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Weekly Review | Mar 1 to Mar 5

Market Indices

Index	Mar 1, 2010	Mar 5, 2010	Change	Percent
DJIA	10326.10	10566.20	240.1	+2.33
Nasdaq	2247.40	2326.35	78.95	+3.51
S&P500	1105.36	1138.70	33.34	+3.02
Russell 2000	630.61	666.02	35.41	+5.62
Russell 1000	493.59	508.92	15.33	+3.11

Equity Review

On the back of some good economic news, which included an increase in both the manufacturing and service sectors, the S&P 500 index closed up 3.1% for the week ending at 1138.70. Ford Motors outsold GM in February for the first time in 50 years in sales of cars and light trucks, now up 43% over the same period a year ago. Costco Wholesale reported second quarter sales increased by 25% over last year, crediting the gain to expanding international sales. Atlantic Tele-Networks reported fourth quarter EPS of $0.52 versus consensus of $0.69. The company fell in early trading by almost 9% but closed down less than 3% by the end of trading. Ross store reported February same store sales up 11% versus consensus of an increase of 6.1%. The Wall Street Journal reported that more and more companies are beginning to rescind pay cuts, signaling that they are becoming constantly more confident about their economic future.

Economic Indicators

Economic Review

Economic news was the big driver this past week as it included reports on personal income and spending the first part of the week, and jobs reports on Friday. Manufacturing expanded for February for the seventh consecutive month, signaling steady growth for new orders. The Commerce Department also reported that investment in equipment and software increased at an annualized rate of 18% for the fourth quarter. Alongside an increase in manufacturing, trucking saw the largest jump in total tonnage shipped in four years in January. The American Trucking Association reported a 3.1% increase in January and a 5.7% increase from a year earlier. Personal income rose 0.1% in January, but disposable personal income (income after taxes) fell 0.4% for the same period. However, the long-term trend for income has been rising, which probably helps explain consumer spending lately, which increased 0.5% for January. Despite winter storms, the service sector expanded in February. The non-manufacturing composite index grew to 53.0, beating the consensus of 51 (Any number above 50 signals growth). While the number of job losses is decreasing, the economic still lost 36,000 jobs in February. The unemployment rate stayed at 9.7%, US retailers reported a 4% gain in sales for February over the same period a year ago. This is the strongest increase since before the recession. Finally, the US Treasury reported the projected loss on TARP funds for the tax payers has been reduced from $341 billion to $117 billion. It’s possible that this number could be reduced even more as banks are able to raise more capital through capital markets and proceeds from the sale of some assets.