HOLIDAY SPENDING?:  Americans skimped on furniture and sporting goods in October to offset higher energy costs. As a result, Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. is anticipating “one of the weakest” holiday shopping periods in years. Meanwhile, a less-than-forecast 0.1 percent increase in wholesale prices reinforced traders’ expectations that the Federal Reserve will be forced to reduce interest rates again next month.

THE WEEK IN THE STOCK MARKET:  The market’s volatility is driving everyone crazy, but the end result this week was a moderate advance. The Dow [+1.03%; +5.73%], the S & P 500 [+0.35%; +2.85%], and the NASDAQ Composite [+0.35%; +9.19%] all gained. One reason for the gains was a positive report from Wal-Mart. Despite the chilly retail sales report mentioned above, Wal-Mart posted good gains and forecast a fairly rosy holiday season.

A GOOD WEEK FOR THE U.S. DOLLAR: The U. S. dollar stabilized against the Euro last week. It is likely to continue to weaken in the months ahead if the U. S. economy posts a weak fourth quarter, and if the Fed lowers interest rates again.

GROWING RETIREMENT ASSETS: According to the Investment Company Institute (http://www.ici.org/), retirement assets now account for nearly 40% of all U.S. household financial assets, compared with 24% two decades ago.

TIMELY MORTGAGE PAYMENTS – 1 out of every 29 mortgages in the USA was delinquent with their required monthly payment at the end of the 3rd quarter 2007. At the end of the calendar year 2005, the ratio was 1 out of every 48.

THE LARGELY USELESS PROSPECTUS MIGHT BE FIXED: All investors receive huge documents in the mail which turn out to be a mutual fund prospectus that almost no one reads. Mutual fund investors could receive concise summary prospectuses in place of the lengthy documents that are now required to be distributed under a proposal unanimously approved today by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The summary prospectus would provide key information in plain English in a standardized order, including a fund’s investment objectives and strategies, risks and costs, as well as the top 10 portfolio holdings, portfolio managers, purchase and sale procedures, tax consequences and financial intermediary compensation. The longer prospectuses that include detailed disclosures about funds would be made available on the Internet, along with shareholder reports and other information under the proposal. Investors who prefer could continue to receive longer prospectuses on paper. The SEC’s action is aimed at getting useful information to mutual fund investors in a format that will be more usable than full-length prospectuses are.

Doug MacGray is a Certified Financial Planner, if you need any help in this area give me a call and I can get you in touch with Doug. 302-368-7132.

If you would like to apply for a Mortgage Loan, you can APPLY ONLINE HERE, you can call John Thomas at 302-703-0727.

John R. Thomas – NMLS 38783

Certified Mortgage Planner – Primary Residential Mortgage, Inc.

302-703-0727 DE Office / 610-906-3109 PA Office / 410-412-3319 MD Office

248 E Chestnut Hill Rd, Newark, DE 19713