The Sticky Stalemate

All indices slid back on Friday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling 100 points, while the tech heavy Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500 suffered minor losses of 0.24% and 0.19% respectively. Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy chose House Representative Garret Graves to be his ‘point man’ and fresh face, in discussions with President … Read more

A Wave of Optimism

With Friday’s release of The University of Michigan Sentiment Survey’s scathing numbers, the outlook paints a bleak spending scenario, short and long term for consumers. The Index dropped to 57.7, down 5.8 points, exceeding economists predictions by 2.1 points. Consumers are ‘battle-weary’ after months of ‘bad news’…and now the debt-ceiling crisis. As Speaker McCarthy and … Read more

Market Frustrations

An uneasy market Monday and Tuesday didn’t get better after the release of the Consumer Price Index numbers on Wednesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average even skidded a bit with the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500 edging up 1% and 0.45% respectively. Increases in consumer goods were the weakest in over two years. The … Read more

Battered Banks Struggle

The market was ‘frenzied’ Tuesday as investors and traders were besieged with many lasting concerns. The lingering First Republic Bank, SVB, and Signature failures, and unending inflation issues are pressing the market, that the worst is not over. Regional bank concerts are mounting. JPMorgan Chase’s Jamie Dimon (the biggest U.S. bank), ‘closed the book’ on … Read more

Anticipation…Results…Reaction

Stocks were softer Monday and Tuesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average sliding 300 points at Tuesday’s close. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 sank 1.98% and 1,58% respectively, notable drops, as the market was aimless. The week is shaping up as many high-tech, and tech conglomerates are scheduled to release earnings in … Read more

Brushing Off Negative News

Investors and traders nudged the indices a slight bit higher on Monday as the overall short term outlook is clouded by the many upcoming first quarter corporate earnings reports. Underlying concerns of interest rates and just what the Federal Reserve has up their sleeve adds more consternation. After the first round of large bank first … Read more

Inflation Sinks Investors Hopes

Stocks lost ground on Wednesday, with the market again digesting ‘bad news; continuing high inflation, banking fears, and of course the looming recession, all of which are ‘dragging’ the market down. Some on Wall Street see a prolonged period of concern-possibly stretching to 2024. The strength of the labor market is a pivotal factor. As … Read more

After The Bull…The Lamb

The clock is ticking, TikTok, TikTok…The U.S. Government is closing in. Congress is taking action to ban TikToK, with many congressional representatives speaking out against CEO Shou Zi Chew, TikTok, and ByteDance. Mr.Chew was grilled repeatedly by members of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R Wash.) accused TikTok of … Read more

The Legitimate Swindlers

In the aftermath of the bank failures, and as regulators dig deep, the reality of unacceptable bank practices emerge, poor leadership and extreme greediness. In the recent rash of failures, bank leaders in general lacked good qualifications, did not have basic skills and were unscrupulous, intent on ‘filling’ their pockets, and that of their ‘cronies.’ … Read more

Digesting the Quagmire

A Roller-Coaster Week…fueled by three, possibly four bank failures, kept the market off balance, finishing Friday on a negative note. Gold and bonds took center stage as investors and traders looked again for safer havens amidst the bank crisis. Gold bumped up to $1,969.80, a high for the year and bonds were heavy buys. The … Read more