2023 Challenges

What better way to celebrate New Year's Eve than to look ahead to the new year.  That's exactly what Consuelo Mack did for this week's edition of WealthTrack.  Happy New Year everyone!  

Wall St ends 2022 with biggest annual drop since 2008

For the final trading day of the year, all the indexes way down, the Dow almost 400 points, then suddenly a big buying surge in the final hour to close at about break-even, except the Dow which was down 73.  No major triggers today, just a continuing anxiety over various factors including rate hikes, recession fears, inflation, supply chain, the war and China COVID.  The year’s report card is as follows: S&P down 19.4%, Nasdaq 33.1%, Dow 8.9%, for the biggest declines since the 2008 financial crisis, the primary trigger for the year being a rout in growth due to rate hikes. 

Wall St ends firmer, growth stocks lead in thin trading

Just as yesterday was a straight down day on continuing pessimism, today was a straight up day on some newfound optimism with new data suggesting again that the rate hikes might be working in the fight against inflation. Part of that was an increase in unemployment benefits even if the overall labor market continues to be tight. The market was taking a break from the overwhelming pressure to sell.  Generally speaking, for the year the S&P is down 19.3%, the Nasdaq 33%, and the tech, consumer, and communication sectors down 29-40%.  The Dow with its high-dividend stocks has been the market’s refuge, down only 8.5 percent. For the short holiday week, volume remains well below average at just 8.78 billion. 

U.S. stocks drop on recession fears, Nasdaq closes at new bear market low

With two trading days left in the year the indexes all took another sharp drop straight down all day with no new triggers, just more of the same.  A combo of negative and mixed data all impeded the traditional Santa Claus rally which did not show up this year. Neither the traditional strong December nor the traditional strong rally the week after Christmas have happened, sending investors to the exits. The rising COVID cases in China and that potential for hurting industries is also not helping. The S&P is down 20%, the Nasdaq more severely, its lowest close since the bear market began a year ago. Volume remains light at 8.6 billion. 

S&P 500, Nasdaq close lower, weighed by growth stocks

Growth and tech took a hit today with both the S&P and Nasdaq down but the Dow (value) benefitted being down about 130 in the morning and up about 200 by noon but then settling down to close up 37.  Rising Treasury yields pressured the growth stocks with everyone fleeing to the safety of value with industrials, utilities and energy outperforming, something we’ve seen all year.  An important lesson passed on by today’s expert: “It’s important to remember that there are other groups that can take up the baton when the high-flyers come back to earth.” In other words – diversify!  

Top Quality Income Performance

To complete the theme of winning stock selections for the close of this holiday weekend, here is the latest interview from WealthTrack with the manager of the JP Morgan Equity Income Fund as we all seek ways to squeeze more cash out of our investments.  Have a good week now that's it's finally warming up.  

10 Best Blue-Chip Stocks to Buy for 2023, 9 of the Best Cheap Stocks to Buy Under $10

A double bonus today for your Christmas gift -- the best blue chips and the best cheapies.  Hope everyone had a great holiday.  I had to cancel my plans because of the roads and almost everyone I know canceled their plans due to either the roads or illness in the family. My friends and I are now planning a double celebration New Year's Eve. The big blessing is that at least we're not in Ukraine.  

AAII Investor Update: Changes to Retirement Savings In Omnibus Bill

Here's a little holiday gift courtesy of this week's edition of the AAII that many of us might useful -- how the new omnibus bill impact our retirement savings. Have a blessed holiday, stay warm, and travel safe.  

Wall St ends higher, Treasury yields rise after data flurry

Just as yesterday ended with all the indexes way in the red but rebounding, this morning all remained briefly in the red before making their way into positive territory for the rest of the session, the Dow closing up 176.  But my oh my, how fickle is this market. Wednesday saw a big rally due to recession optimism which changed to a big sell off Thursday over recession pessimism. Today there was optimism again after a flurry of reports showed a softening economy pointing to the hikes doing their intended – bringing down inflation.

Wall Street tumbles on rate, recession worries, bleak chipmaker outlook

All the indexes dropping big time all day, the Dow losing nearly 1,000 points by 1:30 pm but then recovered more than half of those losses to close down about 350.  The other indexes followed a similar suit.  Just as yesterday optimism was triggered by the sentiment that recession was already priced into the market, today's pessimism was triggered by sentiment that recession was not priced in, that it was likely going to be bad and likely going to be global. Much of this newfound pessimism came from positive reports that Q3 GDP was higher than the previous estimate, that unemployment was lower than the prior estimate and that tech was underperforming.  

Wall Street ends up with help from Nike, FedEx and consumer sentiment

Fears of recession abated a bit today as consumer confidence hit an 8-month high and inflation retreated with the 12-month forecast falling to 6.7%, its lowest in 15 months. The combo of slumping home sales and resilient corporate earnings is proving a big positive that triggered the broad rally. The declining home sales attributed to higher mortgage rates also fueled new hopes that the Fed might ease up.  The best news as stated by today’s expert: “We still have some headwinds ahead but maybe we don’t have to price in a recession twice. So far what we’ve seen this year has already priced in a mild recession.”  Volume was below average at 9.8 billion. 

Wall St closes slightly higher after four-day sell off

It was another volatile day between red and black with the Dow down about a hundred points in the early morning and up some 230 points by 2 pm to close up 92 points. The trigger this time was Japan tweaking its interest rates which in turn impacted U.S. Treasury yields pushing the 10 year note to 3.7%, a 3 week high.  Other pressures included the same old-same old fears of recession and a new fear of weak holiday sales with now the “retailers are having to do massive sales” with consumer preferences shifting to services rather than goods. As today’s expert put it, “People have gotten their heads handed to them all year and they’re not confident enough to want to step in.”  Home building is at a 2-1/2 year low and, as has been expected for some time, the S&P is on track for its biggest annual decline since 2008.  Volume was below the 4-week average at 10.5 billion. 

Wall Street falls fourth straight day as recession worries nag

After a brief hundred-point early morning rally, the Dow retreated steadily for the rest of the day, reaching a low over 400 down around 3 pm before a final hour rally that recovered over half of the day’s losses to close down 162.  The other indexes spent the entire day in retreat.  It’s a trend that started last Wednesday when Fed Chair Powell announced the expected rate hikes but the market was unhappy that the hikes are continuing despite the weakening economy. 

15 Best Dividend Stocks to Buy for 2023

With the market being down, it's appropriate to get the latest on the best dividend stocks as per this week's most recent edition of U.S. News Invested. Hope everyone had a very nice weekend.  

