Fed Minutes Scared Investors
Minutes from the Fed's December meeting released on Wednesday, January 5, showed that officials had discussed tapering the U.S. central bank’s asset holdings amid surging omicron infections setting new daily records as well as raising interest rates sooner than expected to fight inflation.
U.S. holiday retail sales rise 8.5% as online shopping booms – Mastercard
U.S. retail sales rose 8.5% during this year's holiday shopping season from Nov. 1 to Dec. 24, powered by soaring e-commerce sales, a report by Mastercard Inc said on Sunday.
Big Companies’ CEOs Spotted Selling Their Shares Before Net Investment Income Tax Rules Come into Effect
Top executives and the company leaders like the Waltons, Mark Zuckerberg, and Google’s co-founders have sold $63.5 billion worth of stakes in their companies through November, up 50% from 2020.
Elon Musk Sees Problem Not in Too Many Teslas, but in Too Few Buyers
Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk wants people to have more babies. “There are not enough people,” Musk told a Wall Street Journal event this week.
Black Friday’s and Cyber Monday’s Combined Retail Sales Didn’t Live Up to Investors’ Expectations
U.S. Cyber Monday sales were flat, as online retailers offered fewer discounts because of limited inventory and more shoppers returned to stores for purchases.
U.S. Foreign Trade Deficit Trimmed in October but Remains Historically Elevated
According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, in seasonally adjusted terms, the U.S. foreign trade deficit slowed down to a monthly pace of 14.6% to reach a still-alarming $82.9 billion.
Investors Stiff Their Upper Lip Eyeing Fed’s Firm Stance on Bond Purchase Tapering
Stock-market investors took the Federal Reserve’s decision Wednesday to begin tapering its monthly bond purchases without a hysteria, erasing early losses to see the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 index and Nasdaq Composite score a fourth consecutive round of record closes.
Never Ending Debate About Whether Inflation is Transitory or Permanent Spiced Up by Stagflation Talks
According to Barron’s citing of Oxford Economics report, the U.S. is experiencing a rare phenomenon showing still strong, but cooling, demand that is being challenged by constrained, but accelerating, supply leading to some kind (transitory or sticking) inflation.
U.S. Senate’s McConnell Offers Temporary Solution as Dems Face Series of Debt Filibusters
Yesterday Minority Leader McConnell was briefed by media saying he will offer Democrats several ways to avoid a default on U.S. debt in the coming days.
Federal Reserve Avoided Shock to Equities by Refraining from Naming Day-X for Tapering of Asset Purchases
As expected from its decision yesterday, members pulled forward rate-hike expectations on the dot plot.
Inflation is Ubiquitous and Protracted But Different for Poor and Wealthy
Classic inflation measures like the Consumer Price Index, published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, are built based on so-called "consumption baskets," in which periodicities are underpinned by relevant annual surveys asking people about their shopping preferences and difficulties. This past summer, bankers and business leaders seemed to be increasingly worried about big and bold unstoppable price inflation nearly halving everyone’s pockets’ contents.
More Covid Cases in the U.S. among Returning to Schools Children
According to the Washington Post and some other top media, as millions of American students return to classrooms, the U.S. is facing its most significant pediatric COVID-19 surge yet, with a record number of American children now having been tested positive for the virus every week, with nearly 252,000 children in the U.S. tested positive for COVID-19 only during the first week amid the back-to-school season.
U.S. Inflation Running Twice Fed’s Own Target
The U.S. Office of Management and Budget on Friday revised its inflation outlook for Q4 2021 upward to 4.8%, more than twice the 2% level forecast in May, after the Commerce Department reported consumer prices in July grew more than 4% from a year ago.
Aluminum: Too Common and Apparent to Overlook!
An interesting investment idea is hidden in the periodic table under the lucky number 13.