@theMarket: Wall Street Forecasts 2024 ReturnsBy Bill Schmick,
05:44PM / Friday, December 29, 2023 | |
As we close out 2023, stocks continue to inch higher. The traditional rally encompassing the last five days after Christmas into the first two days of the New Year is on track. Next week, trading should resume and with it a possible new high in the markets.
Low volume, empty desks, and a focus on buying up the laggards of 2023 describe the week's trading action. Macroeconomic news was scarce. In that vacuum, stocks were at the mercy of proprietary traders and the ODTE speculators. The financial media kept investors busy by publishing a forest full of 2024 forecasts by brokers and money managers.
Overall, the 2024 S&P 500 Index targets range 0 Comments
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The Retired Investor: How Ski Resorts Are Surviving Climate ChangeBy Bill Schmick,
04:34PM / Thursday, December 28, 2023 | |
Numerous studies have predicted that climate change will be the death knoll of skiing. That may be true, but year after year, ski resorts large and small seem to eke out one difficult season after another. And not every year has been a disaster.
No one is denying that the weather is changing, and winters are getting warmer. This week, which kicks off the 2023-2024 ski season, for example, most of the country is experiencing warm weather, disappointing skiers and resorts alike in the Midwest and New England. And yet, during the 2022-2023 ski season, there had been mammoth snowfalls in some areas of the country. Climate change can do that, dumping extraordinary amounts 0 Comments
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@theMarket: Santa's Stocking Full of Year-End Gains| 02:48PM / Friday, December 22, 2023 | |
It has been a heck of a year for equities. Most investors should see double-digit gains when they open their January reports. Is the best yet to come?
Officially, the Santa Claus rally comprises the last five trading days in December, plus the first two trading days in January. If that tradition holds, we should see further gains from here. However, many worry that Santa came early and all we face into the new year is a downside.
They have reason to worry. We are already quite extended. Bullish sentiment is over the top. Bond yields have dropped so low in such a short period that many traders are looking for a rebound in yields. In addition, there seems to 0 Comments
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The Retired Investor: End-of-Year Homework for Tax-Deferred InvestingBy Bill Schmick,
04:01PM / Thursday, December 21, 2023 | |
It is the season to be jolly, but don't let your busy schedule interfere with some "must-do" planning for this year and next. At the top of your financial list should be reviewing your tax-deferred accounts.
First things first. If you are required to take a minimum required distribution from your IRA or 401(k) by the end of the year, you are running out of time. The new rules state that if you are 73 years of age in 2023 you are required to take a mandatory MRD before January 2024. This requirement includes both pretax and Roth 401(k) accounts, and most IRAs.
If you skip your yearly RMD or don't withdraw enough, there is a 25 percent 0 Comments
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@theMarket: Fed Hints at Rate Cuts in 2024By Bill Schmick,
05:05PM / Friday, December 15, 2023 | |
The chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank signaled this week that the Fed's monetary tightening policy may be coming to an end. Investors reacted by lifting the main averages higher, building on a more than 10 percent rally since October.
The "Powell-ful Rally," is how some pundits explained the spike higher in the averages after Wednesday's FOMC meeting. The S&P 500 Index, already in an overbought condition, rallied 1.5 percent. Thursday and Friday, traders consolidated those gains by taking some minor profits.
While most of the Fed's policy statements remained the same, investors did see and hear enough to believe that the Fed is 0 Comments
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