News You Can Use from Gary Moore

Weekend Market Update

Sept. 4-5, 2010

The stock market had its first winning week in a month thanks to better news on the economy.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 128 points Friday for its fourth straight day of advances. The strong start to September---historically the single worst month for stocks---marked a turnaround from a dismal performance in August.

A better-than-expected report on employment was the latest piece of improving news on the economy. Stocks also rose earlier this week following signs that manufacturing was gaining in the U.S. and China. Even after its four-day run, which added 438 points to the Dow, the index is 6.8 percent below the 2010 high it reached on April 26.

The Labor Department said private employers added 67,000 jobs in August, more than analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had forecast. That's still a far cry from what economists say is a healthy level for the economy.

Bond prices fell as sentiment on the economy improved, sending interest rates higher. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note jumped to 2.71 percent from 2.63 percent late Thursday. Its yield is often used as a gauge of interest rates on mortgages.

Investors have received more encouraging reports on the economy over the past three days than they did throughout August, when data regularly fell short of the market's already modest expectations. Reports beginning with Wednesday's manufacturing data touched off a rally to start the month.

There were other encouraging signs in the employment report Friday, including revisions to June and July's reports that showed the economy added more jobs than the government previously said. More than a half-million Americans resumed their job searches in August. That drove up the unemployment rate to 9.6 percent from 9.5 percent, but it could also be a sign that more people are hopeful about the recovery.

For the week, the Dow was up 2.9 percent, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq were both up 3.7 percent. It was the first week of gains in a month for both the Dow and S&P. The Dow closed up 127.83, or 1.2 percent, on the day at 10,447.93. Broader indexes also rose. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 14.41, or 1.3 percent, to 1,104.51, while the Nasdaq composite index rose 33.74, or 1.5 percent, to 2,233.75.

Please call me with any questions about the market or to pre-approve you for a purchase loan or to run a free analysis of what a refinance---with cash out or not---would mean for your financial bottom line. Gary Moore 615-579-8658.

30-Year Conventional Fixed

4.25% $200,000-$417,000

15-Year Conventional Fixed

3.75% $200,000-$417,000


30-Year FHA-100% VA

4.25% $100,000-$393,300


30-Year Jumbo Fixed

5% $417,001-$900,000

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4% of sales price Gift

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...by Gary Moore

Mortgage Planner, First Community Mortgage

...a subsidiary of First Community Bank

Cell: 615-579-8658 Toll-free fax: 866-321-6513

"Henry Ford was right. A prosperous economy requires that workers be able to buy the products that they produce. This is as true in a global economy as a national one." - John J. Sweeney

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(0% points, 1% origination. Market Update informs consumers and Realtors on market trends, offers subjective opinions and is not a quote for a unique borrower)