5 Good Things that Happened This Week!

Zigging and zagging our way to the high road this week, we had the following positive observations:

1. Merger Monday: With a trifecta of mergers Monday, (Google-Motorola Mobility~ $12.5Billion, Time Warner-Insight ~$3billion,  and Transocean-Aker Drilling ~$1.5billion) this marks an extreme vote of confidence as company managers show they are not afraid to open their wallets and bodes well for continued growth in the macro global economy.
2. France and German Leaders Begin Talks: Given the concerns of the EU,  especially France and Italy, last week brought talks from Germany’s Wonder Woman, Merkel, and France’s leader Sarkozy, signaling a rolling up of the sleeves to get down to business. This is a good beginning of stabilizing news for the EU.
3. Corporate Profits Continue to Impress: According to Thomson Reuters over 94% of the companies in the S&P 500 have reported with 77% beating or meeting expectations. These numbers have been totally overshadowed by the macro economic events, but are key drivers of capital markets and the fundamental signals of how our economy is moving along.
4. PPI (Producer Price Index) Surprised to the Upside: Another positive economic report for the continued growth in our Economy. Yes, it is slightly inflationary, but in order to have growth, some inflation is necessary.
5. Biden to China to visit incoming chief: US VP Joe Biden is in China this week visiting the current China VP, Xi Jinping, who is due to become chief next year. While there has been some negative public rhetoric coming from the region, a positive forward step of pressing the flesh was initiated and is going well.

We hope you enjoyed our zigging this week and you can now zag into a great weekend.

Thanks for your comments and your time.

Have a Great Day!

JK