Future Market Pain

Building on the last few days of panic selling with the market consensus now shifting, rightly or wrongly, toward recession -- this week's WealthTrack follows this topic with a discussion of the pain the future may or may not bring to investors.  Enjoy the weekend.  

Wall Street ends lower for third straight day as recession worries rise

All the indexes took another big dive today, the Dow down some 350 points by 1 pm to then slowly recover to a 281 point loss by close.  It was the third down day in a row as the skeptics were firmly in charge with sentiment growing stronger that we are headed for recession triggered by today’s comments from various Fed officials that more tightening was on the way for 2023.  This is the third day of panic selling despite the fact that the Fed has done nothing that was not expected.  The market had hoped for just two more small hikes early next year and that’s what the Fed said would likely happen. 

Wall Street slumps as Fed heightens recession fears

The day after the Fed announcement that rate hikes would continue since recession was still not under control, and even though such hikes were in line with expectations, the sell off that started after yesterday’s announcement turned into full scale panic today over fears of recession with all the indexes plunging right out the gate and all day long.  The Dow closed down 764, its biggest one-day % drop since September 13^th, the S&P and Nasdaq’s biggest drop since November 2.  

Wall Street ends lower after latest Fed rate hike

The Dow opened in the black right out the gate and continued rising some 200 points until 2 pm when suddenly it went crashing down some 700 points but then recovered to just a 142 point loss by close.  The same happened to all the indexes.  It was at 2 pm that Fed Chair Powell announced the ½ point rate hike and though that’s what the market wanted – and Powell also projected two more hikes next year – and that’s also what the market had wanted as of yesterday, the fact that he did not explicitly state that hikes would end and instead stuck to the program in stating inflation was not yet whipped so it was too soon to talk about rate cuts, sent the market into a tizzy.  

Wall St rises after CPI data but Fed concerns persist

Dow up over 700 points right out the gate, but immediately started a steady decline to dip 100 in the red by 1 pm, then steadily rose to a hundred point gain by close. The initial boom resulted from the CPI report which, though not reaching the hoped-for “6-handle,” nonetheless came in favorably lower than expectations and, at 7.1% (vs 7.3%), came awfully close to the 6% range. But it didn’t last long before investors decided that the excitement was premature and could be easily negated by Wednesday’s rate hike announcement so the selling started again.  

Wall St rallies with inflation, Fed on tap

It was another day straight up for all the indexes, all based on bets that inflation data and the December Fed rate hike coming this week will be good news.  In fact, the market is really betting on the so-called “6-handle,” meaning that Tuesday’s CPI, expected to be an improvement at 7.3% will instead dip into the 6% range.  Also providing a boost to the markets today was Microsoft buying 4% of the London Stock Exchange, which in most quarters is considered a majority stake. Fears remain that the rate hikes will push the economy into recession. The S&P is still down 16% for the year, though quite an improvement on June, is still well on its way for the first loss in four years, and on its way to the first ever failure to break-even by year-end after a bad first half.  Volume was a little below average at 10.35 billion. 

Alternative Investments When Stocks Are Down

As a finale to your weekend pleasures, I give you Mr. Barry Burns and Top Dog Trading. I've actually been on his email list for quite a long while (along with quite a few others) and most of these guys are not to be taken seriously and I haven't made up my mind about Mr. Top Dog yet.  But the title of this new video sent this morning struck me as intriguing and of possible interest to everyone.  It's only about 15 minutes and I haven't even watched it yet but any tips on exploring alternatives in a down market are worth 15 minutes.  Just don't be surprised if it turns out he's just selling another program for beating the market.  Almost all these videos and mailings end that way.  Hope everyone had a great weekend.  

10 Best Low-Cost Index Funds to Buy

We all love index funds and we especially love low cost.  Here is the latest list from U.S. News Invested.  Hope everyone is enjoying their weekend.  

Wall Street ends lower as investors digest economic data

The indexes spent almost the entire day firmly in the red, the Dow down some 100 points most of the afternoon, then suddenly diving another 200 in the final half hour to close down 305. There was no explanation for the sudden drop at close, which happened with all three indexes, and further mystery over the day’s sell off given that reports showed inflation coming down and consumer sentiment improving with even inflation expectations now at a 15 month low. Another odd occurrence was futures traders today putting the ½ point rate hike for December at only 77% versus money market traders on Tuesday putting it at 91 percent. Consumer price reports will be out Tuesday. Volume was below average at 9.9 billion. 

S&P 500, Nasdaq snap losing streaks after jobless claims rise

All the indexes were solidly in the black all day with the Dow even up some 300 points in the morning before losing almost all of it in the afternoon until a very late surge boosted it to close up 183.  Just as the prior days’ losses were due to too good reports that spurred fears again of continuing rate hikes, today’s bad report showing an increase in jobless claims gave more assurance that the hikes may be easing after all.  The main thrust of sentiment seems to be that the market is struggling to adjust to what has for quite some time been a stimulus-based economy to what is now quickly evolving into a fundamentals-based economy, which is where it needs to be.  Friday brings the much-awaited reports on PPI and consumer sentiment.  Volume was below average at 10 billion. 

S&P, Nasdaq extend losing streaks amid rising recession worries

It was another volatile seesaw day with the Dow going back and forth between black and red in a 300-point range at least four times during the session to finally close even.  The Nasdaq and S&P were equally volatile but spent the session mostly in the red.  And even though the consensus for a ½ point rate hike this month has risen again, investors are still grappling with all the doom and gloom yesterday from the top financial executives.  The VIX reached about 22.7 today, its highest in three weeks. The S&P is looking like it’s going to snap a three year winning streak, which may bring the even larger consequence of breaking an historic precedent of recovering completely by year-end after a losing first half.  Volume was a little below average at 10.3 billion. 

S&P posts 4th straight decline as recession talk weighs on Wall Street

It was another big shot straight down as more good news dampened previous optimism that the economy was cooling down and bolstering fears that the rate hikes have not had the desired effect on inflation and thus could likely lead to recession next year. But today’s main trigger was a whole battery of major financial CEOs from BofA to JP Morgan sharing their own dire predictions that the economy was heading for a downturn.  

Wall St slides as services data spooks investors about Fed rate hikes

It was a shot straight down for all three indexes all day long to close down sharply, the Dow a big 482 points. Good data on the health of the economy is what triggered the selloff, particularly with a strong services sector, contrary to the usual logic that would ordinarily have caused a rally but, in this case, instead triggered more concerns about inflation and more rate hikes. 

2022's 10 Best-Performing Stocks

To close out this first chilly weekend of December, here is the latest from U.S. News Invested listing the best performing stocks for 2022.  Stay warm and enjoy the week.  

