@theMarket: A Week to RememberBy Bill Schmick,
03:02PM / Friday, October 04, 2024 | |
It was a week to remember in financial markets. Hurricane Helene, the longshoreman strike, Iran's ballistic missile attack against Israel, American drones shot down by Houthi rebels, and a massive gain in U.S. jobs — welcome to October.
All the above happened in just the first week of the month. The stock market has hung in there through all of it. However, the events of the week have given heartburn to investors and traders alike.
The massive flooding and rising death toll in Florida and North Carolina were tragic but also negative for overall future growth and employment. The price tag is estimated to be above $34 billion. Insurance stocks did 0 Comments
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The Retired Investor: Economic Storm Clouds Could Be Just Around the CornerBy Bill Schmick,
04:17PM / Thursday, October 03, 2024 | |
The U.S. economy continues to grow, fueled by generous fiscal spending in an election year, robust corporate earnings, and a consumer willing to keep spending. The Federal Reserve Bank's loosening of monetary policy last month also promises to boost growth.
That dovetails with my expectations, at least in the short term. I expect economic growth will continue to show decent numbers when the third-quarter GDP data is released. At the same time, we should see additional modest progress in reducing inflation. September's CPI inflation data, however, could mark the low for this inflation cycle, in my opinion.
That is certainly not the consensus view. 0 Comments
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@theMarket: China Stimulus Boosts World MarketsBy Bill Schmick,
11:32AM / Saturday, September 28, 2024 | |
A week after the U.S. central bank's policy shift, Chinese authorities unleashed their monetary policy dragon. The move caught world financial markets by surprise and launched the Shanghai Composite index up more than 9 percent in three days.
The People's Bank of China (PBOC) launched its largest stimulus package since the pandemic. The PBOC cut interest rates, reduced the reserve requirement ratio, and introduced structural monetary policies to stabilize Chinese markets, which went straight down for months.
Wall Street analysts are overwhelmingly negative on the Chinese market. Investments in Chinese stocks by Institutional investors 0 Comments
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The Retired Investor: My Economic Outlook into 2025By Bill Schmick,
02:29PM / Friday, September 27, 2024 | |
On the back of last week's half-point cut in interest rates by the Federal Reserve Bank, equities and many commodities rallied anticipating continued growth in the U.S. economy. Why, therefore, did bond prices plunge?
Normally, after the Federal Reserve Bank begins an interest rate-cutting cycle, bond prices rally, and yields fall. But not this time. Economists were scratching their heads all week looking for answers. The explanation is straightforward.
For weeks before the meeting, many traders were betting that the Fed would be too slow to cut interest rates. And when and if they did it would be a small cut. That delay increased the probability that 0 Comments
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@theMarket: Fed's Half-Point Rate Cut Surprised MarketsBy Bill Schmick,
03:08PM / Friday, September 20, 2024 | |
The Federal Reserve Bank's half-point interest rate cut surprised investors and traders alike this week. The central bank also indicated that the markets could expect more of the same in the months ahead.
The main three averages soared on the news on Thursday and into Friday. New highs went a long way in dispelling my fears that the last two weeks of September would be rocky. The giant-sized rate cut may have at least delayed the downside that usually accompanies this seasonal period in the stock market.
It was the first FOMC meeting in a long time where Fed watchers were unsure how much the central bank would lower rates. Historically, a 25-basis point 0 Comments
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