Free Republic

For years central banks had been keeping rates near 0%, or below, and at the same time printing over a hundred billion dollars’ worth of fiat currencies each and every month to purchase bonds and stocks. That is all changing now. ... fourteen major global central banks are either in the process right now, or have indicated that they be will next year, in the process of raising interest rates. At the same time, QE on a global net basis will plunge from $180 billion per month at its peak during 2017, to $0 by December…and will then go negative...

Stocks sank on Wednesday as a steep decline in tech shares and worries of rapidly rising rates sent Wall Street on pace for its worst day in six months. The Dow Jones Industrial Average traded more than 600 points lower as Intel and Microsoft fell more than 2.5 percent each. The Nasdaq Composite plummeted 3 percent. The S&P 500 dropped 2.5 percent, with the tech sector underperforming. The broad index was also headed for a five-day losing streak — which would be its longest since late 2016 — and fell below its 50-day moving average, a widely followed technical level....

Stocks rose sharply on Monday as investors cheered news of Canada joining a trade deal with the United States and Mexico. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 264 points as American Express and Boeing outperformed. The S&P 500 gained 0.8 percent, led by 1 percent jumps in materials and industrials. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.7 percent as Amazon and Apple both climbed more than 1 percent. "The biggest risk factor [in the market] is a trade war and we've dialed that down a bit," said Mike Bailey, director of research at FBB Capital Partners. Bailey noted, however, the market may...

One, Not Done. Trade concerns scuttled the Dow’s rally on Monday, but stocks were trying to bounce back Tuesday as attention turns to the Federal Reserve and a likely rate increase on Wednesday. Michael Kors Holdings is buying Versace and changing its name, while Facebook is sliding following the departure of Instagram’s co-founders. We’ll be watching Nike,which reports earnings after the close. In today’s Morning Movers, we… •…ponder rising bond yields ahead of tomorrow’s Fed announcement; •…highlight Facebook’s drop after the departure of Instagram’s co-founders; •…and explain why CenturyLink is sliding. Yielding to Yields? Stocks are rising a bit this...

The latest escalation in the trade war did not have the dire consequences many predicted for the stock market. Stocks rose Tuesday after the Trump administration announced new tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods and China promised to retaliate with tariffs on an additional $60 billion of U.S. goods.The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 184 points, or 0.74 percent. The S&P 500 rose by half a percentage point. The Nasdaq Composite advanced eight-tenths of a percentage point.The rise in U.S. stocks was all the more notable because the new tariffs are scheduled to go into effect September 24, sooner...

Former Reagan Budget Director David Stockman on President Trump's trade policy, mounting government, debt, Federal Reserve policy and the outlook for stocks.

Thank you, President Trump! The stock market is soaring, thanks to Trump’s announcement that the U.S. and Mexico have reached a trade deal! CNBC Stocks jumped on Monday as the United States and Mexico closed a new trade deal. Investors also digested reassuring comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on the central bank's policy-tightening path. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 260 points as Caterpillar outperformed. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 1 percent to an all-time high, breaking above 8,000 for the first time, as Facebook, Amazon, Netflix and Alphabet rose. The S&P 500 gained 0.8 percent to hit a...

U.S. stocks are rising again Tuesday as strong company earnings lift the market. The benchmark S&P 500 index is up for the fourth day in a row and fifth out of the last six. Technology companies and banks are making some of the largest gains. Overseas markets are also higher. The S&P 500 index jumped 10 points, or 0.4 percent, to 2,860 as of 10 a.m. Eastern time. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 146 points, or 0.6 percent, to 25,648. The Nasdaq composite rose 26 points, or 0.3 percent, to 7,886. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks climbed...

Facebook missed projections on revenue and global daily active users this quarter after struggling with data leaks and fake news scandals. The company reported its second-quarter earnings after the bell on Wednesday. Shares were down as much as 20 percent. At the current after hours prices and given its market cap at the close Wednesday, Facebook is poised to lose more than $123 billion in market value. Earnings per share: $1.74 vs. $1.72 per a Thomson Reuters consensus estimate Revenue: $13.23 billion vs. $13.36 billion per a Thomson Reuters consensus estimate

The tech-heavy Nasdaq was set for a big down day Thursday after disappointing quarterly results from Facebook sent the social media giant hurtling toward its biggest share price decline ever and on track to lose more than $125 billion in market value. The Invesco QQQ Trust, which tracks the Nasdaq 100 index and can give traders a good idea of how the Nasdaq stocks will trade, was down more than 2 percent at one point in after-hours trading Wednesday. At last count, the ETF was off by about 1.5 percent. Nasdaq futures opened lower Wednesday evening, off by about 0.8...