Buffett's Enduring Influence

From the latest episode of WealthTrack comes another seminar on the impact Warren Buffett has had on the entire investing universe. There are lessons always to be learned here.  Hope everyone is having a good weekend.  

S&P 500 ends slightly lower after jobs report

The indexes started deeply in the red, the Dow almost 400 points and then gradually rose to close near break-even.  The main trigger was the payrolls report that came in considerably higher than forecast adding to expectations that the Fed will continue with the rate hikes until we see a reversal in wage growth. The good news is that a taper is still expected for December and that the goal on inflation and subsequent cutting of rates will be here in about a year. There also continues to be the expectation of the usual seasonal December rally.  No volume data included below but, per the CBOE, 10.4 billion shares were traded. 

Wall Street ends mixed; Salesforce selloff pressures Dow

Under normal conditions, today’s package of good news should have triggered another rally but after yesterday’s huge rally, the market instead took a breath and bad news from Salesforce brought the Dow down, losing almost 500 points in the morning but recovering to close 194 down. But the PCE rose less than expected and manufacturing shrank, all suggesting that the rate hikes are working and the economy is cooling down. The oddsmakers now put a 79% chance for a ½ point rate hike in December. The S&P is now down 14% YTD (vs 25% in October) but a few more days like yesterday and it’ll be at break-even again for the year. Yesterday volume was huge and today it was much closer to the 4-week average at 11.7 billion. 

Wall Street ends sharply higher after Powell comments

It must have been right at 1 pm that Powell made his speech because that’s when all three indexes shot way up after spending the whole day in the red. And I mean way up, the Dow closing up some 2.2%, the Nasdaq 4.4, the S&P a whopping 3.1 percent on the Fed chair’s optimistic comments that rate hikes may well soon be slowing, likely in December.  It’s the news investors have been waiting for and shot the odds for a ½ point December increase to 75 percent. November has ended with a bang, all three indexes ending with monthly increases, the Nasdaq over 4%, the S&P and Dow both over 5. 

S&P 500 ends down as Apple dips and traders eye Powell speech

It was quite the seesaw day again with the Dow bouncing back and forth between deep red (about 200 down) and just barely above breakeven four times before closing again just barely above break-even. The S&P followed a similar deep in the red most of the day until just before close, the Nasdaq not so lucky staying well in the red all day.  The problems in China impacted Apple which dropped more than 2% for the fourth straight session and impacted all of tech along its path. 

Wall Street ends down sharply, hit by Apple and China worries

After a pretty optimistic week last week the markets took a big dive today as a reaction to all the weekend protests in China as investors try to second-guess what that nation’s future COVID policy will be.  And with all the unrest at Apple’s China factory, that giant took a big hit which was another major factor driving down the indexes.  As today’s expert put it, “We think COVID itself and China policy is one of the key variables for 2023.”  But volume was very thin again at just 9.3 billion as investors await key reports this week on consumer confidence (Tuesday), Q3 GDP (Wednesday) and payrolls (Friday.)  Cyber Monday is expected to make another record today with an estimate at $11.6 billion. 

New Inflation Era

To close out this long holiday weekend and given how successful it is now reported that Black Friday turned out to be, breaking all records for Black Friday and coming in even a tad higher than the most optimistic projections, here's is Consuelo Mack's latest take on inflation.  Whether this big Black Friday weekend helps or hurts inflation is yet to be seen.  And, of course, there's also Cyber Monday coming up tomorrow, also one of the biggest shopping days of the year.  Hope everyone had a great holiday.  

16 Nuggets of Financial Advice From Warren Buffett

To kick off this holiday season, here are sixteen pearls of wisdom from the Oracle of Omaha.  Hope everyone is getting a lot of shopping done this weekend.  Me, I'm sitting home enjoying a free weekend of HBO and Showtime. The big winner so far is the very charming Bryan Cranston financial comedy, "Jerry and Marge Go Large."  True story.  

Nasdaq ends down as investors eye Black Friday sales, China infections

Black Friday doesn’t count.  Such was the sentiment as summarized by today’s expert, “It’s such a low volume trading day as most people are at home that I never count Friday after Thanksgiving.”  As it was, there was a shot straight up all day on the Dow and an equally dramatic shot straight down on the Nasdaq, with the S&P modestly in the black for most of the day until diving in the final minutes to break-even. At the time of market close it was still too early to gauge the impact of Black Friday sales but tonight’s evening news reported that Black Friday came very close to the optimistic estimates. 

9 Dividend Stocks to Buy and Hold Forever

For Thanksgiving, 9 stocks to be thankful for because you can hold them forever.  Happy Thanksgiving everyone.  

Wall Street rises as Fed signals slowdown in rate hikes

The Dow was up some 220 points right out the gate this morning, then came crashing down over 250 points just before noon before beginning another ascent around 1 pm to close up 95.  As has frequently been pointed out, the market is being driven by the Fed these days and today’s Fed minutes showed a “substantial majority” of them would “likely” soon support the slowing of rate hikes. There was abundant praise for the “renewed investor enthusiasm” and “that beautiful light at the end of a very dark tunnel and so much money on the sidelines that is waiting to get back into the action.” But there’s been no explanation as to what caused the market to tank in the middle of the day. As has been the case for the holiday week, volume was thin at 9.2 billion. 

S&P closes at more than two-month high on retail, energy lift

It was a shot straight up for all three indexes all day long as Best Buy revised its holiday forecast for a smaller drop than previously stated, lifting optimism for the shopping season across the whole retail sector. Dollar General dropped, though, indicating that the discount stores with their smaller margins are likely more susceptible to rising prices than other retailers and that the lower income consumer is also more sensitive to increases.  There is still a tug of war trying to figure out the Fed as more Fed presidents who had earlier turned dovish suddenly switched gears Tuesday and reiterated the need for more and higher rate hikes. For the holiday week, volume remains light and considerably below average at just 9.4 billion. 

Wall Street slips as concerns rise of stricter China COVID curbs

All the indexes down all day long except the Dow that was initially down about 100 about noon but recovered to breakeven around 2 pm and then slide down 45 to close.  But the tech heavy S&P and Nasdaq were down all day, especially the Nasdaq. The trigger was China imposing more restrictions on what may be the most severe outbreak of COVID yet, threatening all international businesses, particularly tech. The seesaw on the Dow, and to a certain extent on the S&P is attributed to Fed presidents once again taking a dovish approach and predicting softer rate hikes beginning in December. But due to the short holiday week, volume is low at only 9.4 billion and thus exaggerating volatility. 

