Let's Roll

Quote of the Week

"Are you guys ready? Let's roll." - Todd Beamer, Flight 93 passenger


Heroes abound in America, past and present. When stirred, they act. This week, we'll be thinking about them.

On September 11, 2001, Todd Beamer, a businessman and Sunday school teacher, was hopelessly trapped on United Flight 93. He put down his cell phone, with United customer service associate Lisa Jefferson still on the line while he and several others charged to the front of their aircraft. They were armed with nothing but a beverage cart against the terrorists in charge of the plane. A battle raged. Todd's life, as well as the lives of all his fellow passengers, ended in a Pennsylvania field that day. The lives of those they saved on the ground go on.

Patricia Maisch, a 61 year old grandmother, went one recent September morning to see her Congresswoman, Gabrielle Giffords, outside a Tucson Safeway store. Within minutes of her arrival, gunshots whizzed through the air all around her. Bodies fell, including the man standing right next to her. Patricia then pounced on the gunman, Jared Lee Loughner, as he tried to reload his weapon. She and others disarmed and held him, ending the carnage that wounded 20 people, killed 6, and left Congresswoman Giffords horribly injured. Patricia's response when questioned later? "I'm no hero." (abcnews.com)

Audie Murphy, a poor Texas boy who left school to work full time on the farm in the 5th grade, was the most decorated soldier of World War II. Among his numerous and legendary courageous acts was, while seriously wounded, jumping on a disabled tank destroyer and single handedly (and virtually alone... only 19 of 128 men in his unit were alive at that moment.) engaging an entire unit of German infantry. Later, when asked why he fought so valiantly and outnumbered, his reply was simple: "They were killing my friends".(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audie_Murphy)

The heroes of tomorrow are yet to be named. But when they arrive, they will continue in the footsteps of those famous, and not so famous of our compatriots who faced overwhelming difficulty and tragedy with the most American of traits: profound courage.**


The Markets

Now you see it, now you don't: Domestic equities chugged upward until midweek, only to give back the entire week's gains plus a little bit more after reports showed manufacturing and employment at a standstill in August. Treasuries continued to benefit from equities' difficulties, with yields reversing the previous week's bounce. Gold rebounded from the losses of the week before, while oil prices turned up toward $90 a barrel once again.


Last Week's Headlines

• The unemployment rate remained stalled at 9.1% in August. The Bureau of Labor Statistics said no net new jobs were added to the nation's payrolls. Health-care employment continued to rise, while governmental bodies continued to shed workers.
• Consumers spent more on air conditioning and autos in July, helping to drive personal spending levels up 0.8% for the month, according to the Commerce Department. However, incomes rose 0.3%, only slightly more than the previous month's anemic 0.2%, and when adjusted for inflation, real disposable incomes actually decreased by 0.1%.
• Home prices were up 1.1% in June in the 20 cities tracked by the S&P/Case-Shiller index. Though prices are still down 4.5% from last June, the increase in prices during the year's second quarter was 3.6%, and 19 of the 20 cities saw increases in June.
• Manufacturing in the United States continued to grow in August, but just barely. The Institute for Supply Management's index of the sector stood at 50.6, only slightly above the threshold that separates expansion from contraction. New orders and production measures actually contracted slightly, with 10 of the 18 industries covered showing growth.


Eye on the Week Ahead

The holiday-shortened week will be light on economic data, so investors will be free to focus on fundamentals. President Obama's proposals for jump-starting job creation will be evaluated for their prospects and potential impact on markets, and response to a Greek bond offering may provide clues to the debt situation there.
Key dates and data releases: U.S. services sector (9/6); international trade, weekly new jobless claims (9/8).


Data source: Includes data provided by Brounes & Associates. 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. Equities data reflect price change, not total return.

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 Global Dow is an equally weighted index of 150 widely traded blue-chip common stocks worldwide. Market indexes listed are unmanaged and are not available for direct investment.

Prepared by Lee Davis** and Broadridge Investor Communication Solutions, Inc. Copyright 2011