Last Week’s Economic Headlines

• Existing home sales continued to increase in October, according to the National Association of Realtors®. Sales of existing homes (all types) were at an annual rate of 5.48 million in October, up 2.0% from September’s rate. Single-family existing home sales climbed 2.1% for the month. The median existing-home price for all housing types in October was $247,000, up 5.5% from October 2016 ($234,100). The median existing single-family home price was $248,300 in October, up 5.4% from October 2016. Total housing inventory at the end of October decreased 3.2% to 1.80 million existing homes available for sale, which is 10.4% lower than a year ago (2.01 million) and has fallen year-over-year for 29 consecutive months. Unsold inventory is at a 3.9-month supply at the current sales pace, which is down from 4.4 months a year ago.

• October saw new orders for long lasting (durable) goods slide following two consecutive monthly increases. New orders for manufactured durable goods decreased $2.8 billion, or 1.2%, in October. Transportation equipment, also down following two consecutive monthly increases, drove the decrease. Excluding transportation, new orders actually increased 0.4%. Manufacturers shipped more goods in October, while the number of unfilled orders remained relatively the same as in September.

• In the week ended November 18, the advance figure for initial claims for unemployment insurance was 239,000, a decrease of 13,000 from the previous week’s level, which was revised up by 3,000. The advance insured unemployment rate rose slightly to 1.4%. The advance number of those receiving unemployment insurance benefits during the week ended November 11 was 1,904,000, an increase of 36,000 from the previous week’s level, which was revised up 8,000.

Eye on the Week Ahead

The last week of November reveals some important economic information. The second report on the third-quarter GDP is out this week. The initial estimate in October showed the GDP increased at a 3.0% annualized growth rate. Also revealed this week is the report on personal income and spending for October. This indicator of inflationary trends is one of the economic reports relied on by the Fed in determining whether to raise interest rates.

Data sources: News items are based on reports from multiple commonly available international news sources (i.e. wire services) and are independently verified when necessary with secondary sources such as government agencies, corporate press releases, or trade organizations. Market data: Based on data reported in WSJ Market Data Center (indexes); U.S. Treasury (Treasury yields); U.S. Energy Information Administration/Bloomberg.com Market Data (oil spot price, WTI Cushing, OK); www.goldprice.org (spot gold/silver); Oanda/FX Street (currency exchange rates). All information is based on sources deemed reliable, but no warranty or guarantee is made as to its accuracy or completeness. Neither the information nor any opinion expressed herein constitutes a solicitation for the purchase or sale of any securities, and should not be relied on as financial advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. All investing involves risk, including the potential loss of principal, and there can be no guarantee that any investing strategy will be successful.

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Prepared by Broadridge Investor Communication Solutions, Inc. Copyright 2017