Only average rates on the 5/1-year ARM increased across June, rising to 3.17% from 3.11%.15 LOOKING BACK…LOOKING FORWARD The Russell 2000 rallied nicely last month, advancing 3.25% to a June 30 close of 1,415.36. Blue chips also did well – the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1.62% in June, more than tripling the 0.48% rise for the S&P 500. The Dow ended June at 21,349.63; the S&P, at 2,423.41. As institutional investors thinned their holdings in the tech sector, the Nasdaq took a monthly loss of 0.93%, finishing June at 6,140.42. Renewed volatility sent the CBOE VIX 7.40% higher across June; it ended the month at 11.18.16,17,18 % CHANGE Y-T-D 1-YR CHG 5-YR AVG 10-YR AVG DJIA +8.03 +19.07 +13.15 +5.92 NASDAQ +14.07 +26.80 +21.84 +13.59 S&P 500 +8.24 +15.46 +15.58 +6.12 REAL YIELD 6/30 RATE 1 YR AGO 5 YRS AGO 10 YRS AGO 10 YR TIPS 0.58% 0.48% -0.46% 2.65% Sources: barchart.com, bigcharts.com, treasury.gov – 6/30/1718,19,20,21 Indices are unmanaged, do not incur fees or expenses, and cannot be invested into directly. These returns do not include dividends. 10-year TIPS real yield = projected return at maturity given expected inflation. There was no “June swoon” on Wall Street; how will July unfold? Can the market keep grinding higher and dismiss perceptions that it is overvalued? A strong jobs report and encouraging fundamental indicators could reassure investors worried about economic sluggishness. Distinct recession signals seem wholly absent, and 2017 may simply see a repeat of the economic pattern characteristic of the past few years, in which slow first-quarter expansion gives way to improved Q2 and Q3 growth. During the past 30 years, the market has traditionally underperformed in summer compared to other times of the year – but when stocks have done well in the first half of a year, they have tended to upend those low expectations. With bulls still firmly in charge on the Street, July could bring investors some modest gains.22 UPCOMING ECONOMIC RELEASES: Across the rest of July, Wall Street will consider these major economic news items: the Department of Labor’s June employment report (7/7), a new Federal Reserve Beige Book (7/12), the June PPI (7/13), July’s preliminary University of Michigan consumer sentiment index, June retail sales and industrial production, and the June CPI (7/14), June housing starts and building permits (7/19), June existing home sales (7/24), July’s Conference Board consumer confidence index and the May S&P/Case-Shiller home price index (7/25), a new Federal Reserve policy statement and June new home sales (7/26), June durable goods orders (7/27), the federal government’s initial estimate of second-quarter economic growth and the University of Michigan’s final July consumer sentiment index (7/28), and then, June pending home sales (7/31). June consumer spending and consumer income data appears at the start of August. Please feel free to forward this article to family, friends or colleagues. If you would like us to add them to our distribution list, please reply with their address. We will contact them first and request their permission to add them to our list. «RepresentativeDisclosure» This material was prepared by MarketingPro, Inc., and does not necessarily represent the views of the presenting party, nor their affiliates. The information herein has been derived from sources believed to be accurate. Please note - investing involves risk, and past performance is no guarantee of future results. Investments will fluctuate and when redeemed may be worth more or less than when originally invested. This information should not be construed as investment, tax or legal advice and may not be relied on for the purpose of avoiding any Federal tax penalty. This is neither a solicitation nor recommendation to purchase or sell any investment or insurance product or service, and should not be relied upon as such. All market indices discussed are unmanaged and are not illustrative of any particular investment. Indices do not incur management fees, costs and expenses, and cannot be invested into directly. All economic and performance data is historical and not indicative of future results. