1,313 results found
Invest
Recession odds have climbed considerably since Jerome Powell’s testimony before Congress and the latest FOMC meeting. However, the recent failures of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Credit Suisse (CS), as higher rates impact regional bank liquidity, also added to the risks. This isn’t the first time we have warned the aggressive rate hiking campaign would […]
The FOMC minutes show Fed members collectively downgraded their economic forecast for 2023. Instead of the “soft landing” we have been warned about for the last year, the Fed is downgrading its outlook to a “mild recession” in the second half of the year. Per the FOMC minutes: “For some time, the forecast for the […]
Financial Planning
Raising Money-Smart Kids: Part Two outlines action items to help parents adjust their children’s money personalities. If readers recall, I outlined the four types of money scripts and how parents can identify them through a simple online exercise. Here is the link again: Receive a complimentary KMSI-R at www.datapoints.com Part Two is your cues and […]
CPI, Retail Sales, and Employment are often the three most important economic data releases in a typical month. It turns out that last Friday’s employment report was not even the most important report on that day. On Friday, the Federal Reserve reported that U.S. Commercial Bank Loans fell by $104.7 billion in the last two […]
We have read commentary equating the sharp increase in money market assets with cash on the sidelines waiting to be redeployed into the stock market. Therefore, the analysts imply the extra cash sitting in money market funds is fodder for a stock rally. During the 2008/2009 market swoon, money market assets rose sharply and peaked […]
Invest
An old saying cautions one to be careful of what one wishes for. Stock investors wishing for the Federal Reserve to pivot may want to rethink their logic and review the charts. The second largest U.S. bank failure and the deeply discounted emergency sale of Credit Suisse have investors betting the Federal Reserve will pivot. […]
Warren Buffett’s firm, Berkshire Hathaway, continues to amass a large position in Occidental Petroleum (OXY). In just the last week Berkshire bought 3.7 million more shares, raising its ownership percentage of OXY to 23.6%. Berkshire Hathaway has the approval of the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to buy up to 50% of the company’s stock. […]
Alongside the financial and REIT sectors, small cap stocks are falling victim to the banking crisis. The logic is that many small companies tend to rely heavily on debt financing. As financial lending standards tighten and credit spreads widen, small cap companies must pay higher interest rates on their debt. Further, those may be the […]
Invest
Despite an ongoing “banking crisis,” investors continue to chase stocks triggering several bullish buy signals. As noted in this past weekend’s newsletter, two primary reasons exist for this current dichotomy. The first is psychological, and the second is purely technical. The psychological component of the recent disregard of underlying financial and economic risk is the […]