5/24/10 – theGrio & CNBC Market Update

VIDEO - This week, investors can expect reports on housing, personal income, and consumer confidence, as Congress reconciles the sweeping financial reform bill...

TheGrio Staff

May 24, 2010

TheGrio and CNBC team up to deliver a weekly report of money matters and market updates for our community.

CNBC’s Shartia Brantley reports:

Last week, the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq indexes all suffered their greatest percentage losses since 2009, as euro-zone sovereign debt problems continued to weigh on global markets.

On the domestic front, the Senate passed its version of the sweeping financial regulatory reform bill intended to prevent another financial crisis. The House and Senate versions of the bill must now be reconciled.

This week, investors can expect reports on housing, personal income, and consumer confidence.

The week leads off with two key reads on housing. Starting on Wednesday, the April 2010 Existing Home Sales report is due from the Census Bureau, covering sales of previously-owned homes and condos. Also on Wednesday, we’ll get the April 2010 New Home Sales report. The March report showed a 7 percent increase in existing-home sales, and a massive 27 percent jump in sales of new homes. Both new and existing home sales in March and preceding months have benefited from the first-time homebuyers’ tax credit.

On Friday, we’ll get a read on personal income and consumer spending with the April 2010 Personal Income and Outlays report from the Commerce Dept. Personal income in March improved by only 0.3 percent, sparking concerns about the real-world impact of the economic recovery. But consumer spending rose 0.6 percent in March, as consumers dipped into their savings for necessary goods and services.

How do you feel about the economy? We’ll find out Tuesday with the Conference Board’s “May 2010 Consumer Confidence Index.”: http://www.conference-board.org/economics/consumerconfidence.cfm The April report showed a nearly 11 percent month-to-month increase in consumer confidence with a reading of 57.9, as consumers were more optimistic about the current and future condition of jobs and businesses.

Watch the video, exclusively on theGrio.com.