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is a price-weighted index of 30 actively traded blue-chip stocks. The NASDAQ Composite Index is a market-weighted index of all over-the-counter common stocks traded on the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation System. The Standard & Poor's 500 (S&P 500) is a market-cap weighted index composed of the common stocks of 500 leading companies in leading industries of the U.S. economy. The Russell 2000 Index measures the performance of the small-cap segment of the U.S. equity universe. The CBOE Volatility Index® (VIX®) is a key measure of market expectations of near-term volatility conveyed by S&P 500 stock index option prices. NYSE Group, Inc. (NYSE:NYX) operates two securities exchanges: the New York Stock Exchange (the “NYSE”) and NYSE Arca (formerly known as the Archipelago Exchange, or ArcaEx®, and the Pacific Exchange). NYSE Group is a leading provider of securities listing, trading and market data products and services. The New York Mercantile Exchange, Inc. (NYMEX) is the world's largest physical commodity futures exchange and the preeminent trading forum for energy and precious metals, with trading conducted through two divisions – the NYMEX Division, home to the energy, platinum, and palladium markets, and the COMEX Division, on which all other metals trade. . The IBEX 35 is the benchmark stock market index of the Bolsa de Madrid, Spain's principal stock exchange. The CAC-40 Index is a narrow-based, modified capitalization-weighted index of 40 companies listed on the Paris Bourse. The FTSE 100 Index is a share index of the 100 companies listed on the London Stock Exchange with the highest market capitalization. The FTSE Eurofirst 300 measures the performance of Europe's largest 300 companies by market capitalization and covers 70% of Europe's market cap. The MICEX 10 Index is an unweighted price index that tracks the ten most liquid Russian stocks listed on MICEX-RTS in Moscow. The DAX 30 is a Blue Chip stock market index consisting of the 30 major German companies trading on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. The Bovespa Index is a gross total return index weighted by traded volume & is comprised of the most liquid stocks traded on the Sao Paulo Stock Exchange. The S&P/TSX Composite Index is an index of the stock (equity) prices of the largest companies on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) as measured by market capitalization. The BSE SENSEX (Bombay Stock Exchange Sensitive Index), also-called the BSE 30 (BOMBAY STOCK EXCHANGE) or simply the SENSEX, is a free-float market capitalization-weighted stock market index of 30 well-established and financially sound companies listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). Nikkei 225 (Ticker: ^N225) is a stock market index for the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE). The Nikkei average is the most watched index of Asian stocks. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index or KOSPI is the major stock market index of South Korea, representing all common stocks traded on the Korea Exchange. The FTSE TWSE Taiwan 50 Index consists of the largest 50 companies by full market value, and is also the first narrow-based index published in Taiwan. The SSE Composite Index is an index of all stocks (A shares and B shares) that are traded at the Shanghai Stock Exchange. The Hang Seng Index is a free float-adjusted market capitalization-weighted stock market index that is the main indicator of the overall market performance in Hong Kong. The Mexican Stock Exchange, commonly known as Mexican Bolsa, Mexbol, or BMV, is the only stock exchange in Mexico. The All Ordinaries (XAO) is considered a total market barometer for the Australian stock market and contains the 500 largest ASX-listed companies by way of market capitalization. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index is a float-adjusted market capitalization index consisting of indices in more than 25 emerging economies. The MSCI World Index is a free-float weighted equity index that includes developed world markets, and does not include emerging markets. The US Dollar Index measures the performance of the U.S. dollar against a basket of six currencies. Additional risks are associated with international investing, such as currency fluctuations, political and economic instability and differences in accounting standards. This material represents an assessment of the market environment at a specific point in time and is not intended to be a forecast of future events, or a guarantee of future results. MarketingPro, Inc. is not affiliated with any person or firm that may be providing this information to you. The publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting or other professional services. If assistance is needed, the reader is advised to engage the services of a competent professional. Citations. 