MARKETS

The SP500 finished the half up 6%. Most of the gain came in Q2, +4.7%. Volatility continued lower, the VIX dropped to its lowest level since February 2007. T-bonds and Gold were the leading assets classes, up 12.14% and 9.93%.

EMPLOYMENT

At the midpoint of the year the economy is showing some nice improvement. Employment numbers are coming in strong. ADP shows that private, nonfarm payroll increased by 281,000 in June, easily beating the consensus of 210,000.  Construction increased by the most since February of 2006. Online help-wanted ads were up 3.2% in June and first-time ads increased 7%. Unemployment dropped to 6.10%.

GLOBAL ECONOMICS

Global numbers also are improving. Global manufacturing PMI increased to 52.7 from 52.1, the 19th consecutive month of improvement. The US and the UK had the strongest numbers (57.5 and 57.3).