| Economic Events | In the week ending June 6, the advance
figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims for unemployment insurance was
279,000, an increase of 2,000 from the previous week’s revised level. The four-week
moving average was 278,750, an increase of 3,750 from the previous week’s
revised average.
The U.S. Census Bureau announced that
the combined value of distributive trade sales and manufacturers’ shipments for
April, adjusted for seasonal and trading-day differences but not for price changes,
was estimated at $1,318.8 billion, up 0.6% from March, but down 2.3% from April
2014. Manufacturers’ and trade inventories, adjusted for seasonal variations
but not for price changes, were estimated at an end-of-month level of $1,793.2
billion, up 0.4% from March and up 2.6% from April 2014.
Advance estimates of U.S. retail and
food services sales for May, adjusted for seasonal variation and holiday and
trading-day differences, but not for price changes, were $444.9 billion, an
increase of 1.2% from the previous month, and 2.7% above May 2014. Retail trade
sales were up 1.4% from April, and 2.0% above last year. Motor vehicle and
parts dealers were up 8.2% from May 2014 and food services and drinking places were
up 8.2% from last year.
The average interest rate for a 30-year fixed-rate
mortgage is 4.04%, up from 3.87% one week ago, according to Freddie Mac. The average
interest rate for a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage is 3.25%, up from 3.08%.
| | Market Mirror | Investors
were encouraged Thursday by a pickup in retail sales last month, which
suggested the economy is continuing to improve, according to the Associated
Press. The Dow gained 38.97 points (0.22%) to finish at 18,039.37, the NASDAQ
increased 5.82 points (0.11%) to 5,082.51, and the S&P 500 was up 2.26
points (0.11%) at 2,107.46. The Russell 2000 increased 1.98 points (0.16%) to
1,268.91, and the Wilshire 5000 closed 42.79 points (0.19%) higher at
22,310.03.
On the NYSE,
3.2 billion shares changed hands, with 1.6 advancing issues for every declining
issue. On the NASDAQ, nearly 2.9 billion shares traded, with a slight lead for
advancers.
The price of the 10-year Treasury note increased
29/32, bringing its yield down to 2.379%. The price of the 30-year Treasury
bond climbed 2 8/32, decreasing its yield to 3.096%.
| | Compliance | Court Says It Cannot Force N.J. Pension Payment | The New Jersey Supreme Court has ruled on a case
about whether the state violated the law by making pension contributions that
were less than what was agreed upon in 2011 pension reform. The court found
that the promised contributions are not part of an enforceable contract.Read more > | The U.S. Supreme Court has asked the U.S.
Solicitor General to submit the government’s opinion about whether a plan
participant’s choice of venue for filing a lawsuit under the venue provisions
of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) can be rejected based on
a restriction of venue provided for inside the plan document. Last November,
the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found the venue selection clause in Aegon
Companies Pension Plan is not in conflict with ERISA. The appellate court
affirmed a lower court’s dismissal of the case because it was not filed in the
court dictated by the plan document.Read more > | | From the Magazine | Asset Class Focus: Growth Potential | Over their 25-year history, emerging market
equities have presented an investment puzzle. Developing economies tend to grow
faster than their established counterparts: The International Monetary Fund
projects their aggregate gross domestic product (GDP) growth at 4.3% for 2015,
versus 2.4% for the advanced economies. They follow an erratic path, however,
and in the current investing climate are on the downswing.Read more > | Saxon Angle: When Is a Year Not a Year? | We all owe a debt of gratitude to the Department
of Labor (DOL), which last month redefined the term “at least annually” to mean
at least once every 14 months. So, a year is now 14 months. I don’t know about
you, but I’m certainly feeling quite a bit younger. Now, why did the DOL
suddenly unleash the fountain of youth?Read more > | | Small Talk | ON
THIS DATE: In 1897,
Carl Elsener patented his penknife. The object later became known as the Swiss
army knife. In 1924, former U.S.
president George Herbert Walker Bush, was born in Milton, Massachusetts. In 1939, the National Baseball Hall of
Fame and Museum was dedicated in Cooperstown, New York. In 1963, in the driveway outside his home in Jackson, Mississippi,
African American civil rights leader Medgar Evers was shot to death by white
supremacist Byron De La Beckwith. In 1967,
state laws which prohibited interracial marriages were ruled unconstitutional
by the U.S. Supreme Court. In 1987, U.S.
