Weekly Economic Update s2

GIESTING FINANCIAL WEEKLY UPDATE November 2, 2015

A MESSAGE FROM MARK… The following article by Carl Richards, aka New York Times’ “Sketch Guy”, talks about WEEKLY QUOTE how easy it is to spend without really thinking: an extra item or two at the grocery “We cannot change store, a quick trip through the drive-through or a sale item in a catalogue. Spending is anything unless we fine, but we need to pay attention to make sure that the things we are spending on are accept it.” things we really want or really need. - Carl Jung http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/19/your-money/to-get-at-the-root-of- spending-pay-attention.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&_r=1

Spending is easy – too easy – which is why it’s so important to match our values, the WEEKLY TIP things that are really important to us, with how we spend our hard earned cash. As Mr. Richards says, “… notice how and when you spend money. As you pay the bill for something, how do you feel? Do you discover gaps between your values and your To figure out how spending?” Getting the most out of life isn’t just a matter of spending and saving – it much liquidity you about making conscious decisions to make sure that how we spend our money is have (i.e., how large aligned with the things we truly want and value. your emergency fund is), divide your liquid Also, a quick reminder that my son Sam and I will be going with the Matthew 19:26 assets by your Mission to Racine, Wisconsin the week of June 19th – 26th, 2016. During this trip we monthly expenses. will be joining a Group Workcamp to help repair and transform homes of those in Hopefully, the need. Our first fundraiser for this trip is a Poinsettia and Wreath Sale. Red Poinsettias number that results is are $12.00 each, and 20” wreaths with mixed live greens and pine cones are only 3 or greater. $20.00. Please stop by our office to pick up an Order Form if you’d like to support our trip, or you can simply call our office to place your order and drop off a check before Nov. 20th. You can pick-up your order at the Knights of St John Hall on Dec 2, 3-6pm, or we can have them at our office for pickup, whichever is easiest for you. Just let us know when you place your order. WEEKLY RIDDLE

What 5-letter word for a type of crop can MIXED CONSUMER SIGNALS AT MONTH’S END you remove 2 letters Commerce Department data showed personal spending up only 0.1% for September. from, then rearrange The Conference Board’s consumer confidence index fell 5.0 points in October to a mark the 3 letters left to of 97.6; the University of Michigan’s index of household sentiment did rise 2.8 points make the word “tea?” on the month to a final October reading of 90.0.1

FEWER NEW HOMES SOLD IN SEPTEMBER New home buying weakened 15.2% in that month according to the Census Bureau, and Last week’s riddle: the yearly sales pace hit a 10-month low. Additionally, the National Association of Robert will paint unit Realtors reported a 2.3% decline in its pending home sales index for September. In numbers on 100 storage better news, the 20-city S&P/Case-Shiller home price index ticked north slightly – units today. In the existing home prices were up 4.7% in the 12 months ending in August.2 course of painting a number from 1 to 100 on the door of each unit, how many times will he U.S. ECONOMY GREW 1.5% IN Q3 have to paint the The federal government’s first estimate of Q3 GDP was disappointing after 3.9% Q2 numeral 3 today? growth. A 3.2% quarterly personal spending gain did not fully offset a major drop in business spending and the largest 3-month reduction in inventories since 2012.3

Last week’s answer: 20 times. (3, 13, 23, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, WALL STREET’S COMEBACK CONTINUES 37, 38, 39, 43, 53, 63, All three major indices posted minor gains last week. The Nasdaq added 0.43% to 73, 83, 93.) reach 5,053.75 Friday, while the S&P 500 rose 0.20% to close the week at 2,079.36. The Dow advanced 0.10% to a month-end settlement of 17,663.54.4

THIS WEEK: October’s ISM factory PMI appears Monday, plus earnings from Allstate, AMC Entertainment, Aramark, Clorox, Health Net, Loews, Noble Energy, Omega Healthcare, Sysco, and Visa. Tuesday brings a September factory orders report and results from Activision Blizzard, Archer Daniels Midland, Sprint, Tesla, Groupon, Herbalife, Hyatt Hotels, Kellogg, Mosaic, Office Depot, Papa John’s, Sempra Energy, Martin Marietta, Vulcan Materials, and Zynga. October’s ADP job change report and ISM services index surface on Wednesday, plus earnings from Allergan, Avon, Blackrock Capital, Etsy, FTD, Facebook, Marathon Oil, MetLife, Michael Kors, Motorola Solutions, Prudential, Qualcomm, Revlon, Rosetta Stone, Time Warner, Transocean, Wendy’s, and Whole Foods. Thursday, new initial claims and Challenger job-cut reports arrive plus results from AMC Networks, Con Edison, DreamWorks, Duke Energy, iHeartMedia, Kemper, Kraft Heinz, Molson Coors, Marcus & Millichap, Monster Beverage, News Corp., Ralph Lauren, Red Lion Hotels, Nvidia, Shake Shack, Take Two Interactive, Tribune Publishing, Walt Disney Co., Symantec, and Wingstop. The Labor Department’s October jobs report comes out Friday, plus earnings from Cigna, E.W. Scripps Co., Humana, and LoJack.

