It was a busy week as Hurricane Sandy pounded the East Coast; securities exchang es were forced to close on Monday

and Tuesday; and a slew of economic reports we re released. Stocks ended the shortened week with a selloff Friday, erasing gain s made earlier, and finishing basically flat. For the week, the S&P gained 0.16% and the Dow climbed 0.12%, while the Nasdaq trimmed 0.19%.[1] Although the economic impact of Hurricane Sandy won t be known for weeks or months, the true cost of a disaster like this is always the human suffering. It is painf ul to see beautiful homes and townships devastated by natural forces, and our th oughts go out to all those impacted. If you or someone you love has been affecte d in any way, and if there is anything we can do, please don t hesitate to let us kn ow. On the bright side without making light of this disaster it should be noted that maj or storms rarely have a lasting impact on the U.S. economy. Generally, even larg e disasters like this one aren t costly enough to damage the enormous economic machi ne that is the U.S. economy. Insurance companies may be stuck footing a large bi ll, and the government may have to pay for relief efforts, but economic snags of this type are usually temporary. The major exception to this general rule was K atrina, which devastated New Orleans and caused over $100 billion in estimated d amages. One of the major reasons Katrina was so expensive was because of the are a s economic importance as a major shipping port and oil and gas hub. Although the e ffects of Sandy are widespread, the storm would have had to shut down major citi es for weeks to achieve similar effects.[2] Fortunately, it passed somewhat quic kly, and major recovery efforts are underway. One note of positive news could be found in last week s Labor Department report show ing that employers added 171,000 new jobs last month. Although the unemployment rate ticked slightly upwards to 7.9%, the increase was attributed to discouraged workers restarting job searches, which is a positive sign for the economy.[3] T his good news combined with recent consumer confidence highs indicate that we ma y be able to expect consumer spending to increase during the holiday season, whi ch would be excellent for retailers. As earnings season continued last week, markets responded positively to some sol id results. Consumer discretionary stocks edged higher as several well known tra vel companies and luxury retailers beat estimates.[4] Overall, the corporate ear nings picture has improved as more companies have reported; according to Novembe r 2nd data, of the 378 S&P 500 companies that have reported so far, 61.9% have b eat expectations, which is in line with the 62% average since 1994. While we may see additional volatility in the weeks ahead, solid earnings and upbeat economi c reports mean that investors have a lot to be pleased about right now.[5]