President Ronald Reagan challenged Soviet Leader Mikhail Gorbachev to “tear
down” the Berlin Wall, a symbol of the repressive Communist era in a divided
Germany. In 1994, Nicole Brown
Simpson, famous football player O.J. Simpson’s ex-wife, and her friend Ron
Goldman were brutally stabbed to death outside Nicole’s home in Brentwood,
California. In 2003, film actor
Gregory Peck died at his home in Los Angeles, at the age of 87.
And now it’s time for FRIDAY FILES!
| I bet this teacher, who is retiring this year,
won’t be spending retirement in a rocking chair.Read more > | Crashing through your garage door is an odd
bucket list item, but I can see how this would be fun.Read more > | In Fruitland Park, Florida,
a man called 911 to report a harassing phone call he received. While on the
phone, he told the dispatcher he had big muscles and asked her if she was
single. The Orlando Sentinel reports that the dispatcher commented to the man
that he sounded dru.nk, and he hung up. However, he called back two more times
and asked if the dispatcher was single. Police found the man and arrested him
for making the bogus 911 calls. But, the man was not done. When police placed
him in handcuffs, he allegedly told an officer he wanted to head bu.tt the
officer and kill him. Then, he spit onto an officer’s head and said he would
kill the officer.
In Uniontown, Pennsylvania,
a man reported to the police station to be fingerprinted for a charge of
drun.ken driving he received for causing an accident in January. According to
the Associated Press, he drove there, and was dru.nk.
In Vigo, Galacia, Spain, a
woman has been claiming ownership of part of the sun since 2010 when she
threatened to bill solar power users. The 54-year-old registered the star in
her name at a notary office in Spain, before opening an eBay account selling
square-metre plots for one euro each. Two years later, eBay pulled her
listings, saying they violated its intangible goods policy, and her account was
blocked. She threatened to sue, and now one Spanish court has recognized her
claim. According to sky News, a trial will take place
next month, with the woman demanding around £7,500 for payments she says she
has not received. She has rejected an attempt by eBay to settle the case out of
court.
In Cape Coral, Florida, a man
climbed atop a marked sheriff’s office SUV and performed a dance routine to
songs including Hall & Oates’ “Rich Girl” and Supertramp’s “Goodbye
Stranger.” He was arrested on charges of disturbing the peace and criminal
mischief. He told deputies a “woman with fangs” came to his door and
told him a human sacrifice involving vampires was imminent. “Therefore, [he]
made the conscious decision to get the Sheriff of Nottingham to help him stop
the slaughter of small children,” the Cape Coral police report of the
April 7 incident states, according to UPI.
| In Raleigh,
North Carolina, a little girl OWNS IT during a dance routine to Aretha
Franklin’s “Respect.”Read more > | In New York, New York, a
man whose first name is God has settled a lawsuit with a credit reporting
agency that had refused to recognize his name as legitimate. Under the
agreement reached in Brooklyn federal court, Equifax will enter the man’s name
into its database, the Associated Press reports. He now has an impressive 820
credit score. The Russian native is a Brooklyn jewelry store owner who is named
after his grandfather. He says it’s a relatively common name in Russia.
In Sargodha, Pakistan, eyewitnesses
say two alleged sui.cide bom.bers were sitting on benches in a street close to
a roundabout with vests on, and had a discussion that soon turned into an
altercation. BGR Media reports that during the fist fight, one of the vests
exploded, killing one of the suspected bom.bers and injuring the other. No one
else was injured.
In Beijing, China, a man
filed a lawsuit against a television show actress who he says stared at him too
intensely through his TV set. The man claims the gaze caused him spiritual
damage. The Associated Press report about the lawsuit says regulations making
it more difficult for courts to reject lawsuits took effect May 1.
In St.
Johnsbury, Vermont, a man showed up on time for jury duty and joined other
prospective jurors before the start of the selection process. According to the
Associated Press, deputies directed him to an empty court room to meet with the
judge. The judge told him he could be held in contempt of court, but instructed
him to leave, because he was wearing a prisoner costume. The man said the juror
instructions do not specify clothing restrictions.
Have a great weekend! | Share the good news with a friend! Pass the Dash along – and tell your
friends/associates they can sign up for their own copy.Read more > | News from PLANSPONSOR.com
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