Markets were headed higher at the beginning of Thanksgiving week. The National Association of Realtors announced that for the fifth month in row pending sales of existing homes fell in the U.S. During the month of October pending sales fell 0.6% following a 4.6% decline in September. This was below the expected 1% gain economists were calling for. This can partially be attributed to rising mortgage rights, prices increasing on existing homes as well as a smaller supply of available homes. Patrick Newport, an economist with IHS Global Insight, said, ?When mortgage rates went up, people got spoiled and rushed into the market to seal deals. The numbers that we?re seeing for pending home sales are payback for the stronger numbers earlier this year.? Overall for the 2013, sales of existing homes are expected to top out around 5.1 million, and remain around the same in 2014. During 2012 there were nearly 4.7 million existing homes sold.

There was a revise of economists short-term growth forecast for the U.S. in the final quarter of this year. Analysts are now predicting growth of 1.8% in the fourth-quarter; the previous prediction came in at a 2.3%. Expectations for growth in the first-quarter of 2014 are a gain 2.5%, also down from the original estimate of 2.7%. Growth for this entire year is expected to be 1.7%. Despite the decrease in projections for growth, hiring expectations have been revised higher. Analysts are projecting average monthly job growth over the next two quarters to come in around 187,000 then increasing to 202,000 by the end of 2014. They also expect the jobless rate to decrease to 7% by the end of next year.

Shares of Wal-Mart (WMT) were trading slightly higher on Monday after the company announced their new CEO of their international division. Doug McMillon will replace Current Chief Executive Mike Duke on January 31, when Mr. Duke retires. McMillon will step up to the plate once the holiday season is over and the competition between retail stores increases. He has held several big roles within the company, including president and CEO of the company?s retail warehouse chain Sam?s Club and head of Wal-Mart International. Walter Loeb, president of retail consultancy of Loeb Associates, said, ?McMillon was responsible for the growth area for Wal-Mart-international sales ? and that?s why he got the nod.?

That?s all for the day.
All the best,
Jack Aubrey, Oakshire Financial

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