10-year U.S. Treasury note yields have fallen by nearly 0.75% since late October. Fundamentally supporting the steep decline in yields is weaker than expected CPI and PCE inflation data. Further, the last BLS employment report shows a slowing of job growth. Additionally, and maybe most importantly, the Fed seems content that the recent tightening of […]
When President Biden took office, investors assumed clean energy would be a top priority. Therefore, clean energy stocks should do very well. The narrative made sense. As shown below, clean energy stocks were up over 20% in the first few months of Biden’s term. Those gains, however, didn’t last. Since then, clean energy stocks are […]
Warren Buffett’s partner, Charlie Munger, passed away on Tuesday at the ripe age of 99. Charlie Munger and Warren Buffett founded Berkshire Hathaway in 1975. In the nearly fifty years of value investing, the simple genius of both founders has made them billionaires and many Berkshire investors millionaires. Berkshire Hathaway has a market cap of […]
The existing home sales market has been at a standstill. Buyers are turning away due to 7%+ mortgage rates and high prices. At the same, selling a house is equally difficult. Sellers do not want to get rid of low-rate mortgages and assume a much higher mortgage on a new purchase. Supply problems in the […]
With the holiday season in full swing, look out your window. You will see FedEx and UPS trucks, and those from the U.S. Postal Service and Amazon. Believe it or not, Amazon is the truck you may most frequently see. Per the WSJ, Amazon “has grabbed the crown of biggest delivery business in the U.S., […]
From 2021 through 2022, the price of lithium carbonate, a key component of EV batteries, soared 14-fold. At the time, Tesla and other car markers were paying dearly to secure the limited supplies of available lithium and future production. Since then, as the Trading Economics graph below shows, the price of lithium, quoted in Chinese […]
Might the future of retirement saving plans for corporate employees be changing? Starting next year, IBM will no longer match their employee’s contributions to their 401k plans. Instead, they will contribute 5% to the employee’s retirement benefit account (RBA). During the first three years of the RBA program, IBM will pay its beneficiaries a 6% […]
The Fed’s tone markedly changed in the weeks preceding the November 1 FOMC meeting. Many Fed speakers offered that higher interest rates will tighten financial conditions, allowing them to take a break from rate increases. The messaging was solidified at the November 1 FOMC meeting. To wit, the following statement from Jerome Powell. In this […]
The squeeze is on in the orange juice futures market. The price of orange juice tends to be stable, typically hovering between $100-$150 per 15,000 pounds of frozen orange juice concentrate, as shown below. On occasion, the price spikes to $200 or higher during the winter months as irregular cold snaps harm the crops. Over […]