1 - money.cnn.com/data/markets/sandp/ [6/30/17] 2 - forbes.com/sites/laurengensler/2017/06/14/fed-raises-rates-june/[6/14/17] 3 - investing.com/economic-calendar/ [6/30/17] 4 - nytimes.com/2017/06/02/business/economy/jobs-report.html [6/2/17] 5 - sca.isr.umich.edu [6/30/17] 6 - tinyurl.com/r8yw9qp [7/3/17] 7 - cnbc.com/2017/06/29/china-manufacturing-accelerates-in-june-with-official-pmi-at-51-point-7-beating-expectations-for-51-point-0.html [6/29/17] 8 - gulfnews.com/business/economy/uncertainty-as-india-s-landmark-new-sales-tax-rolled-out-1.2051987 [7/2/17] 9 - investors.com/news/draghi-drama-undercuts-key-stock-market-support/ [6/29/17] 10 - ec.europa.eu/eurostat [6/30/17] 11 - markets.on.nytimes.com/research/markets/worldmarkets/worldmarkets.asp [6/30/17] 12 - msci.com/end-of-day-data-search [6/30/17] 13 - money.cnn.com/data/commodities/ [6/30/17] 14 - marketwatch.com/investing/index/dxy/historical [6/30/17] 15 - freddiemac.com/pmms/archive.html?year=2017 [7/3/17] 16 - google.com/finance?cid=626307 [6/30/17] 17 - money.cnn.com/quote/quote.html?symb=VIX [6/30/17] 18 - barchart.com/stocks/indices#/viewName=performance [6/30/17] 19 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=DJIA&closeDate=6%2F30%2F16&x=0&y=0 [6/30/17] 19 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=COMP&closeDate=6%2F30%2F16&x=0&y=0 [6/30/17] 19 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=SPX&closeDate=6%2F30%2F16&x=0&y=0 [6/30/17] 19 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=DJIA&closeDate=6%2F29%2F12&x=0&y=0 [6/30/17] 19 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=COMP&closeDate=6%2F29%2F12&x=0&y=0 [6/30/17] 19 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=SPX&closeDate=6%2F29%2F12&x=0&y=0 [6/30/17] 19 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=DJIA&closeDate=6%2F29%2F07&x=0&y=0 [6/30/17] 19 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=COMP&closeDate=6%2F29%2F07&x=0&y=0 [6/30/17] 19 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=SPX&closeDate=6%2F29%2F07&x=0&y=0 [6/30/17] 20 - treasury.gov/resource-center/data-chart-center/interest-rates/Pages/TextView.aspx?data=realyield [6/30/17] 21 - treasury.gov/resource-center/data-chart-center/interest-rates/Pages/TextView.aspx?data=realyieldAll [6/30/17] 22 - marketwatch.com/story/stock-market-poised-to-kick-off-july-4th-week-with-fireworks-of-its-own-2017-06-30 [6/30/17] 07072017-WR-2156 MONTHLY ECONOMIC UPDATE MONTHLY QUOTE “Doubt is not a pleasant condition, but certainty is absurd.” - Voltaire MONTHLY TIP A warning: crooks often try to trick retirees into giving up their personal information with offers of deeply discounted or free medical services. If you receive such an offer, contact the Better Business Bureau to see if the company can be trusted. MONTHLY RIDDLE Poke your fingers in my eyes and I will open wide my jaws. Linen, hair, or paper, I can reduce it all. What am I? Last month’s riddle: It can fit down a chimney when it is down. It has a hard time going down a chimney when it is up. You can hold it with one hand, and make it expand. What is it? Lastmonth’sanswer: An umbrella. June 2017 THE MONTH IN BRIEF May was another good month for stocks. The S&P 500 gained more than 1%, putting its YTD advance above 7.7%. While the housing market showed some spring weakness, hiring bounced back and most other important economic indicators did not falter. Wall Street seemed little troubled by politics, terrorist incidents, data disappointments, or earnings misses. Overseas, stock benchmarks largely advanced, some impressively. Gasoline futures ascended; mortgage rates descended. Both investors and consumers seemed firmly confident.1 DOMESTIC ECONOMIC HEALTH The Department of Labor’s latest employment report showed a rebound in job creation. While March saw