10 Stocks Warren Buffett Just Bought and Sold

To close out this very frigid weekend, the latest from Warren Buffett.  Enjoy the week.  It'll be warmer.  

9 High-Yield Dividend Stocks to Buy

From this week's U.S. News Invested and for those who are invested for stable income rather than growth, here are their 9 latest recommendations for high paying dividends.  Stay warm this very frigid weekend.  

S&P 500 ends higher, led by defensive shares

It was yet another rocky day with the Dow up and down between a +200 and break-even all day to finally rally after 2 pm to close up almost 200.  The S&P followed a similar pattern while tech spent almost all day in the red as investors fled to the safety of defensive shares. As was the case yesterday, the trigger was again Fed officials coming out very hawkish and predicting an almost certain ¾ point rate hike again in December after days of market optimism about a ½ point hike. The good news, as today’s expert put it, “We have had some very hawkish talk but it hasn’t hit the market to the downside as it has in the past.”  Volume was again well below the 4-week average at 9.7 billion shares traded. 

Wall Street drops as hawkish Fed official comments weigh

All the indexes had a bumpy ride again today with the Dow down some 300 points in the morning before reaching break-even around 1 pm, then diving again just to begin another rise in the final half hour to close around break-even. Yesterday there was excitement when a couple of usually hawkish Fed governors expressed their views that rate hikes would soon cool down.  Today, it was that same gadfly out of St. Louis Fed prez James Bullard, who has done this so many times before, and who again threw cold water on all those hopes in stating that the hikes so far “had only limited effects on inflation” and that likely they would continue, probably for quite a while.  

Wall Street ends down after Target outlook, Micron supply cut

It was quite a volatile day again as both the Nasdaq and S&P spent the day decidedly in the red and the Dow seesawed back and forth at least a half dozen times between black and red in a 200-point range before settling at a modest 39 point loss.  Target was the trigger with its grim forecast for holiday sales spurring new doubts about consumer spending, doubts that spread to other major retailers like Macy’s, Best Buy and Foot Locker.  Micron also had bad news about a reduction in chip supply and a reduction in capital spending, something that has always seemed strange to me in the midst of a critical chip shortage that the chip companies would be cutting production. 

Wall Street gains on inflation data, but rocky on geopolitics

Riding high on the PPI report that came in a full 0.3% better than the estimate, a full 4% lower, the indexes were way up in the morning, the Dow some 450 points until about 1 pm when an unconfirmed report of a missile, allegedly launched from Russia, landed in a Polish border city with Ukraine killing two people.  That triggered an immediate crash that lasted about an hour before investors starting buying into the inflation report again, taken along with others, that inflation has rounded the corner and bringing the indexes back up, especially tech, with the Dow closing up 56 points. At the end of the day, the markets chose to shake off the potential for the war expanding and instead focus on the good inflation report with volume above average at 13.1 billion. 

Wall Street ends lower as investors gauge Fed's policy path

In a seesaw session, the indexes were up for most of the afternoon, the Dow up over 200 points before 2 pm before everything went south losing 400 points by close, most of that in the last 20 minutes. The tech-heavy Nasdaq was a bit different with losses all day until 2 pm when it briefly broke even then started another decline, again most of it in the last half hour.  The up and down was attributed to several Fed officials sharing their views that rates may very well slow in December. But then bets were hedged, as they always are when awaiting other news, to see how the PPI data goes on Tuesday and, more importantly, to assess more Fed officials as they comment on rate hikes later this week and, of course, more data.  With all this hedging, volume was below average at 11.5 billion. 

4 Ways 2022 Midterms May Impact Stocks

This article may have been written before most election results were known and before it was known that there would be no red wave. However, much of the advice remains valid.  One huge bit of good news is the historical trend cited in this article that the S&P, though having poor returns in the year prior to a midterm, generally has a 16.3% return in the year following, most of that in the first 90 days after the election.  If that trend proves true this year, then right now is an ideal time to buy the S&P.  Hope everyone had a great weekend.  

Investing Wisdom

This week's topic on WealthTrack is the wisdom of investors adapting to change as the markets certainly have been undergoing an evolutionary scale of change.  The guest is Charles Ellis of Greenwich Associates who has spent his career advising clients on adapting to changes in the market.  Included in this episode is a discussion of his latest book, "Figuring It Out: Sixty Years of Answering Investors' Most Important Questions."  Enjoy and enjoy the weekend.  

Nasdaq, S&P 500 end sharply higher, fueled by inflation optimism

Dow down over 300 points in the morning before beginning an ascent for the rest of the day to close just above break-even. This was due primarily to a decline in the healthcare sector, something that typically happens on growth rally days. That is the trend, when growth rises, value falls and vice-versa.  But the growth indexes spent the day still riding high from yesterday’s very positive CPI report and once again the market displayed exuberant confidence in the Fed trimming back rate hikes as early as next month, so much so that in two short days the oddsmakers put a ½ point December hike at 81% vs Wednesday’s 52.  This was the biggest weekly gain for the S&P since June and for the Nasdaq since March.  Volume was heavy at 13.5 billion. 

Wall Street ends sharply higher on sign of cooling inflation

Dow up some 650 points right out the gate and then just keep going up another 550 points by close in the market’s biggest one-day gain in 2-1/2 years. So for one day at least, election news got knocked off the front page in favor of the first really hopeful inflation report to come along since it all first peaked last March. It was plenty enough to trigger a huge jump in the forecast for a ½ vs ¾ pt December rate hike to 85% vs yesterday’s 52.  That’s what caused the real excitement though some experts feel that is entirely premature. 

Wall Street ends lower after midterm election, CPI in focus

A straight shot down all day as, after two days of rallies promoted by the optimism of a red wave, the markets expressed their disappointment with the election results.  Though the much wanted gridlock and end to Biden policies may still happen, it no longer is as sure-fire as it seemed yesterday.  The red wave did not happen and, even if the Republicans do still prevail, it will be by very thin margins, not the agenda-setting plurality they were hoping for.  Further hurting the market was a big drop in Disney, the biggest in 22 years, and Tesla dropping to a 2-year low after Musk sold nearly $4B of his stock. All eyes now are on the CPI report due Thursday for another look at the inflation picture.  As final election results remain in limbo, volume was light at 11.6 billion. 

Wall Street ends higher as investors eye U.S. midterms

Tue 11-8-22

Just like yesterday, in anticipation of Republican victories in today’s election, it was a straight shot up for all the indexes with the Dow again gaining very handsomely over 500 points.  Then shortly after 1 pm, everything came crashing down to very close to break-even by 2:30 before everything started rallying again to close up 333 points.  There was no explanation given for this crash.  But for the second day investors are betting heavily on Republican control of Congress which translates for them to gridlock for two years, two years of no more tax hikes and no more tech regulations. But until results are actually in, volume remains light at 11.7 billion.  Included below is a very informative graph showing in an eye-shot the performance of every S&P sector for 2022 so far. 

