Jobs, Construction, and Europe Worries: Advisor Briefing for the Week of June 1, 2010

As the not-so-merry month of May ended, the major market indexes were down for the week, month, and year, prompted by the continuing crisis in Europe, which began with the Greek default concern and has since moved into euro-centric infighting on the future of the currency and the strength of euro-zone banks. Speaking of which, the European Central Bank issued a report on its concerns over the stability of banks in the euro zone on May 31.

The Congress remains in recess this week, but before it got out of town on May 28, the House passed an extension of a jobless bill that included taxes on some fund managers. The Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission holds hearings June 2 in New York on the ratings agencies; Warren Buffett is scheduled to testify. The New York Times’s Dealbook columnist, Andrew Ross Sorkin, described the issue in a June 2 article.