Investors Brew

An economy is a series of transaction where goods and services changes hands in exchange for money or credit. Greater the transaction in the economy, higher will be the economic output and economic growth. Since cash in any economic system is presumably limited, to achieve higher transactions short-term, mid-term and long-term credit is used in exchange for goods and services. Many factors contribute to enable any person to be willing to borrow to make any purchase. Since credit can be viewed as borrowing from the future to meet current needs, many factors like future earnings, cost of borrowing, current financial status, confidence in the economy etc. plays a critical role. All these factors are a function of central bank’s monetary and fiscal policies so monitoring their levels and changes in it could assist anyone in making a sound financial decision. The article intends to watch few factors of high importance and monitor periodic changes in them relative to their past levels. US

S&P 500 The S&P 500 index has gained 12.6% returns year-to-date with a 3-year annualized returns of 17.5%. The index has earned $140.98 per share over the last 12 months and is expected to earn $187.43 per share in the current fiscal year. Current dividend yield is 1.37% and is expected to yield 1.42% over the next 12 months. The index is currently trading cheaper at a PE of 29.81 relative to its 10-year average of 36.21. S&P 500 index is bullish given 91.04% of its members are trading above their 200-day moving average price. Over the last 12 months, the index earned a positive return 61.54% of the time with 15.05% of the members closing at its new 52-week high price and none of the members closing at a new 52-week low price. Consumer Discretionary The Consumer Discretionary sector has gained 5.5% returns year-to-date with a 3-year annualized returns of 18.7%. The group has earned $28.49 per share over the last 12 months and is expected to earn $40.44 per share in th