just 79,000 net new jobs, that number increased to 211,000 in April. These additions left the main (U-3) jobless rate at 4.4%, a 10-year low. The U-6 rate, including the underemployed, fell 0.3% to 8.6%, another low unseen for nearly a decade. Numbers like these seemed to amount to a green light for a June interest rate hike at the Federal Reserve.2 Later in the month, however, word arrived that the Fed was more cautious about a June hike than some investors assumed. May ended with the Bureau of Economic Analysis revising the Q1 GDP number north by half a percent to 1.2%, but that was still far from impressive. Minutes from the May 2-3 Federal Open Market Committee meeting noted that FOMC members “generally judged that it would be prudent to await additional evidence” of the economy picking up before making another policy move. Still, the Fed futures market had the chance of a June rate increase at 83% in late May.3,4 Consumers were still very confident, according to the two most-watched household sentiment indices; though, those gauges did not go higher in May. The University of Michigan’s index posted an initial May reading of 97.7 and a final May reading of 97.1, leaving it just 0.1 points above its final April mark. Falling 1.5 points, the Conference Board’s index ended the month at 117.9.3 As far as goods and services, the news was generally good. Retail sales advanced 0.4% in April; core retail sales, 0.3%. The fourth month of 2017 saw gains of 0.4% for both personal spending and personal incomes. Hard goods orders were down 0.7% in April, 0.8% minus defense orders.3 The Institute for Supply Management’s purchasing manager index measuring factory growth ticked up 0.1 points to a solid 54.9 in May. Early in May, ISM’s service sector PMI showed an impressive April reading of 57.5, up 2.3 points from March; that was its second-best reading in the past 12 months.5,6 Yearly core consumer inflation dipped under 2% in April. The 1.9% annualized reading on the core Consumer Price Index followed a mere 0.1% April advance for that indicator. Headline consumer inflation was up 0.2% in April, leaving the year-over-year advance for the main CPI at 2.2%. The Producer Price Index rose 0.5% in April, resulting in 2.5% annualized wholesale inflation.3 GLOBAL ECONOMIC HEALTH The economy of the euro area is clearly in better shape than it has been in some time. Unemployment fell to 9.3% in April, which was an 8-year low and nearly a percentage point lower than in April 2016. A 0.4% spike in consumer prices had left annualized inflation at 1.9% in April, as opposed to 0.2% deflation a year earlier; Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Commission, projected inflation moderating to 1.4% in May. The IHS Markit manufacturing PMI for the eurozone was at 56.8 in May, representing a six-year high; Germany’s factory PMI was even higher at 59.4.7,8 As for Chinese manufacturing, the latest news was good. The nation’s official factory and service sector PMIs respectively came in at 51.2 and 54.5 for May; the factory PMI was unchanged from April, while the services PMI rose. These good, if not spectacular, numbers backed up the broad assumptions of economists inside and outside China: the 6.9% growth seen in the year’s first quarter was a nice anomaly. China is officially forecasting 6.5% economic expansion for 2017. Fresh data showed that Japan’s economy grew at the fastest pace in a year in Q1.9,10 WORLD MARKETS Bulls sent many important benchmarks higher in May. In Europe, the FTSE 100 jumped 4.39% for the month; smaller gains were notched by the IBEX 35 (1.53%), DAX (1.42%), FTSE Eurofirst 300 (0.84%), and CAC-40 (0.31%). Russia’s MICEX took a big loss, sliding 5.77%.11 Away from Europe, South Korea’s Kospi had a banner month, surging 6.44%. Argentina’s MERVAL rose nearly that much, advancing 6.14%. Major gains were also made by Hong Kong’s Hang Seng (4.25%) as well as India’s Sensex (4.10%) and Nifty 50 (3.41%). MSCI’s Emerging Markets index added 2.80%; Japan’s Nikkei 225, 2.36%; and Taiwan’s TSE 50, 2.08%. The MSCI World index improved 1.78%. May losses came for Mexico’s Bolsa (0.96%), the Shanghai Composite (1.18%), the TSX Composite (1.52%), Brazil’s Bovespa (2.20%), and Australia’s All Ordinaries (3.13%).11,12 COMMODITIES MARKETS Cocoa futures