Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Financial Update For Jan. 5, 2010

• TSX +120.79 Canadian stocks surged on their first day of trading of 2010, led by positive economic news that drove commodity stocks higher and supported recovery hopes for 2010.
• DOW +155.91 Figures showing factories around the world cranked up production in December –the 5th month in row, were the main catalyst for the gains. The Institute for Supply Management's factory index rose to 55.9, its highest level since April 2006
• Dollar +.87c to 96.02cUS hitting a 2 month high as the price of crude oil rallied and global equity markets kicked off 2010 on an upbeat note, increasing demand for riskier assets.
• Oil +$2.15 to $81.51US per barrel. breaking the US$80 benchmark for the first time since November
• Gold +$22.50 to $1,117.70USD per ounce

One-hundredth of a percentage point. For example, the difference between 5.25% and 5.50% is 25 basis points.

Bear Market
A market in which stock prices are falling. The rule of thumb seems to be at least 20 percent. However, a lot depends on how long the drop lasts. The quicker the rebound, the less likely that investor psychology will turn from optimism to the pessimism that usually accompanies a bear market.

Bull Market
A market in which stock prices are rising for a length of time. Prices need not rise continuously. There can be days, weeks and even months in which prices fall. What matters is the long-term trend. When it comes to people, bullish describes one who is optimistic.

Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA)

There are thousands of investment indexes around the world for stocks, bonds, currencies and commodities however the DJIA is one of the best known and most widely quoted stock market averages in the media. It contains an average made up of 30 actively traded blue chip stocks spanning many different industries that trade on the New York Stock Exchange. The Dow, as it is called, is a barometer of how shares of the largest U.S. companies are performing.. The DJIA is calculated by adding the prices of each of the 30 stocks and dividing by a divisor. The average is quoted in points rather than dollars. It is price weighted, meaning that a $2 change in a $100 per share stock will have a greater affect than a $2 change in a $20 per share stock.

Gross Domestic Product
GDP is the value of all goods and services produced in Canada in a calendar year. The gross domestic product includes only final goods and services, not goods and services used to make another product. Changes in the gross domestic product are an indication of economic output.

Income Trust
Trusts structured to own debt and equity of an underlying entity, which carries on an active business, or has royalty revenues generated by the assets of an active business. By owning securities or assets of an underlying business, an income trust is structured to distribute cash flows, typically on a monthly basis, from those businesses to unit holders in a tax-efficient manner. The trust structure is typically utilized by mature, stable, sustainable, cash-generating businesses that require a limited amount of maintenance capital expenditures. An income trust is an exchange-traded equity investment that is similar to a common share
Index or stock price index
A statistical measure of the state of the stock market, based on the performance of stocks. Examples include the S&P/TSX Composite Index
Recession
Two consecutive quarters of contraction in the gross domestic product
TSX Composite Index
Comprises the majority of market capitalization for Canadian-based, Toronto Stock Exchange listed companies. It is the leading benchmark used to measure the price performance of the broad, Canadian, senior equity market. It was formerly known as the TSE 300 Composite Index