Need help with your TAXES?? Want someone you can TRUST??
Your answer is here at The Book Balancer!!!

We’re a local Tax and Accounting firm that’s proud to call Ahwatukee our home. We started here over 10 years ago and continue to grow in this
great community.

We’re offering a “Senior Special” to our local Senior Citizens on their taxes of only $159.00 for a standard return. We’ll even come to you to get all your information.

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The Book Balancer
4001 E. Mountain Sky Ave.
Phoenix, AZ 85044
480-471-6955
www.thebookbalancer.com

**Extension Deadline is October 15th**

The Tempe Symphonic Wind Ensemble was organized in the fall of 1990 and is composed of 46 of the finest musicians from the Phoenix metropolitan area. These musicians are dedicated to the performance of outstanding wind/band literature and have provided the Valley of the Sun with a special cultural experience of the highest quality.

We wanted to let you know about our exciting upcoming concert.

Sunday, November 9, 2014, 3:00 PM at Tempe Center for the Arts

“A Veterans Day Salute”

Location: Our concerts are held on center stage in the newly constructed Tempe Center for the Arts Lakeside Facility located at 700 W. Rio Salado Parkway.

Directions and Map Link

See: http://tswe.org/

A musical tribute to the members of our armed forces with stirring patriotic music and special guest soloist, Brian Wilson, on euphonium. Selections by composers John Philip Sousa and John Williams along with Tchaikovsky’s “1812 Overture” will be performed.

(+) The most heavily-looked at report last week, retail sales, registered a stronger-than-expected result for February, up +1.1% versus a consensus estimate of +0.5%.  The headline figure was aided by a +5.0% gain in gas station sales (in line with higher gasoline prices).  Auto sales and building materials, both cyclical and choppy month-to-month, were up +1.1% and helped the overall results.  The next level of ‘cleaned-up’ data, retail sales ex-autos, gained a still-respectable +1.0% that beat the expected +0.5%.  Lastly, the ‘core/control’ retail sales number (which excludes autos, gasoline and building materials, and represents the figure that corresponds most closely to the consumer spending segment of the quarterly GDP report) gained +0.4%, double the expected +0.2% increase.  In addition, increases were broad, with strong results in ‘general merchandise,’ food/beverage and online sales.  What this tells us is that purchasing activity continues to improve—despite some fears of slowing due to this year’s payroll tax increases.  While still fairly low, this remains a tailwind in our favor. Read more

(+) The ISM Non-Manufacturing Index for February came in better than the expected 55.0 level with a small increase to 56.0.  New orders and business activity were higher, while employment deteriorated a bit (although still in expansionary territory).  Inventory expansion was also slightly higher.  Interestingly, anecdotal comments in the survey responses were optimistic with a general theme that business was ‘picking up’ in several industries in a more diversified way.

(+) Factory orders for January fell -2.0%, which was a touch better than the forecasted decline of -2.2%.  A large decline in aircraft orders (defense and non-defense—both of which are a ‘choppy’ series) accounted for a good portion of the result.  While ‘core’ (non-defense, non-aircraft) capital goods shipments fell -1.1% during the month, on the positive side, forward-looking core orders came in at a strong +7.2%.  Read more

(0) The CPI inflation number for January was flat, which was a bit less than the slight increase of +0.1% expected.  However, the core inflation number—which excludes more volatile food and energy prices—gained +0.3% as opposed to an expected +0.2%.  The difference was mainly due to an energy price decline in the headline figure, as well as marginal gains in apparel, tuition/child care and tobacco in the core number.  Year-over-year, the headline inflation number was up +1.6% and core +1.9%.  Similarly, the Producer Price Index for January rose +0.2% which was a tick below the expected +0.3% increase (and a year-over-year result of +1.4%).  The core number rose by an identical amount, in line with expectations. Read more

(0) Retail sales on a headline level came in close to consensus, with a +0.1% gain for January.  When sales ex-automobiles were removed, the growth bumped to +0.2%, which was a tenth of a percent better than expected.  Lastly, the ‘core/control’ number (which attempts to normalize things by excluding cyclical autos, gasoline stations and building materials—per what the government uses in their GDP calculations) rose +0.1% for the month, which was lower than the forecast +0.3%.  In the core figure, ‘misc.’ retailers such as office supply were down over two percent, while department stores were stronger by roughly a percentage point.  Net-net, despite payroll tax hike effects, it appears this year has begun decently in the retail sales arena, albeit with relatively flat numbers.

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