Free Republic

*** The bond market is taking on the Fed, betting the Fed is mistaken in its view that it does not need to cut rates very much, strategists say. *** The market is betting inflation will be much lower than the Fed expects it will be, and that will force the Fed to keep cutting rates. *** Stunning moves across the Treasury curves sent yields sharply lower, and the benchmark 10-year yield was edging toward a 3-year low, while stocks rose sharply in response. The bond market is bent on having its way and is now pricing in a Fed...

The Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren thinks she knows how to prevent the next economic crisis. Warren, who says she spent years before the 2008 financial crisis warning Congress and regulators of the faulty loans that would eventually collapse, wrote a post on Medium on Monday cautioning about another "coming economic crash." "When I look at the economy today, I see a lot to worry about again," Warren said. "And I see a number of serious shocks on the horizon that could cause our economy's shaky foundation to crumble." Here are the three things Warren says could cause the next...

Appearing on CNBC Wednesday, Canadian businessman and television personality Kevin O’Leary raved about the state of the U.S. economy , based on his more than 50 “Shark Tank” companies. “Most of the Sharks have a similar portfolio,” O’Leary told CNBC on Wednesday. “It’s an amazing index on America’s economy because they’re almost in every state, in every sector.” O’Leary along with investors Mark Cuban, Robert Herjavec, Barbara Corcoran, Lori Greiner and Daymond John put up their own money on “Shark Tank” to buy stakes in start-ups looking for capital and influential business partners. “I can report to you, on a...

God, it must stink to be a leftist. Many sold all of his stocks in case of an impending Donald Trump presidency. They feared that they would lose all of their money if a billionaire with experience creating thousands of jobs were put in charge of the economy. Why they felt this way exactly remains unclear aside from their stupidity. If they had kept his money in the stock market, they would all probably be a lot, lot wealthier. Instead, they are getting run over by the MAGA train and it just keeps going and going.  As reported by Bloomberg...

The Dow Jones Industrial Average topped 27,000 for the first time on Thursday as the top three equity benchmarks Opens a New Window. traded higher on Wall Street Opens a New Window. after Federal Reserve Opens a New Window. Chairman Jerome Powell Opens a New Window. signaled the central bank was still moving towards an interest rate cut due to trade uncertainties. Following several days of uneven trading activity over concerns that the Federal Reserve would withhold moving forward on the expected cuts, investors were optimistic after Powell’s remarks that the central bank’s outlook for the U.S. economy is weighed...

Further relaying confidence in the booming economy under President Donald J. Trump, CNBC reports that "stocks closed at record highs on Wednesday as investors bet on a potential rate cut from the Federal Reserve later this month after the release of weaker-than-expected economic data." President Trump noted the success of the stock market's record-setting day on Twitter, saying, "We have the greatest economy anywhere in the world. We have the greatest military anywhere in the world. Not bad!"  We have the greatest economy anywhere in the world. We have the greatest military anywhere in the world. Not bad!— Donald J....

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at a record on Wednesday, notching its fourth straight session of gains.

The U.S. economy broke a record for its longest expansion ever Monday. Economic expansion has continued for more than 10 years. Growth is now in its 121st month since the Great Recession ended in June 2009, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research. The economy set its previous 120-month record between March 1991 and March 2001. That growth period ended after the dot com bubble burst. The rate of growth, however, has been slower than during other periods of economic expansion. For example, during that previous record-holding period in the 90s, the average growth was 3.6 percent per year....

I don't know if this kind of question is allowed on Free Republic, but given that we have lots of people who have created wealth for themselves on here, I am wondering about something. I came into $2000 unexpectedly and thought I would use it to learn how to invest in the stock market as an independent investor. Thankfully, if it went away tomorrow I would be fine. I opened up an account on a low-cost online brokerage. This brokerage has investment ratings--- A, B, C, D, etc. I am wondering if these have any value or are they bupkus?...

* Fed sees case building for rate cuts this year * Financials fall; Energy up most among S&P sectors * Carnival Corp slides on 2019 profit warning * Indexes up: Dow 0.68%, S&P 0.59%, Nasdaq 0.59% (Updates prices, adds comments) By Shreyashi Sanyal June 20 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 index touched an all-time high on Thursday, after the Federal Reserve indicated that it could cut interest rates as early as July to combat growing risks to global and domestic growth. The U.S. central bank left rates unchanged at the end of its two-day June policy meeting on Wednesday, but...