U.S. stocks end higher, Meta jumps as investors eye midterms

OMG, speak of cynicism, today was the ultimate!  Ordinarily political gridlock would be considered anathema to the market – and to the country at large.  But today – not to Wall Street!  With high expectations that the Republicans will win at least one house in Congress on Tuesday, stocks rallied big time in the high hopes that if the Republicans do prevail, there will be gridlock for the remainder of Biden’s term.  This is to say, as stated by today’s expert, “That would probably take tax hikes off the table, and any sort of big spending potentially perceived as inflationary off the table.”  

Spooky Investing Horror Stories

This week's AAII newsletter should have been published last weekend due to its theme but the topic is still quite valuable -- all the horrific mistakes investors commonly make that define the difference between profits and losses.  Enjoy, and hope everyone enjoyed their weekend.  

Wall St rallies to close out soft week after jobs report

Note: This was not published on Fri 11-4-22 since my Internet connection was out. 

All the indexes followed the same pattern today with the Dow zooming up over 500 around 11 a.m., then immediately crashing down to break-even by 2 pm, then zooming up again to close up 401.  At the base of the volatility was mixed messaging with an uptick in unemployment taken as giving the Fed room to downsize, but that counterbalanced by wages rising slightly as did job growth. The good news, as the graph shows, is that the miss in the estimate was very small.  

Wall St down for fourth straight day on Fed rate hike worry

Fed jitters continue with the Dow down almost 400 points at open, but then recovering to break-even by noon and for the rest of the afternoon until just before close when it plummeted again to close down 146.  But at least it was a wash for most of the day until another labor report came in validating the job market continues plenty strong enough to encourage more rate hikes. This was balanced by another report showing a slowing in services, but not enough to take away jitters. 

Wall Street drops as Powell signals Fed not close to done

Just below the radar until 2 pm, then up sharply about 300 points very briefly before then plummeting nearly 800 points in the last 90 minutes to close down 505 points.  And it just serves as a reminder of why we love the stock market so much in all of its unpredictability for the Fed today did pretty much exactly as expected, which should have triggered a rally but instead had the opposite effect. Why?  Though investors expected the ¾ pt rate hike and some hint that there would soon be some pullback, the message about the pullback was not quite as strong as hoped for.  

Wall St slips as jobs data dents hopes for Fed rate deceleration

Just like yesterday, the Dow sank as low as 250 points by 11 a.m. before rebounding for the rest of the session to close down just 79.  Today’s trigger was an all-too healthy hiring report which showed the labor market remaining strong and thus watering down hopes that the winnowing of rate hikes could begin as early as December. Wednesday’s Fed statement will shed more light. The statement is published at 2 p.m. so watch for movement in buying or selling at that time. One bright spot that got trounced by the hiring report was the manufacturing report which had its slowest growth in 2-1/2 years. Awaiting the Fed’s release on Wednesday, volume was below average at 11.1 billion. 

Happy Halloween everyone!

Mon 10-31-22

Happy Halloween everyone!  Since I've just gotten in after a very long day (and have another very long day tomorrow), I'm making this one of my rare nights since I started this blog a dozen years ago that I will be skipping the post tonight.  

The highlights:  The Dow down 128, the S&P -29, the Nasdaq -114.  

A very brief summary: A modest selloff today as a hedge against the near certainly of a 3/4 pt rate hike on Wednesday, but still holding out hope that there will be signals that the Fed will start backing off as early as December.  

Top Quality Income Performance

As promised yesterday, last night's post was dedicated to high risk, high profit stocks. Tonight's post is from this week's episode of WeathTrack in which Consuelo Mack talks to Clare Hart of JP Morgan's Equity Income Fund for a more conservative strategy involving investing for income rather than growth. Hope everyone enjoyed the weekend.  

7 High-Risk Stocks For Aggressive Investors

This weekend's extracurriculars will revolve around the themes of risk and safety.  Today I present this week's article from U.S. News Invested, for those of you who are risk-on, featuring their seven best pics of high payoff stocks for those who prefer profits over safety.  Tomorrow I will present a list of much more conservative stocks designed for those who prefer income over growth.  Enjoy the weekend.  It's going to get wet soon. 

Wall Street surges to sharply higher close ahead of Fed week

Even though it’s not quite the last trading day of the month, today’s enormous rally is already giving October the moniker of being “the best month in the history of the Dow.”  That’s quite a lot of hyperbole but at least does highlight the fact that economic data and earnings outlook is looking very positive and once again fueling a risk-on appetite.  Contrary to last month’s consensus that the door to lower rate hikes was slammed emphatically shut, today they’re putting even odds that rate hikes will begin to slow as early as December.  

S&P 500, Nasdaq slide, while Dow ends higher on mixed earnings picture

Tech continued to take a hit with Meta, following Microsoft and Google, plunging 24.6% and with Amazon plunging 12% after the bell and losing over $100B in value in just one day, there will likely continue to be a tech plunge on Friday. But there was good news on GDP as well as data showing Q3 inflation holding steady which held out further hopes that a winnowing of rate hikes may be coming as soon as December, the odds now at 55 percent. That shot the Dow up some 500 points this morning but that was followed by a steady decline all day to close up 194.  

S&P 500 ends lower, snapping rally on mounting slowdown fears

With Microsoft and Google foundering in after hours trading yesterday, there was a consensus that today the market would fall.  Indeed, after a promising morning with continuing soft data still supporting hopes for a Fed slowdown, the two megacaps brought everything down. The Dow was up over 330 points by 11 a.m. but quickly crashed the rest of the day to close at break-even.  Tech, of course, was hit much harder as was the S&P. 

Wall St extends rally on signs of ebbing Fed rate hikes

For the third straight day the big rally continues with soft economic data bolstering investor hopes that since the Fed policies to tame inflation appear to be working that a pullback in rate hikes may be in our near future. Today’s reports showing sliding home prices and souring consumer confidence were taken as evidence of abating Fed hawkishness.  But on a negative note, post-bell bad Q3 reports from Microsoft and Google raised expectations that the market will fall on Wednesday.  But today’s results were good enough to raise the Q3 earnings forecast to 3.3%, up from 3% yesterday but still far below the 4.5 from early October. Volume was above average at 11.9 billion. 

