Planet Wealth

The market opened slightly lower this morning, based on a couple of economic reports.  The CPI (this is prices to consumers, whereas the PPI yesterday was at the wholesale level) rose a bit more than expected at .3% when .2% was expected.  Obviously not a big increase, however it does follow the higher number on the PPI, meaning that there is just a little inflation building in the pipeline.  One thing you watch for is the comparison from the PPI to the CPI.  Are wholesalers able to pass on higher prices to consumers?  If the answer is yes, that is good for earnings.  However, if wholesalers are paying higher prices and not able to pass those increases on to consumers, that hurts earnings.

Housing starts also fell 10%, after a rise last month.  Although the housing market appears to be stabilizing, it is certainly far from recovering.  The dollar is slightly lower and gold is higher.....sounding like a broken record?