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The Retired Investor: Streaming Comes of Age
By Bill Schmick,
04:12PM / Thursday, June 30, 2022
There are roughly 817,000 unique and different programs available via streaming services in the U.S. The median streaming household pays for three to four such subscriptions costing between $20 and $30 per month. Most consumers claim the choices are overwhelming and cumulatively expensive, so why don't they plan to do anything about it?   Those were the findings of a Nielson report titled "State of Play" published in April 2022 that analyzed the state of streaming entertainment in America. The number of programs (movies, series, specials, etc.) has increased by 26.5 percent since the beginning of 2020.   The amount of content that we couch potatoes

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@theMarket: Recession: 'Certainly a Possibility'
By Bill Schmick,
05:02PM / Friday, June 24, 2022
"Certainly a Possibility."    Those were the words of Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell during testimony to the U.S. Senate banking Committee on Wednesday, June 22. Investors took his warning in stride, instead of plummeting. That may indicate markets are ready for another relief rally.   Powell thought the U.S. economy was strong enough to roll with the Fed's punches of higher interest rates, and a shrinking balance sheet without too much trouble. It was the outside factors — the Ukrainian war, China's COVID-19 policy, and supply chain problems — that complicate the outlook. Avoiding the "R" word was

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The Retired Investor: Stock Market & Midterm Elections
By Bill Schmick,
06:37PM / Thursday, June 23, 2022
The stock market does not perform well in the year leading up to midterm elections. This year's election may just add to the overall woes besetting equities.   Historically, the average annual return of the benchmark S&P 500 Index in the 12 months before the Nov. 5 election is 0.3 percent, versus the historical average of 8.1 percent in non-midterm years. In 2022, of course, with the S&P 500 down more than 20 percent, those historical numbers look pretty good. Unfortunately, volatility also tends to rise before and after midterm elections.   But this year is different, you might say, since we are witnessing the first European war in decades, as well

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@theMarket: Inflation Shock Pummels Markets
By Bill Schmick,
04:08PM / Friday, June 10, 2022
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) surged in May 2022 as gas prices continued to run higher. These results came as a downside surprise to a stock market that has been falling most of the week.   Friday's CPI number for May 2022 reflected an increase of 1 percent, compared to "hot" estimates of 0.3 percent in April 2022. On a year-over-year basis, the gain was 8.6 percent, which is a 40-year high in the CPI. Gasoline prices were a key driver of inflation last month, although Owners' Equivalent Rent (OER), which accounts for about a third of the CPI, also gained. The problem going forward is that analysts expect gasoline prices will continue to rise in this

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The Retired Investor: Natural Gas Prices Fall But For How Long?
By Bill Schmick,
04:30PM / Thursday, June 09, 2022
Only recently have investors' focus shifted from $120 a barrel of oil to the soaring price of natural gas. Given the many uses of natural gas, from heating and cooling and generating electricity to the production of plastics and petrochemicals, the direction of prices could be critical to our economic well-being.   On Wednesday, June 8, 2022, natural gas prices fell over 10 percent after a fire at a Texas liquified natural gas (LNG) export terminal shut down the Freeport LNG facility for at least three weeks.  The terminal accounts for 16 percent of U.S. export capacity. Gas prices fell because for a brief time, that gas will flow into the domestic market depressing

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