Wall St closes sharply higher on hopes of abating Fed

In normal times a slowing economy would be bad news but these are not normal times.  Indeed, the slowdown is very indicative that the Fed’s program to cool down the economy and stem inflation is working and it is this new hope that began Friday and continued in earnest all day today that shot all the indexes way up again, the Dow 417 points, all in the hopes that the cooling data will also come with slower rate hikes, maybe as soon as December. Q3 earnings growth is still projected at 3%, down from 4.5% in early October and way down from the 11% from early July. As of today, 20% of S&P companies have reported and about 75% of those have beaten estimates. And there’s a whole slew of heavy hitters coming this week.  Volume was a little above average at 11.8 billion. 

15 of the Best Dividend Stocks to Buy for 2022

And to cap off this beautiful weekend, the latest edition of U.S. News Invested once again has its most current recommendations for those who invest for income.  

New Cryptocurrency Scam - Pig Butchering

Here's something different for your weekend reading, the latest in cryptocurrency scams courtesy of our Michigan Attorney General's office, an email list that anyone can get on just by going to the Oakland County website and signing up for it and any of dozens of other newsletters including the latest local COVID updates.  

Wall Street ends higher as hopes for less aggressive Fed grow

For the last two days despite great Q3 reports the markets were overwhelmed by fears of rate hikes and recession and thus tumbled. Today, despite poor Q3 reports, the markets were overwhelmed by Fed hints that an easing of rate hikes may be in the near future and thus soared. The Dow started the day down about 130 points but then almost immediately started climbing to a total of nearly 900 points to close up 748.  So this confirms either that rate hikes are more important than earnings or that the market is just plain fickle and unpredictable. I vote for the latter.  Volume was above average at just over 12.1 billion. 

Wall Street ends lower as Fed worries outweigh earnings

It was a repeat of yesterday but only more dramatic with all the indexes way up in the morning, the Dow some 400 points, all on the strength of great Q3 reports until, just like yesterday, it all came crashing down on fears again of rate hikes and recession all to close in the red again, almost exactly the same amount as yesterday. The main concern, as today’s expert put it, “I’m not sure we’re going to be able to see that pause,” that is the pause in rate hikes that some Fed governors and investors are still banking on.  

Equities close lower as rise in yields overshadows earnings

After being up some 140 points in the morning, the Dow along with all the other indexes took a sudden and persistent dive around 11 a.m. hitting a session low some 300 points down by 1 pm before reversing course and closing down just 100.  This was despite the fact that there was mostly good news today, good Q3 reports with Netflix leading the charge with some 2.4 million new subscribers heading for 4.5 million by year-end, the Fed’s Beige Book showing some inflation easing and a cooling labor market and more evidence that the overall economy was cooling with housing starts down some 8.1 percent last month. But the one bit of bad news – Treasury yields hitting a 14 year high – thereby sapping all the other good news. But the better news, as stated by today’s expert, “ultimately good earnings will lead to stocks going higher.”  But today’s news was good enough to boost the Q3 earnings forecast in just one day from 2.8% to 3.  Volume was a little below average at 11 billion. 

U.S. stocks extend rally, Treasury yields dip after solid earnings, economic data

It was another volatile day with the Dow up over 650 points in the morning, then falling to a +100 before noon, and a couple more ups and downs before rising in the final hour to close up 337 points. The other two followed much the same pattern for a second consecutive day of an impressive rally.  As the sentiment goes, “the market was a bit oversold leading into Monday.”  But the more dominant sentiment became “better than expected quarterly results” which has been the trend for years now, that and a nice jolt from positive industrial output.  But the best sentiment – “The belief that a recession is coming and the Fed is going to be raising rates is now baked into the market.” 

Wall Street rallies after BofA results, UK reversal

Why is everyone so surprised that the banks are turning in good solid Q3 reports due to benefiting from higher rates?  Banks always benefit from higher rates, one of the few industries that do. It would be a surprise if their Q3 had been bad!  But that’s what happened today with BofA turning in solid results along with fellow bank NY Mellon as well as good news from Britain’s new finance minister.  The good news bled over to Goldman Sachs, though their report doesn’t come until Tuesday, and to the whole banking sector which was boosted nearly 3.5% and by extension to all the other 11 sectors.  In other words, as today’s expert put it, “any type of good news in the margin can go a long way.”  All three indexes were way up all day, the Dow a whopping 550 points.  Volume was below average at 10.6 billion. 

Capital Allocation Focus

From this week's WealthTrack program comes an important investment tool that is largely ignored by most, except by this week's guest, David Giroux, who is an expert in picking winning stocks using Capital Allocation models.  Enjoy ... and profit.  Hope everyone had a great weekend.  

7 Best Long-Term ETFs to Buy and Hold

From Friday's edition of U.S. News Invested, 7 top ETFs for your consideration during the wonderful autumn weekend.  

Wall St drops as consumer data stokes inflation worry

It was worsening inflation vs improving consumer sentiment that dominated the markets today and inflation concerns won the day bringing all the indexes way down again, the Dow 403 points.  This is despite positive retail sales data showing resilience which is always good but the new narrative that is beating all is that peak inflation is not evident yet. This confused me as I’ve been seeing reports for months now that inflation has been steadily if slowly decreasing since March which means we have seen peak inflation.  

Wall Street ends up 2% after sharp reversal; technicals help

With this morning’s CPI data coming in with bad news, all three indexes fell right out of the gate. But then investors must have given the issue a second thought because they evidently quickly concluded that the CPI numbers were already priced in and therefore it was a prime opportunity for snatching up bargains. After all, the CPI report, though not great at 8.2%, was after all just 0.1% above the forecast of 8.1% so, as today’s expert put it, “all we really need is things to be not as bad as suspected.”  

Wall St ends volatile day lower after Fed minutes, PPI

A very choppy day with the Dow up and down a dozen times or more during the session, but the good news is that for most of the upticks it was up 200 points or more, as was also true for both the Nasdaq and S&P.  Then all three indexes came crashing down in the final half hour to close very modestly in the red. Today’s market action illustrates just how fickle things have become – and how sensitive to any readings that don’t hit the bullseye as the PPI number came in at 8.5% and, even though it was expected at just 1/10% lower, and even though it was considerably lower than the 8.7% in August, it was still enough to send everyone into turmoil. 

S&P 500, Nasdaq end lower; BoE comments add to market jitters late

The Dow was up, way up, some 400 points way up, until about 2 pm, then came crashing down in the next hour to close up just 36. The other two also crashed big time around 2 pm but settled more deeply in negative territory.  So it must have been right around 2 pm that the Bank of England pulled the rug from under everyone when, after reporting early Tuesday that their bond support program would be extended until at least the end of the month, then later announcing it would end instead on Friday. There was the additional bad news coming from the IMF that U.S. growth would be a measly 1.6% this year. Stocks continue to underperform as a hedge against inflation data later this week and whether it will stop the Fed’s rapid rate hikes. Volume was very close to the 4-week average at 11.6 billion. 

