U

Week Ended April 23, 2010

Stocks enjoyed good gains for the week and reached fresh 18-month highs. Small-caps outperformed larger shares. Investors welcomed a string of encouraging first-quarter earnings reports, particularly on the part of companies benefiting from improving consumer spending. Economic data were also generally favorable. Sales of both existing and new homes rose significantly in March, the latter category rising by the largest percentage since 1963. Economists cautioned that much of the gain was due to homebuyers taking advantage of tax breaks set to expire at the end of April, however. Weekly jobless claims reversed recent worrisome gains and fell substantially. The Commerce Department reported that durable goods orders fell in March due to a decline in aircraft bookings but enjoyed their biggest rise since the recession began once transportation orders were excluded.

U.S. Stocks¹
Index²	Friday’s Close	Week’s Change	% Change Year-to-Date
DJIA	11204.28	185.62	7.44%
S&P 500	1217.28	25.15	9.16%
NASDAQ Composite	2530.15	48.89	11.50%
S&P MidCap 400	849.82	29.20	16.95%
Russell 2000	741.66	26.46	16.97%

This chart is for illustrative purposes only and does not represent the performance of any specific security. Past performance cannot guarantee future results.

¹Source of data Reuters, obtained through Yahoo! Finance Closing data as of 4:10 p.m. ET.

²The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Standard & Poor’s 500 Stock Index of blue chip stocks, the Standard & Poor’s MidCap 400 Index, and the Russell 2000 Index are unmanaged indexes representing various segments by market capitalization of the U.S. equity markets. The Nasdaq Composite is an unmanaged index representing the companies traded on the Nasdaq stock market and the National Market System.

____________________________

U.S. Bond Market

Week Ended April 23, 2010

Treasury yields ended the week higher across most maturities. Short-term yields were pressured by the Bank of Canada's statement that although it would hold its key lending rate at a record low level for now, the central bank intends to soon begin tightening monetary policy in response to an expanding economy. The Treasury market priced in the possibility that the Federal Reserve may be compelled to follow suit and raise the federal funds rate sooner than anticipated. In the longer end of the yield curve, bond prices were supported by continued concern about fiscal problems in parts of Europe. The risk premium required by investors for holding Greek government bonds rose into record territory on news that the country's 2009 budget deficit was worse than previously reported. However, the prime minister's official request on Friday for an emergency loan package resulted in decreased risk aversion, helping push U.S. bond yields higher. Bond buyers were also concerned about the continued intense pace of Treasury issuance, although some analysts see indications that auction volume may begin to decline over the next year as an improved economy reduces the need for government borrowing. Signs of a better economy were seen in the Labor Department's report that initial jobless claims fell last week, albeit not at a rate signaling robust job growth. Sales of existing homes also rose in every region of the country in March, while new home sales posted the largest percentage gain in 47 years, as buyers took advantage of a soon-to-expire federal tax credit.

U.S. Treasury Yields¹
Maturity	April 23, 2010	April 16, 2010
2-Year	1.07%	0.95%
10-Year	3.82%	3.76%
30-Year	4.67%	4.68%

This table is for illustrative purposes only. Past performance cannot guarantee future results.

¹Source of data: Bloomberg.com, as of 4 p.m. ET Friday, April 23, 2010.

____________________________

Week Ended April 16, 2010

International Stocks

Foreign stock markets closed higher for the week ending April 16, 2010 with the broad international measure, the MSCI EAFE Index (Europe, Australasia, and Far East), gaining 0.25%.


Region/Country	Week’s Return	% Change Year-to-Date
EAFE	0.25%	2.87%
Europe ex-U.K.	-0.09%	-1.25%
Denmark	2.75%	15.35%
France	-0.92%	-3.59%
Germany	-0.51%	-2.16%
Italy	0.18%	-6.71%
Netherlands	-0.75%	0.56%
Spain	-0.39%	-11.92%
Sweden	1.70%	11.95%
Switzerland	0.91%	4.44%
United Kingdom	-0.04%	2.23%
Japan	1.14%	10.48%
AC Far East ex-Japan	-0.70%	3.94%
Hong Kong	-1.59%	4.04%
Korea	1.04%	9.27%
Malaysia	0.24%	12.56%
Singapore	3.04%	5.22%
Taiwan	0.45%	-0.62%
Thailand	-6.40%	6.35%
EM Latin America	-1.50%	2.60%
Brazil	-1.69%	0.42%
Mexico	-0.20%	10.14%
Argentina	-0.33%	10.45%
EM (Emerging Markets)	-1.08%	4.77%
Hungary	-1.28%	14.63%
India	-1.69%	6.92%
Israel	-1.66%	7.30%
Russia	0.77%	11.51%
Turkey	-0.92%	11.13%

International Bond Markets

International bond markets in developed countries were higher this week, with the J.P. Morgan Global Government Bond Less U.S. Index gaining 1.05%.


Region/Country	Week’s Return	% Change Year-to-Date
Developed Markets	1.05%	-1.09%
Europe
Denmark	1.09%	-2.18%
France	0.95%	-3.11%
Germany	0.91%	-2.96%
Italy	0.77%	-3.56%
Spain	0.61%	-3.97%
Sweden	1.09%	1.68%
United Kingdom	0.85%	-3.79%
Japan	1.46%	1.20%
Emerging Markets	1.00%	5.12%
Argentina	2.15%	8.11%
Brazil	0.83%	3.57%
Bulgaria	0.76%	4.00%
Russia	0.94%	5.44%

International Currency Markets

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar was weaker against the major currencies for the week.


Currency	Close (April 16, 2010)	Week’s Return (U.S. $)	% Change Year-to-Date (U.S. $)
Japanese yen	92.245	-1.28%	-0.92%
Euro	1.3508¹	-0.46%	5.85%
British pound	1.5406¹	-0.34%	4.60%

¹U.S. dollars per national currency unit.

Sources: Foreign stock markets and currency sections are from Rimes Technologies, using MSCI data. International bond markets are from J.P. Morgan.

Note: All returns are in U.S. dollars. All bond indices are J.P. Morgan. All stock indices are Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI).

Equity Indices
EAFE:	MSCI Europe, Australasia, and Far East Index
Europe Ex-U.K.:	MSCI Europe ex-U.K. Index
Far East Ex-Japan:	MSCI AC Far East ex-Japan Index
Latin America:	MSCI Emerging Markets Latin America Index
Emerging Markets:	MSCI Emerging Markets Index

Bond Indices
Developed Markets:	J.P. Morgan Global Government Bond Less U.S. Index
Emerging Markets:	J.P. Morgan Emerging Markets Bond Index Plus

All charts are for illustrative purposes only and do not represent the performance of any specific security. Past performance cannot guarantee future results.