Look to the stock market and you'd assume Wall Street was doing just fine. The S&P 500 has come back to March highs, the Dow is back to positive for 2018, and the Nasdaq is at fresh records. It's all built on shaky foundations, said longtime market bear and former Republican Congressman Ron Paul. This market is in the "biggest bubble in the history of mankind," and when it bursts, it could cut the stock market in half, he told CNBC's "Futures Now" Thursday. (please see full story at link)

For the first time in 110 years, General Electric will not be a member of the elite Dow Jones Industrial Average. S&P Dow Jones Indices announced on Tuesday that the iconic maker of light bulbs and jet engines will be replaced in the 30-stock index by Walgreens Boots Alliance. GE (GE) was an original member of the Dow in 1896 and has been in it continuously since November 7, 1907. Being ousted from the Dow is the latest indignity for GE, which is dealing with a serious cash crisis caused by years of bad deals. GE has replaced its CEO,...

Stocks are off to another rocky start on Wall Street. Trade war fears drove the Dow down 325 points at the open on Tuesday. That put it in negative territory for the year and on track for its sixth straight decline. The Dow opened down 325 points on Tuesday, turning negative for the year and on track for its sixth straight day of losses. President Donald Trump threatened Monday evening to impose tariffs on an additional $200 billion worth of Chinese goods if Beijing follows throw with its promise to retaliate against a previous round of US tariffs. "Further action...

U.S. stocks were higher in afternoon trading on Wednesday, with the major indexes recovering from earlier losses as investors’ fears eased over a trade conflict between the United States and China. Beijing hit back against U.S. plans to impose tariffs on $50 billion in Chinese goods, with proposals for a list of similar duties on key American imports including soybeans, planes, cars, beef and chemicals. However, investor concerns appeared to ease after Trump’s top economic adviser Larry Kudlow said the administration was involved in a “negotiation” with China rather than a trade war. The market also seemed to take comfort...

Stocks in the U.S. are rising Thursday and major indexes in Europe are surging as global markets continue a rally that began late the previous day. Wall Street is getting more optimistic that a trade dispute between the U.S. and China, the two largest economies in the world, will be resolved without too much pain. Some of the biggest gains are going to technology companies, retailers and banks. The S&P 500 index climbed 18 points, or 0.7 percent, to 2,662 as of 12:45 p.m. Eastern time. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 237 points, or 1 percent, to 24,501. It...

Trade war fears and a presidential attack on Amazon are rocking Wall Street. The Dow dropped more than 700 points and the Nasdaq plunged 3% on Monday. All three major indexes are now in the red for the year. The sell-off on the first day of the second quarter came after President Trump once again attacked Amazon on Twitter. Amazon (AMZN), one of the biggest drivers of the 2017 market rally, tumbled 5%, wiping out more than $37 billion of its market value. Trump once again accused Amazon of taking advantage of the US Postal Service, and he suggested that...

Global stocks rebounded Monday, pulling European markets higher and lifting U.S. equity futures into the green, following news that White House trade officials agreed to exempt South Korea from steel tariffs and were ready to open dialogue with China in an effort to avert a global trade war that has threatened economic growth and hammered financial markets around the world.

The Dow has now gained 326.38 points, or 1.3%, to 25,221.59. And why shouldn't it? No less than Gluskin Sheff's David Rosenberg, who has a reputation as something of a curmudgeon, notes that the increase wasn't just big--the largest since July 2016--but also broad based. Construction payrolls added 61,000 jobs, while the manufacturing sector produced 100,000 jobs, the most since 1998. And even retail added 50,000 jobs, a sign that sector might have finally stopped shrinking, Rosenberg says.has risen 1.2% to 2772.71, and the Nasdaq Composite has climbed 1.3% to 7524.73.

Stocks got slammed Thursday as President Trump said he will impose stiff new tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. Looking to get tough on overseas competitors like China, Trump said the US will impose tariffs of 25 percent on steel and 10 percent on aluminum, sending the Dow Jones industrial average plunging more than 500 points. The president is looking to make good on a key campaign promise despite opposition from some inside the White House who fear the tariffs could spark a trade war. By 2:04 p.m., the blue-chip index was down 517.41 points — or 2 percent —...

U.S. stock futures climbed on Monday, building on a strong late-session rebound on Friday, with the Dow futures up almost 300 points. The move came as investors waited to hear from President Donald Trump about his administration’s plan to spend $200 billion to spur work on the nation’s infrastructure. Hopes for an economic boost from increased infrastructure spending have helped lift stocks since Trump was elected in late 2016.