@theMarket: Fed-fueled Gains Support MarketsBy Bill Schmick,
04:01PM / Friday, July 29, 2022 | |
The markets embraced another 75-basis point interest rate hike by the Fed, even as the U.S. economy contracted for the second quarter in a row. Bad news became good news in today's markets.
It was not so much the hike in the Fed funds rate announced as part of the Federal Open Market Committee's (FOMC) meeting on July 27, 2022, as it was the words of Chairperson Jerome Powell in the Q&A session afterward. Although he really did not say anything new, the markets and the media interpreted his stance as more dovish, if not pivotal.
The bulls' argument is that the economy is slowing, inflation is peaking, and therefore the Fed is likely to slow, 0 Comments
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The Retired Investor: No End in Sight for Airline AgonyBy Bill Schmick,
03:56PM / Thursday, July 28, 2022 | |
Missing bags, canceled flights, stranded passengers, and interminable check-in times have made this summers' travel a nightmare. What's worse, the cost of travelling has exploded.
Consumers are paying an average 34 percent higher air fares this year versus last. The reasons why range from higher jet fuel costs, increased labor costs and sky rocketing demand among others. As the summer season progresses, it seems that the worse the experience gets, the more consumers are willing to pay.
If you watch the horror shows on the news, chaos abounds not only here in the U.S. but in the international airline system overall. Short comings in one 0 Comments
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The Retired Investor: Local Gas Stations Suffer From High Fuel PricesBy Bill Schmick,
10:34AM / Friday, July 22, 2022 | |
Given the price jump in gasoline, you would think owners of the corner gas station are raking in the money. Unfortunately, the opposite is occurring, especially now that pump prices have been declining for more than a month.
"The national average price of a gallon of gasoline has dropped below $4.50 per gallon after touching $5 as recently as mid-June," according to Berkshire Money Management's Allen Harris. He goes on to say that despite the 10 percent decline, gas is still up 9.3 percent over the last three months. That brings the year's gain thus far to 36.8 percent
In an environment of higher gasoline prices, consumers are 0 Comments
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@theMarket: Market Beat DownBy Bill Schmick,
10:03AM / Saturday, July 16, 2022 | |
Rising inflation, weaker earnings expectations, or the rocketing U.S. dollar, it is just a question of which of these negatives are hurting the markets most. Investors are frightened, but not yet panicked. It is time to pay attention.
Both the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and the Producer Price Index (PPI) for June 2022 came in hotter than economists expected. They are backward-looking indicators, but markets fell on the reports, nonetheless. Rising energy prices was the biggest culprits in both reports hamstringing consumers and producers as prices soared. Since then, the price of oil has dropped, although natural gas prices have risen, so we will have to wait and see how 0 Comments
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The Retired Investor: Public Sector Can't Compete in Tight Labor MarketBy Bill Schmick,
04:01PM / Thursday, July 14, 2022 | |
State and local government employees are essential in delivering everyday services to the American public, but the government's labor force is understaffed and has yet to recover from its pandemic lows. The reasons range from lower pay and less advancement to little flexibility in areas such as remote working.
Private-sector jobs have already surpassed pre-pandemic levels, while in the public sector, government employers are still looking for more than 664,000 workers with little success. This may sound like one of those "so what" kind of issues but consider this.
Public employees operate the nation's trains, subways and buses in addition 0 Comments
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