Weekly Update

The Markets   Equity markets moved sharply higher during the week thanks to several rounds of positive news including continued better than expected earnings. The weight of the evidence continued to suggest to market participants that the rate of recovery for the economy could support higher equity prices. Market/Index 2008 Close Prior Week As of 10/9/09 Week Change YTD Change DJIA 8776.39 9864.94 9995.91 1.33% 13.90% S&P 500 903.25 1071.49 1087.68 1.51% 20.42% MSCI World 920.226 1139.844 1170.638 2.70% 27.21% Russell 2000 499.45 614.92 616.18 0.20% 23.37% Fed. Funds .25% .25% .25% 0 bps 0 bps 10-year Treasuries 2.24% 3.38% 3.42% 4 bps 118 bps Last Week's Headlines ·       Inflation remained sanguine, up 0.2% in September but down 1.3% from last year. ·       Oil and gold continue to rise while the dollar continued to fall suggesting investors are looking for a dollar alternative. ·       The ISM index rose above 50% for the first time in a year. An index reading over 50 suggests the economy is growing.     Upcoming Items of Interest Earnings reports continue this week along with updates on housing starts, wholesale inflation, leading economic indicators and existing home sales. Earnings will continue to be of particular importance as investors look for top-line growth to improve. Top line improvement could be seen as strong evidence that the economic recovery is sustainable.   Data source: 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. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) is a price-weighted index composed of 30 widely traded blue-chip U.S. common stocks. The S&P 500 is a market-cap weighted index composed of the common stocks of 500 leading companies in leading industries of the U.S. economy. The NASDAQ Composite Index is a market-value weighted index of all common stocks listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange. The Russell 2000 is a market-cap weighted index composed of 2000 U.S. small-cap common stocks. The MSCI World Index is a free-float adjusted market capitalization weighted index that is designed to measure the equity market performance of developed markets.