Nasdaq registers lowest close since July 2020; chips stocks fall

The Dow was up almost 200 points right out the gate but then fell almost 500 points by 1 pm only to rise to break-even by 2 pm, then rise and fall again twice by 3:30, then fall again in the final half hour to close nearly 100 down again. So even though it looked like a lackluster day, it was actually quite volatile as the other indexes more or less followed suit with the Nasdaq reaching its lowest close in over two years.  There was a lot going on today, not the least of which was the Fed Vice Chair commenting that the rate hikes may be slowing the economy faster than expected, exactly what investors feared.

Payrolls September 2022

Just to put things in perspective with the markets crashing so badly after the payrolls report came out Friday, here is a graph that shows the actual change in payrolls month by month for past two years, and particularly for this past September.  As you can easily observe, maybe the number did not come out as low as investors wanted them to, but they were certainly among the lowest of the last two years.  The point is, good news or bad, it's all relative.  

High Conviction Portfolio

It's when the market is really low that the best buying opportunities present themselves and David Giroux of T. Rowe Price's Capital Appreciation Fund and this week's guest on WealthTrack is an expert at it.  As pointed out below, though his fund has been closed to additional investors for capacity reasons, that doesn't mean that we can't still tap in to his expertise. Hope everyone is enjoying this nice autumn weekend.  

Wall Street ends sharply lower as jobs report cements rate hike regime

Today’s payroll report showed that the labor market remains quite vigorous which is exactly the opposite of what the market wanted for a strong resilient job market virtually guarantees continued Fed rate hikes.  There were about 5% more hires in September than forecast and to make matters worse, the unemployment rate, which everyone hoped would increase actually decreased to an almost historic low of 3.5 percent.  Thus all the indexes went screaming down and oddsmakers have now increased the chances of another ¾ point hike from 83% to 92 for a fourth consecutive such hike.  

Wall Street closes lower as the Fed pounds rate hike drum

As today’s experts have put it, the markets have been in a state of denial about future rate hikes and thus not fully grasped the possibility (some would say likelihood) of an upcoming serious recession. When there was a hint of the Fed scaling back, the markets went wild with a buying spree, which is what we saw Monday and Tuesday. And a little bit yesterday with a big rally after the huge morning drop, but not enough to put the indexes in the black.  The Fed has been pretty consistent and quite clear with their intention of continued rate hikes and today the Chicago Fed prez reiterated it all. So the indexes went straight down and stayed that way.  Tomorrow may see a glimmer of hope when the payroll numbers come in. And at least two experts see little or no danger ahead, especially Morningstar with the statement, “We are not forecasting a recession.” 

Wall Street ends down as two-day rally fizzles on data, Fed message

The Dow down almost 450 points by 11 a.m. before beginning an upswing that continued through the rest of the session to close very modestly 42 down.  So what’s going on? Well yesterday’s surge was triggered by excitement that new job opening had grown more slowly, in fact the smallest increase in 2-1/2 years.  Today, investors decided that despite the small increase, the labor market remains too strong to assure that the Fed will ease up at all.  But with the huge sell off that occurred early this morning, the market decided that the indexes had hit bottom and so started some furious bargain hunting.

Wall St rallies as data, RBA move lifts hope of Fed easing

It was second consecutive grand slam day with the indexes shooting way up on reports that the labor market was starting to cool, that the gap between the unemployment rate and new job openings was narrowing with openings falling by the most in 2-1/2 years, showing the Fed’s mission to bring down inflation was working. This brought new hope that the pace of rate hikes may start to slow even though the San Francisco Fed prez today said that we need more rate hikes. This is being called a relief rally rather than a new bull market but, whatever you call it, it is a relief coming on the heels of the worst September in 2-1/2 years and now we’re seeing the biggest one-day gain in the S&P in 2-1/2 years.  Volume was brisk at 12.5 billion. 

Wall Street closes with sharp gains as final quarter begins

It was yet another day when bad news was taken as good news with the manufacturing report showing the slowest growth in 2-1/2 years attributed to cooling demand which, in turn, tones down inflation which is a plus for equities. All three indexes zoomed on this “bad news,” the Dow up a whopping 765 points, almost making up all of last week’s losses. The only ridiculous statement was “This is the first time we’ve actually seen negative news be a catalyst.”  What!  Have they been paying attention since 2008? Bad news causing a buying spree has been more common than not since the Great Recession.  Treasury yields pulling back was another positive for stocks creating a more risk-on environment. Automakers have forecasted a modest decline in car sales and both Citi and Credit Suisse have lowered their year-end targets for the S&P.  Volume was a tad above recent averages at 11.6 billion. 

8 Best Biotech Stocks to Buy in 2022

For those of you who believe that, despite the recent market upset, tech still rules -- here are the latest recommendations from this week's U.S. News Invested for the best biotech stocks for 2022.  Hope everyone had a great weekend.  

Buying Into Fear

'Tis the season to be nervous; 'tis the season to be fearful. As I pointed out yesterday, September was an awful month. But if there is a silver lining in this dark cloud, Consuelo Mack explores it in this week's edition of her PBS program WealthTrack as she interviews Rob Arnott about an age-old strategy: when everyone else is selling, we should be buying.  In other words, buying into fear.  Hope everyone is enjoying the weekend.  

Wall St posts third straight quarterly loss as inflation weighs, recession looms

The day actually started on a bright note with both the Dow and S&P up over 100 points around 11 a.m.  But then they came crashing down again to close out the last day of September and the last day of Q3 with another rout. The experts all said in August that September was historically a down month for the market and all hopes were that it would not be true this year since August had already been a pretty bad month.  And though September started with a bang, it’s been nothing but terrible since then and fulfilled the dire prophecy and then some, all on fears that the Fed will drive the economy into a terrible recession despite the fact that the data does not support any such fears. 

Wall Street ends down sharply; investors fret over economy

It seems the elation created by yesterday’s remarks from the Chicago Fed prez lasted exactly one day before the severe fears of the Fed launching us into a very deep recession reared its ugly head again and wiped out most of yesterday’s gains. This was despite another comment, this time from the Cleveland Fed prez, that there were no signs that our resilient economy was not efficiently absorbing the shock of the rate hikes. And though the comments served to validate yesterday’s, they also affirmed to investors that there was no reason for the Fed to let up on its plans at all, something they didn’t want to hear. 