pulled off the biggest gain among major commodities, rising 10.74% during May. The rest of the ag sector was mixed, with corn rising 2.52%, soybeans down 3.42%, wheat gaining 2.93%, coffee adding 1.78%, cotton surging 6.94%, and sugar sinking 6.36%. On the COMEX, gold closed on May 31 at $1,268.00 after a mere 0.06% May advance. Silver futures rose 1.02% in May to reach $17.32 as the month ended. Platinum futures lost 0.57% for May; copper futures, 0.41%. The U.S. Dollar Index fell 2.08% across the month to 96.98 on May 31.13,14 Crude lost 0.81% for the month on its way to a May 31 NYMEX close of $48.82. Heating oil added 1.78% in May, while natural gas gave back 5.60%. Gasoline futures staged a notable rally, rising 4.59% last month.13 REAL ESTATE Home sales had to cool off at some point in 2017. According to reports from the National Association of Realtors and Census Bureau, the housing market reached that point in April. The NAR reported a 2.3% slip for resales, while the Bureau noted new home sales sliding by 11.4%. April also saw housing starts decline by 2.6%, with permits for future construction down by 2.5%. Pending home sales, tracked by the NAR, declined 1.3% in April.3 The latest 20-city composite S&P/Case-Shiller home price index showed home prices rising 1.0% for March, keeping the yearly gain of the index at 5.9%. The broader national Case-Shiller index was up 5.8% annually through March, its best showing in 33 months.3,15 As for home loans, Freddie Mac’s May 25 Primary Mortgage Market Survey reported average interest rates on mortgage types as follows: 30-year FRM, 3.95%; 15-year FRM, 3.19%; 5/1-year ARM, 3.07%. On April 27, all three mortgage classes were more expensive, bearing the following interest rates: 30-year FRM, 4.03%; 15-year FRM, 3.27%; 5/1-year ARM, 3.12%.16 LOOKING BACK…LOOKING FORWARD During May, the Nasdaq Composite set the pace for the consequential U.S. equity indices. The tech-heavy benchmark rose 2.50% to end the month at 6,198.52. The Dow Industrials improved 0.33% across the month to settle at 21,008.65 on May 31, while the S&P 500 advanced 1.16% to a month-end close of 2,411.80. Small caps stumbled in May – the Russell 2000 fell 2.16% to 1,370.21, leaving it at just +0.96% YTD. The CBOE VIX lost 2.77% to end May at a very low 10.41, and that put the “fear index” down 25.07% on the year.1 % CHANGE Y-T-D 1-YR CHG 5-YR AVG 10-YR AVG DJIA +6.31 +18.11 +13.90 +5.42 NASDAQ +15.15 +25.27 +23.85 +13.80 S&P 500 +7.73 +15.01 +16.81 +5.76 REAL YIELD 5/31 RATE 1 YR AGO 5 YRS AGO 10 YRS AGO 10 YR TIPS 0.40% 0.30% -0.50% 2.54% Sources: barchart.com, bigcharts.com, treasury.gov – 5/31/171,17,18,19 Indices are unmanaged, do not incur fees or expenses, and cannot be invested into directly. These returns do not include dividends. 10-year TIPS real yield = projected return at maturity given expected inflation. The year is certainly going well on Wall Street. All three major indices are on pace for double-digit yearly returns; the Nasdaq Composite just advanced for a seventh straight month, a streak unequaled since 2013. Investors widely expect the Fed to hike this month, so a quarter-point rate move will not serve as any kind of market shock; the goings-on in Washington have not distracted the bulls from buying, either. Perhaps, the calm we have seen on the Street, so far, this spring can last for another month and encourage further gains.20 UPCOMING ECONOMIC RELEASES: Across the balance of June, here are the key data releases to watch: The ISM services PMI and April factory orders (6/5), the May PPI (6/13), an FOMC rate decision, May retail sales, and the May CPI (6/14), May industrial production (6/15), May groundbreaking and building permits and June’s initial University of Michigan consumer sentiment index (6/16), May existing home sales (6/21), May new home sales (6/23), May hard goods orders (6/26), the June Conference Board consumer confidence index (6/27), May pending home sales (6/28), the last estimate of Q1 growth from the federal government (6/29), and, then, the final June University of Michigan consumer sentiment index, the May PCE price index, and the May personal spending report (6/30). Please feel free to forward this article to family, friends or colleagues. 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