http://www.iberkshires.com/blogs/Bill_Schmick? The Retired Investor/@theMarket Sat, 18 May 2024 01:10:28 EDT en-us http://www.iberkshires.com/blogs/Bill_Schmick?bid=4447 http://www.iberkshires.com/blogs/Bill_Schmick?bid=4447 Fri, 17 May 2024 15:50:00 EDT This week's inflation data heartened investors. Equities and commodities rose while bond yields and the dollar fell. The question is whether the data will convince the Fed to relent on keeping interest rates higher for longer.   If we take a long-term view, the Consumer Price... http://www.iberkshires.com/blogs/Bill_Schmick?bid=4446 http://www.iberkshires.com/blogs/Bill_Schmick?bid=4446 Wed, 15 May 2024 16:41:00 EDT Tariffs are a form of tax applied on imports from other countries. The costs of these tariffs are mostly passed on to consumers in the form of higher prices for the targeted goods. In an inflationary environment, tariffs simply make things worse. Tell that to the... http://www.iberkshires.com/blogs/Bill_Schmick?bid=4445 http://www.iberkshires.com/blogs/Bill_Schmick?bid=4445 Fri, 10 May 2024 15:18:00 EDT Like birds on a wire, stocks wobbled early this week neither moving higher nor lower. Higher jobless claims and an okay Treasury auction nudged the indexes towards the goal line with the S&P 500 Index above the 5,200 level for the first time in a month.   However, there is still... http://www.iberkshires.com/blogs/Bill_Schmick?bid=4444 http://www.iberkshires.com/blogs/Bill_Schmick?bid=4444 Thu, 09 May 2024 16:16:00 EDT A combination of anti-business government policies, worsening U.S.-Sino relations, and several draconian actions by Chinese authorities have cast a pall over foreign investment and the Chinese stock market. Chinese equities have lost $7 trillion since the market's peak in 2021. That... http://www.iberkshires.com/blogs/Bill_Schmick?bid=4443 http://www.iberkshires.com/blogs/Bill_Schmick?bid=4443 Sat, 04 May 2024 11:22:00 EDT It was a week where macroeconomic data, corporate earnings, and the Federal Reserve dictated the direction of the markets on almost a daily basis. By the end of the week, the verdict was a plus for the bulls.   On Friday, the non-farm payrolls indicated that the labor market cooled... http://www.iberkshires.com/blogs/Bill_Schmick?bid=4442 http://www.iberkshires.com/blogs/Bill_Schmick?bid=4442 Fri, 03 May 2024 16:01:00 EDT The number of U.S. workers who claimed union membership increased ever so slightly last year from 14.3 million in 2022 to 14.4 million. However, as a share of the American workforce, union membership hit a new low. Today only one in 10 workers in America wear the union badge.   Back... http://www.iberkshires.com/blogs/Bill_Schmick?bid=4441 http://www.iberkshires.com/blogs/Bill_Schmick?bid=4441 Fri, 26 Apr 2024 14:09:00 EDT The S&P 500 bounced by more than 2 percent this week, retracing almost half of the 5 percent decline we have suffered so far in April. The jury is still out on whether this is only a dead-cat bounce or a signal that the downside is over.   It was a week of mixed messages for... http://www.iberkshires.com/blogs/Bill_Schmick?bid=4440 http://www.iberkshires.com/blogs/Bill_Schmick?bid=4440 Thu, 25 Apr 2024 16:49:00 EDT It has been a month since the National Association of Realtors (NAR) was forced to scrap a system of broker fees that has been in place for a generation. A federal court still must approve the change in June or July, but if it does, it could alter the way Americans buy and sell homes for decades... http://www.iberkshires.com/blogs/Bill_Schmick?bid=4439 http://www.iberkshires.com/blogs/Bill_Schmick?bid=4439 Fri, 19 Apr 2024 15:11:00 EDT Geopolitical risk, inflation, higher for longer, rising bond yields, take your pick. There are several reasons for the stock market sell-off. The bad news for investors is that after a counter-trend bounce, the selling should continue.   There are at least half a dozen reasons why... http://www.iberkshires.com/blogs/Bill_Schmick?bid=4438 http://www.iberkshires.com/blogs/Bill_Schmick?bid=4438 Thu, 18 Apr 2024 17:44:00 EDT If you haven't noticed, the price of large appliances continues to climb. What's worse, in a year or two, many find that the costly smart refrigerator, oven, or washing machine in your kitchen is suddenly plagued with all kinds of problems. What happened to the concept of...