| The KUIK Market Update for Thursday, December 18: | |||||||
| Markets are up. | |||||||
| Index | Direction | Change | Units | Time | Change | ||
| Dow | Up | 204 | points | 17,561 | 8:06 AM | ||
| S&P500 | Up | 1.2% | percent | 2,036 | 23.58 | ||
| Nasdaq Composite | Up | 1.3% | percent | 4,705 | 60.83 | ||
| 30 Year Treasury | Up | 7 | Basis Points | 2.83 | Annual Yield | ||
| The Labor Department reports new applications for unemployment benefits fell by 6,000 to 289,000 in the week ended December 13. Economists expected a seasonally adjusted 295,000. Continuing claims fell by 147,000 to a seasonally adjusted 2.37 million in the week ended December 6. | |||||||
| Freddie Mac reports the average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell to 3.80% in the week that ended December 18, down from 3.93% the week before and hitting the lowest rate since May 2013. A year ago, the 30-year rate was at 4.47%. The average rate for the 15-year fixed-rate mortgage fell to 3.09% down from 3.20%. | |||||||
| Beginning Jan. 22, the Swiss National Bank will charge banks a quarter of a percent annually to deposit overnight funds with it, according to a statement. The move will push the three-month Swiss franc Libor rate into negative territory. The decision comes after months of pressure on the franc which has strengthened to almost 1.20 francs per euro. The strong franc has benefited from safe-haven buying and weakness in the european economies. | |||||||
| Serving the West Side first, I am Bill Roller of BR Capital for 1360 KUIK. | |||||||
| http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-jobless-claims-fall-6000-to-289000-in-mid-december-2014-12-18 | |||||||
| http://www.marketwatch.com/story/30-year-mortgage-rate-drops-to-380-2014-12-18-9915954 | |||||||
| http://www.marketwatch.com/story/swiss-central-bank-introduces-negative-interest-rates-2014-12-18-71032631 | |||||||
| For today’s Market Update Report click to listen-> | |||||||