It has been a tough year but you can still give thanks for financial gifts.
- Major Stock Indexes Rise: Fortunately, stock markets look forward, not back. Right now, they're telling us they anticipate better times down the road.
- GDP Growth Returns: The GDP growth of 3.5% in the third quarter was a good start. We still need consistent GDP growth over several quarters to claim economic victory.
- Banks Repay Their TARP Loans: Ten of the banks that received Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) funds were allowed to repay $68 billion to taxpayers in June.
- Home Prices Are Stabilizing: While home prices are still down 30% from their peak, prices in many geographic areas ticked upward in August, September and October according to the benchmark Case-Shiller Index.
- First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit Is Extended: President Obama recently extended the credit until June 2010 in an effort to help to spur the housing market further.
- Corporate Profitability Is Getting Stronger: Profit margins have been strong at corporations over the past few quarters as inventories have been depleted and costs wrung out of business models.
- The Rest of the World Is Resilient and Growing: The internal, domestic economic strength of these foreign markets will help U.S. exporters to sell more goods, which represent over half the earnings of S&P 500 companies.
- Inflation Is at Bay: Inflation has yet to appear, which is keeping interest rates low. This is helping the U.S., as it must borrow heavily to fund its growing budget deficits.
- Regulatory Scrutiny Has Increased: The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has been near the top of a long list of entities that deserve a good finger-wagging for errors of submission or omission leading up to the financial crisis. But new measures are being put into place to protect investors from fraud and negligence by their financial advisors and corporate CEOs.
- We're Still Standing! Last year at this time, many wondered if our financial system would even survive at all. It did (thank goodness), and that may be the best blessing of all.
So give thanks and start eating!
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