% CHANGE Y-T-D 1-YR CHG 5-YR AVG 10-YR AVG DJIA -0.90 +2.72 +11.77 +6.92 NASDAQ +6.71 +10.68 +20.31 +13.84 S&P 500 +0.99 +4.25 +15.15 +7.23 REAL YIELD 10/30 RATE 1 YR AGO 5 YRS AGO 10 YRS AGO 10 YR TIPS 0.63% 0.42% 0.50% 2.00%

Sources: wsj.com, bigcharts.com, treasury.gov - 10/30/155,6,7,8 Indices are unmanaged, do not incur fees or expenses, and cannot be invested into directly. These returns do not include dividends. 10-year TIPS real yield = projected return at maturity given expected inflation.

Please feel forward this article to family, friends or colleagues – referrals are truly appreciated! If you would like us to add them to our distribution list, please reply with their address. We will contact them first and request their permission to add them to our list. DISCLAIMER: This e-mail and any files transmitted with it are private, confidential and solely for the use of the intended recipient. It may contain material that is legally privileged, proprietary or subject to copyright belonging to the sender or its related parties, and it may be subject to protection under federal or state law. If you are not the intended recipient, you are notified that any use, distribution or copying of the message is strictly prohibited and may subject you to criminal or civil penalties. If you received this transmission in error, please contact the sender immediately by replying to this e-mail and delete the material from any computer. Please do not leave trade instructions via email as we cannot honor them. DISCLOSURE: Giesting Financial is not owned or controlled by the cfd Companies. Adviser not licensed in all States. Advisory Services are Provided through Creative Financial Designs, Inc., a Registered Investment Adviser, and Securities are Offered through cfd Investments, Inc., a Registered Broker/Dealer, Member FINRA & SIPC, 2704 South Goyer Road, Kokomo, IN 46902 765.453.9600 This material was prepared by MarketingPro, Inc., and does not necessarily represent the views of the presenting party, nor their affiliates. This information has been derived from sources believed to be accurate. Please note - investing involves risk, and past performance is no guarantee of future results. The publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting or other professional services. If assistance is needed, the reader is advised to engage the services of a competent professional. This information should not be construed as investment, tax or legal advice and may not be relied on for the purpose of avoiding any Federal tax penalty. This is neither a solicitation nor recommendation to purchase or sell any investment or insurance product or service, and should not be relied upon as such. All indices are unmanaged and are not illustrative of any particular investment. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is a price- weighted index of 30 actively traded blue-chip stocks. The NASDAQ Composite Index is an unmanaged, market-weighted index of all over-the-counter common stocks traded on the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation System. The Standard & Poor's 500 (S&P 500) is an unmanaged group of securities considered to be representative of the stock market in general. It is not possible to invest directly in an index. NYSE Group, Inc. (NYSE:NYX) operates two securities exchanges: the New York Stock Exchange (the “NYSE”) and NYSE Arca (formerly known as the Archipelago Exchange, or ArcaEx®, and the Pacific Exchange). NYSE Group is a leading provider of securities listing, trading and market data products and services. The New York Mercantile Exchange, Inc. (NYMEX) is the world's largest physical commodity futures exchange and the preeminent trading forum for energy and precious metals, with trading conducted through two divisions – the NYMEX Division, home to the energy, platinum, and palladium markets, and the COMEX Division, on which all other metals trade. Additional risks are associated with international investing, such as currency fluctuations, political and economic instability and differences in accounting standards. This material represents an assessment of the market environment at a specific point in time and is not intended to be a forecast of future events, or a guarantee of future results. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Investments will fluctuate and when redeemed may be worth more or less than when originally invested. All economic and performance data is historical and not indicative of future results. Market indices discussed are unmanaged. Investors cannot invest in unmanaged indices. The publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting or other professional services. If assistance is needed, the reader is advised to engage the services of a competent professional.

Citations. 1 - marketwatch.com/economy-politics/calendars/economic [10/30/15] 2 - thefiscaltimes.com/2015/10/29/US-Housing-Gets-Hit-Double-Whammy [10/29/15] 3 - marketwatch.com/story/third-quarter-gdp-lands-with-thud-just-15-growth-2015-10-29 [10/29/15] 4 - markets.on.nytimes.com/research/markets/usmarkets/usmarkets.asp [10/30/15] 5 - markets.wsj.com/us [10/30/15] 6 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=DJIA&closeDate=10%2F30%2F14&x=0&y=0 [10/30/15] 6 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=COMP&closeDate=10%2F30%2F14&x=0&y=0 [10/30/15] 6 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=SPX&closeDate=10%2F30%2F14&x=0&y=0 [10/30/15] 6 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=DJIA&closeDate=10%2F29%2F10&x=0&y=0 [10/30/15] 6 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=COMP&closeDate=10%2F29%2F10&x=0&y=0 [10/30/15] 6 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=SPX&closeDate=10%2F29%2F10&x=0&y=0 [10/30/15] 6 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=DJIA&closeDate=10%2F31%2F05&x=0&y=0 [10/30/15] 6 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=COMP&closeDate=10%2F31%2F05&x=0&y=0 [10/30/15] 6 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=SPX&closeDate=10%2F31%2F05&x=0&y=0 [10/30/15] 7 - treasury.gov/resource-center/data-chart-center/interest-rates/Pages/TextView.aspx?data=realyield [10/30/15] 8 - treasury.gov/resource-center/data-chart-center/interest-rates/Pages/TextView.aspx?data=realyieldAll [10/30/15]