2024 Week 36

1. Market Performance

• S&P 500: Finished the week fractionally higher, just below its mid-July record
• Dow Jones: Gained about 1%, reaching a new record high
• NASDAQ: Fell around 1%
• August Overview: S&P 500 up over 2%, Dow added nearly 2%, NASDAQ almost 1% higher

2. Economic Indicators

• GDP: Q2 growth revised up to 3.0% from 2.8%
• Inflation: PCE Index (ex. energy and food) rose 2.6% annually in July
• Eurozone Inflation: Fell to 2.2% in August, lowest in about three years
• Employment: July unemployment rate at 4.3%, highest in nearly three years
• Consumer Sentiment: University of Michigan index rose slightly

3. Federal Reserve and Monetary Policy

• September 17-18 Fed meeting expected to produce first rate cut in over 4 years
• Market split between expectations of 25 or 50 basis point cut

4. Credit and Debt Trends

• Credit card debt hit record $1.14 trillion in Q2
• 11% of credit card balances 90+ days delinquent, highest since 2012
• Commercial property foreclosures reached $20.55 billion in Q2

5. Commodities and Currency

• Gold futures reached record levels, briefly topping $2,560 per ounce
• Gold price around $2,535, up about 23% year-to-date
• Gas prices down 10% year-over-year

6. Notable Investor Moves

• Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway: Cash pile at all-time high of $277 billionfold nearly half of Apple position25% of assets in cash, highest since 2004

7. Investor Sentiment

• Investors Intelligence Index: Bulls percentage dropped from 64.2% to 46.9% in two weeks

8. Looking Ahead

• August jobs report expected on Friday
• Fed's Jackson Hole symposium upcoming
• Q2 earnings reports from major retailers