GBR Market Wrap: S&P 500 Déjà Vu?

In this Week’s Issue: October 7, 2011

• Weekly Snapshot
• Weekly Barometers
• Weekly Chart
• Recommended Video

Weekly Snapshot
• Apple co-founder Steve Jobs died at the age of 56 following a long battle with cancer
• ISM Manufacturing index was up 1% from August and better than expected
• U.S. Stocks finished lower on Friday but were up 2% for the week
• U.S. Nonfarm payroll employment edged up by 103,000 in September 2011
• U.S. unemployment rate held at 9.1% or 14.0 million unemployed persons
• The Federal Reserve’s balance sheet was $2.843 trillion on Oct. 5
• The Bank of England kept rates at 0.5%, plans an additional £75bn in quantitative easing
• The European Central Bank held interest rates steady at 1.5% in October
• Global uncertainty led the Reserve Bank of Australia to keep the cash rate on hold at 4.75%
• The Fitch agency downgraded its sovereign credit rating for Italy and Spain on Friday
• Rates on 30-year fixed mortgages fell to 3.94% this week, the lowest rate ever

Market Barometers

Weekly Chart
Do you believe in coincidence or are you in the camp of believers in a higher order of all things perhaps unbeknownst to us? Chartists and technical traders were spooked by a rather strange form of déjà vu this week. Not directly apparent in the chart below is a very peculiar reoccurring closing price last seen in the midst of the financial crisis in 2008.

The S&P 500 closed at 1099.23 on Monday October 3 of this week…

…the exact same level it closed on October 3 2008.

Farewell To Steve Jobs
We would like to add our sentiments to Steve Jobs who passed away this week. Appreciation for his work and his legacy cannot truly be expressed in words so here’s an attempt to visually represent some of his achievements. This chart is from a previous blog post earlier this summer.

Steve Jobs was also known for creating a Reality Distortion Field (RDF) which as alleged to influence audience and coworkers to believe almost anything was possible. We may or may not believe in RDF. Apple’s stockholders however, were engulfed in RDF long enough to make it the most valuable company in the world at its peak. After his return to Apple in 1996, its market value grew from $1.7 billion in 1997 to $350 billion. Apple’s stock had an equally remarkable performance catapulting its share price from about $16 to over $420. Whatever happens to Apple now, his genius will truly be missed. Farewell Steve!

Recommended Video
In honor of Steve Jobs, we decided to reference a rare video interview with Steve Jobs and Bill Gates. Enjoy!

Good luck and good investing!