Heading off early next week ahead of the Labor Day weekend? So are many others, including Wall Street traders. As they leave their trading desks, trading volumes can get awfully light. That makes the markets vulnerable — on the upside or the downside — to any news items that are unexpected. With a dearth of corporate news but a boatload of economic releases next week, investors need to stay vigilant. Here’s a look at four key items to watch: 1) On Tuesday, August 30th, we’ll get the latest reading from the monthly Case-Shiller home… Read More
Heading off early next week ahead of the Labor Day weekend? So are many others, including Wall Street traders. As they leave their trading desks, trading volumes can get awfully light. That makes the markets vulnerable — on the upside or the downside — to any news items that are unexpected. With a dearth of corporate news but a boatload of economic releases next week, investors need to stay vigilant. Here’s a look at four key items to watch: 1) On Tuesday, August 30th, we’ll get the latest reading from the monthly Case-Shiller home price index. The data reflects June prices, and this report is coming off a surprisingly robust tally the prior month that showed a +4.6% gain in home prices in May. In fact, this report has looked a tad better for 15 straight months, after bottoming with an -18% drop in February, 2009. Many of those ensuing months were still negative, but less so as time passed. Now, with a string of three straight positive readings, can we keep it up? Any reading above +5.0% would be a real positive for the markets and could boost housing stocks. Then again,… Read More