@theMarket: Two Steps Forward, One Step Back Keep Traders on Their ToesBy Bill Schmick, 02:09PM / Friday, April 26, 2024 | |
The S&P 500 bounced by more than 2 percent this week, retracing almost half of the 5 percent decline we have suffered so far in April. The jury is still out on whether this is only a dead-cat bounce or a signal that the downside is over.
It was a week of mixed messages for sure. Good earnings drove markets up on Monday and Tuesday. About 43 percent of companies listed on the S&P 500 Index have reported so far. Overall, 57 percent of them are beating estimates. Those that have been beaten are doing so by a median of 8 percent. There have been stand-out winners and losers among them.
Meta, for example, had good results, but its future guidance (higher 0 Comments Read More >> |
The Retired Investor: Real Estate Agents Face Bleak FutureBy Bill Schmick, 04:49PM / Thursday, April 25, 2024 | |
It has been a month since the National Association of Realtors (NAR) was forced to scrap a system of broker fees that has been in place for a generation. A federal court still must approve the change in June or July, but if it does, it could alter the way Americans buy and sell homes for decades into the future.
The change was precipitated by a series of class action lawsuits from home sellers that accused Realtors and the Realtors Association of keeping agent compensation artificially high. In October 2023, a federal jury in Kansas City found the NAR and some of the largest brokers in the country guilty of colluding to inflate real estate commissions.
The 0 Comments Read More >> |
@theMarket: Markets Sink as Inflation Stays Sticky, Geopolitical Risk HeightensBy Bill Schmick, 03:11PM / Friday, April 19, 2024 | |
Geopolitical risk, inflation, higher for longer, rising bond yields, take your pick. There are several reasons for the stock market sell-off. The bad news for investors is that after a counter-trend bounce, the selling should continue.
There are at least half a dozen reasons why the markets were down again this week. If you have been following my columns, you know that I have been expecting this decline for weeks. The truth is that this pullback is long overdue. I believe it is a healthy, if painful, development that could last a few weeks.
I am not discounting the reasons for this decline. The attack on Israel last weekend was gut-wrenching. My next-door 0 Comments Read More >> |
The Retired Investor: The Appliance ScamBy Bill Schmick, 05:44PM / Thursday, April 18, 2024 | |
If you haven't noticed, the price of large appliances continues to climb. What's worse, in a year or two, many find that the costly smart refrigerator, oven, or washing machine in your kitchen is suddenly plagued with all kinds of problems. What happened to the concept of quality?
In the last two years, my wife and I have had to purchase a new refrigerator and washer. The guy who delivered them warned me that it was just a matter of time before the dryer went as well. None of these items were more than 10 years old. I credit Rachel Wolfe of The Wall Street Journal for explaining why.
There seem to be three factors behind the shorter life span of 0 Comments Read More >> |
@theMarket: Sticky Inflation Propels Yields Higher, Stocks LowerBy Bill Schmick, 03:11PM / Friday, April 12, 2024 | |
"One's a dot, two's a line, three's a trend," is how the saying goes. When applied to the inflation data this week, it spelled bad news for the financial markets.
Over the last two months, inflation showed increases in both the Consumer Price Index (CPI) as well as the Producer Price Index (PPI). This week, the March CPI data came in warmer than investors had hoped (0.4 percent versus expectations of 0.3 percent). The PPI was slightly below forecasts, but the monthly core index matched expectations. Not good.
Economists might say the jury is still out on calling a backup in the inflation rate, but traders shoot first and ask questions 0 Comments Read More >> |
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