Markets are off to a rough start in 2022. So much for the Santa Claus Rally; it fizzled as the ‘Ball’ dropped. The Federal Reserve released the minutes of its December meeting this past Wednesday, and what was ‘inside’ them apparently took the market by surprise. Economists point out that the Fed discussed winding down … Read more

Stocks Score Big In A Year Marked By Wild Swings…U.S. stocks are charging toward a third consecutive year of big gains. Stock market investors had a lot to like in 2021. Even with the recent turbulence from the Omicron variant, the S&P 500 is headed toward a 27% advance in 2021. Add in the other … Read more

Is Santa Claus Coming To Wall Street? The so-called ‘Santa Claus Rally,’ at year-end is fast approaching. A Santa Claus rally is one where stocks climb higher in the final five trading sessions of the year and into the first two sessions of the new year. This year end-trend–identified by the authors of the Stock … Read more

Stumbling Stocks… As the Fed speeds up the stimulus phaseout, investors’ fears nudged the indices. Stocks fell this past week on worries about interest-rate increases by major central banks, to rein in inflation, according to a plethora of economists. At the same time bond yields have been edging lower, against a backdrop of the highest … Read more

U.S. Inflation’s Relentless Rise Hits Fastest Pace In 39 Years!! U.S. inflation reached a nearly four-decade high in November as robust consumer demand out reached supply constraints. The Labor Department said the consumer-price index–which measures what consumers pay for goods and services–rose 6.8% in November from the same month a year ago. That was the … Read more

Powell turns a bit… ‘hawkish’…. Federal Reserve Chief Jerome Powell sounded more like a hawk this past week…for the first time since late 2018. Appearing before Congress, Powell’ explicitly dropped his prior characterization of inflation pressures as “transitory.” Saying the threat of persistently higher inflation has grown, that the Fed would consider wrapping up asset … Read more

Black Friday is known nationwide as a day for gigantic markdowns…but not like these. Stocks, commodities, government bonds yields, oil prices dived on Black Friday after news of a new coronavirus virus variant from South Africa, dubbed Omicron. Concerns and fears of a ‘new’ wave of the new pandemic quickly emerged as markets were ‘thin’ … Read more

U.S. Stocks closed ‘mixed’ on Friday, as investors shifted into the safety of the dollar and government bonds, this after fresh Covid-19 restrictions in Europe, hindering the Global Economy recovery. The broad U.S. eked out a gain this past week, propelled by strong retail earnings and more ‘out-performance’ by the Big Guys. Inflation looms, but … Read more

Inflation in the U.S. hit three-decade high in October, of 6.2%, delivering wide spread and sizable increases to households for everything from groceries to cars due to persistent supply shortages and strong consumer demand, with no ‘let-up’ in sight. The Labor Department said the consumer-price index, which measures what consumers pay for goods and services–rose … Read more

Stocks Hit New Highs on Strong Jobs Data…U.S. stocks rose to fresh new highs Friday and posted weekly gains after the Labor Department data showed job growth rebounded in October, following a summer slowdown. Stocks have climbed to a series of records in recent weeks, bolstered by very solid economic data and strong earnings from … Read more