Wall Street ends sharply higher as Treasury yields dip

It seems we didn’t have to wait for Q3 reporting to begin to see a turnaround. All it took was today’s comment from the Chicago Fed prez that the Fed would likely achieve its goals by early 2023 that got the buying spree going again. This was quite a dramatic change from the recent rhetoric of rates continuing to climb through the end of 2023.  All three indexes had big gains with the biggest news being that the Treasury yields dropped substantially not only giving support to equities but also flattening out that inverted yield curve a good deal, now with the difference between the 2-year and 10-year in just one day cut in half. Volume was a tad above average at 11.7 billion. 

S&P 500 falls to two-year low, bear market rally snuffed out

Wow, all three indexes up all morning, the Dow up some 200 points. Then at about 11 a.m., everything started going south again. Well, the report below does not comment on everything going up, just on the going down, but a case can be made that it was bargain hunting time this morning and that the selloff was over.  Also no explanation for the afternoon sell off except for same old, same old – inflation, Fed – you name it, they named it, though of course the brunt of the blame is placed on Powell’s speech last week and the Fed commitment to taming inflation pointing to very likely (but not certain) future rate hikes and the market having plummeted 12% since then.  All the standard rules are being thrown out and today’s most pessimistic prediction is for the S&P at 3,000 before this thing bottoms out.  

Wall Street ends lower, Dow confirms bear market

On Friday it was noted that the Dow had closed just 150 points short of confirming a bear market.  On Monday, the index did that much and more, more than twice as much more becoming the last of the major indexes to go bear, following the S&P which went in June and the Nasdaq much earlier than that.  This massive selling is all due to fears of impending recession from rate hikes, not helped by recent turmoil in the global foreign exchange market and, more directly, recent heightened uncertainty over the Fed’s high water mark.  All the uncertainty has pushed the VIX to a near 3-month high. 

Buffett's Enduring Influence

It's never a bad idea to occasionally review the influence that Warren Buffett has had on investors, and that's exactly what advisor Tom Russo did this week on the WealthTrack program recounting how he started his firm Gardner, Russo and Quinn in 1983 after hearing Buffett address his class at Stanford Business School.  Hope everyone had a good weekend.  Fall has officially arrived with sudden and lasting chilly temps.  

7 Commodity Stocks to Buy for Great Dividends

Another great list of expert picks for those desiring to invest for income using dividend stocks.  

Stocks tumble, dollar soars and bonds plunge as recession fears grow

The Dow dropped over 120 points right out the gate and just continued dropping all day long reaching a low of more than 800 down by 3 pm before starting a climb that ended with a close down 486.  The Dow closed below 30,000 for the first time since the downturn began and still remains the only one of the major indexes not to confirm a bear market but did come dangerously close today as another 150 points would have done it, which it did reach intraday.  

Wall Street ends down for third day as growth concerns weigh on tech

The Dow spent almost all day up to 200 points in the red until rallying at 2 pm to go ever so slightly in the black before falling again in the last ten minutes to close 107 down. So it’s the third straight session of closing in the red but at least the losses are getting smaller and smaller so maybe the hysteria is settling down. As could be expected, the tech sector took the biggest hit as it always does after a rate hike given that interest rates so strongly impact their bottom lines. Q3 earnings are now projected for 5% growth (excluding energy -1.7%) and forward P/E at 16.8x compared to 22x back in January. The S&P has now fallen 21.2% this year, the tech sector within it 28. But just a reminder that for several years now the earnings forecast each quarter has consistently been considerably more pessimistic than what the actuals turned out to be. So anything can still happen.  Volume was again above average at 11.4 billion. 

Wall Street slumps as investors absorb hawkish Fed rate message

All the indexes were up all day long, the Dow up almost 200 points until 3 pm and then everything went south in a big way and in a hurry with the Dow losing a whopping 750 points in the final hour to close down 522 points.  So was all the prognostication about the ¾ point rate hike already fully priced in completely wrong? Or was it that, though the markets were prepared for continued hawkishness, it wasn’t prepared for today’s remarks being so very hawkish. As today’s expert put it, “Powell delivered a sobering message that achieving a soft landing was always difficult.” Without having the actual text of his remarks, I can’t say whether this was his actual message or whether the gurus are just being overly pessimistic. 

Wall Street falls as Fed, Ford forecasts, give fright

It was another red-letter day.  These past few days there have been four very dour forecasts regarding economic slowdown and coming global recession and today the market got hit with a fifth, this time from Ford.  So the indexes plunged again, the Dow 550 points down as late as 2 pm before another rally brought it up to a minus 313 by close.  Today the 10-year Treasury reached an 11 year high and the yield curve inverted further. As today’s expert noted, “There are a lot of headwinds to prevent sustained rallies.” Of particular interest regarding tomorrow’s Fed announcement and the expected rate hike is cues on endpoints for rates and the outlooks for unemployment, inflation and economic growth.”  On the eve of the Fed meeting, volume remains thin at 9.9 billion. 

Wall Street ends choppy session higher with focus firmly on Fed

Until about 3 pm the three indexes straddled the line between modest gains and modest losses and then zooming at 3 pm for the Dow to close nearly 200 points up.  The indecision that apparently was dominating sentiment until 3 pm was likely investors sitting on the fence awaiting Wednesday’s Fed rate hike vs a whole slew of recent bad news including Ukraine, earnings, CPI, a very dire outlook from FedEx, another dour outlook from the World Bank and IMF and today Goldman Sachs throwing its two cents in the mix with another dour forecast, the inverted yield curve and, of course, the Fed and more rate hikes. 

New Inflation Era

Some more discussion on inflation, this time from Wall Street guru James Grant in his interview with Consuelo Mack on this week's edition of the PBS program WealthTrack.  Hope everyone had a nice weekend.  

9 Dividend Aristocrat Stocks to Buy Now

Back on the subject of dividend stocks for those who prefer to diversify their portfolios for income, here are the latest recommendations from U.S. News Invested.  

Wall St drops to two-month lows as recession fears mount

It’s been risk-off ever since the shocking CPI report on Tuesday and today was more of the same with the Dow down some 400 points for much of the day to finally rally after 2 pm to close 139 down. The sentiment boiled over today with yesterday’s late bad news from FedEx followed by the dour forecasts from both the World Bank and the IMF.  But the ray of hope today came from David Carter of JP Morgan in his comments, “The Fed is doing what it needs to do. And after some pain, markets and the economy will heal themselves.”  Here’s hoping. Volume was huge at nearly 17 billion but today was the monthly expiration of options which always greatly exaggerates volume so we have to wait until Monday to get good numbers.