Market commentary

Last week will be required study in business and economics classes as the Dow had four consecutive 400+ point moves for the first time in its 115-year history, and the U.S. lost its AAA rating along with the GSEs and 11,500 municipal issues. If it were not for the mess in Europe yields on U.S. Treasuries most likely would have soared. Speaking of Europe, tomorrow an announcement is expected from a meeting between the French and German leadership on a possible solution to the financial crisis

This week’s data began with the Empire manufacturing index from the New York Fed which showed a -7.72 reading for the month of August. This was down from -3.76 in July and reflects continued contraction in the manufacturing sector. The remainder of the week is heavy with data including the Producer Index, the Consumer Price Index, Leading Economic Indicators and existing home sales.

So far Monday is off to a quiet start with bond prices unchanged from the close on Friday and stocks slightly higher.