Jobs -The Fed – IRS
Do you still believe the Fed is cutting rates in March? Last Friday’s January job report came in much hotter than expected, as the United States created 353,000 jobs. The numbers for the prior 2 months were revised higher by 120,000. Fed Chair Powell stated at his press conference a rate reduction in March is […]
Where to Retire ~ Market Direction?
Best and Worst States to Retire Over the week, there was an article that listed the best and worst states to retire, in 2024. “WalletHub” used 3 main categories to rank “retirement friendliness” of all 50 states. (Affordability, Quality of life and Health care). The top 5 states in order are Florida, Colorado, Virginia, Delaware, […]
Tax Scams/Markets/EV Credits/Mortgage Rates
Tax time can bring anxiety. Not just about paying your taxes, IRS scams have been rampant the last few years. Many people, including myself have received calls from someone pretending to be an IRS agent. They are very convincing, providing their IRS badge number, etc. Does the IRS really call taxpayers on the phone? Not […]
Market Searching for Direction
An abundance of conflicting data and opinions has the market looking for direction early in 2024. Soon, we’ll start to hear about the annual January Barometer. Meaning, as January goes so does the stock market 75% of the time. Since 1945 when the market finished higher at the end of January, the year was positive. […]
The Market and 2024 RMD’s
Stocks pulled back during the 1st week of 2024. Is it a sign that optimism has faded? Perhaps investors waited until 2024 to either trim winners or rebalance portfolios to postpone taxes. For now, it’s wait and see. I am concerned in the short-term, investors are banking on the Fed cutting rates sooner and deeper […]
2023 Surprised Most!
Stock and Bond markets ended 2023 on high notes, with the S&P 500 climbing 24.23% and US bonds up 5.31%. The cocktail of moderating inflation, a Fed pause, market rates pulling back, AI stocks and an amazingly resilient consumer all contributed to 2023’s returns. Most economists predicted a recession for 2023 and most stock prognosticators […]
Fed’s Gift – Document Retention
The Fed gave our markets an early holiday present. Three interest rate cuts are now forecast by the Federal Reserve for 2024. That was all the market needed to head higher, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average reaching an all-time high of 37,305 up 2.92% for the Week. The other major US indexes followed the […]
The Fed, Markets, Social Security & Medicare
The final Federal Reserve meeting for the year will conclude this Wednesday, with expectations that the Fed will leave rates steady. The Fed has raised rates 11 times since March 2022 to July 2023. The most important element of the Fed’s announcement will be the “dot plot”. How many rate “cuts” will the Fed forecast […]
Will Markets Reach New Highs?
How much farther do US stock indexes need to climb to reach new highs? The indexes I’m referring are the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the S&P 500, the Nasdaq Composite and the Russell 2000. We would need more than a weekly blog to discuss the possible reasons for the large divergence between the indexes. Market […]