The Federal Reserve did not move on rates at the conclusion of its policysetting meeting June 19, but committed itself to acting “as appropriate to sustain the expansion.” The Fed elected to keep the benchmark interest rate within its target range of 2.25% to 2.5%, but new economic projections show more Fed officials seeing the case for a rate cut — or two — by the end of 2020. The Fed said it still sees a “sustained expansion of economic activity, strong labor market conditions, and inflation near” the committee’s 2% target, but added that “uncertainties about this outlook have...

President Trump asserted on Saturday there would be dire economic consequences should he lose the 2020 presidential race, leaning into his reelection slogan "Keep America Great." “The Trump Economy is setting records, and has a long way up to go....However, if anyone but me takes over in 2020 (I know the competition very well), there will be a Market Crash the likes of which has not been seen before! KEEP AMERICA GREAT,” he tweeted.

The California Legislative Analyst Office warned that a crash in Silicon Valley stock crash could threaten state solvency with $12 billion in annual capital gains tax losses. The nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO) has provided the California Legislature with fiscal analyses and budget advice for 75 years to ensure the “executive branch is implementing legislative policy in a cost efficient and effective manner.” According to the LAO, California personal income tax (PIT) collections are the “single largest source of General Fund revenue.” Key to those collections are capital gains taxes associated with Silicon Valley stock gains. With the tech stock...

It hasn’t been China that has been the source of sudden escalation; nor Iran; nor North Korea; nor Turkey, who admittedly gave it a good go in announcing they may install Russian S-400 anti-aircraft missiles in the area of the Mediterranean they are looking for energy in despite protests from the EU’s Cyprus it’s their naval territory; nor even Italy, where Deputy PM Salvini is threatening new elections that would very likely strengthen his hand further has he prepares for battle with Brussels. No, it was Mexico. (Or rather US President Trump, which is less of a surprise.) Don’t get...

Stocks and bond yields around the world fell Friday after President Trump threatened to impose escalating tariffs on Mexico, capping a brutal month for markets as rising trade tensions roiled investor confidence. The threat pushed stock markets down as investors feared applying tariffs on Mexican products could hurt corporate earnings, increase prices for U.S. consumers and crimp economic growth. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell more than 300 points, while the Nasdaq Composite Index and S&P 500 both fell more than 1%. As investors sold stocks, they moved to government bonds, gold and the Japanese yen, all assets typically perceived...

As things stand, America is likely to lose the tech war with China. The stock market should be sending a message to President Trump. U.S. semiconductor stocks are down 20% in the past month, and the broad market has been in freefall for a week. This is a war we can win, by mobilizing American ingenuity to produce technology that will crush the competition. No-one ever won a war by trying to stop someone else from doing something. I'm an Always Trumper, and I want the president to win another term. But he's risking the U.S. economy and his re-election...

New orders for U.S.-made capital goods fell more than expected in April, further evidence that manufacturing and the broader economy were slowing after a growth spurt in the first quarter.The slowdown was driven by exports and a buildup of inventories.Orders for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft dropped 0.9% last month as demand weakened almost across the board, the Commerce Department said.Overall orders for durable goods, items ranging from toasters to aircraft that are meant to last three years or more, tumbled 2.1% in April. .... The renewed trade tensions are expected to weigh on exports, which earlier this year...

Tensions escalated between the United States and China when Trump wrote in a tweet on May 5 that he would increase tariffs on $200 billion Chinese goods to 25 percent from 10 percent. Trump accused Beijing of backtracking on its commitment to deliver structural reforms. The dispute revealed the vulnerability of China’s stock market, with the Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite Index falling nearly 6 percent on May 6, the day after Trump’s tweet. The stocks haven’t recovered since then. The total outflow from Chinese stocks by nonresidents since tensions escalated reached $6.2 billion, according to IIF, which has tracked capital...

The Australian stock market has soared to an 11-year high on the back of the Coalition's shock election win. Investors reacted positively to Prime Minister Scott Morrison remaining in office, with the S&P/ASX 200 index rising by 97 points to 6,462.3 points during early trade on Monday. This was the highest point since December 14, 2007, before the the global financial crisis worsened and a month after Kevin Rudd was elected Labor PM. ... Investors appeared to be buoyed at voters rejecting Labor's plan to deprive share-owning retirees, who don't pay income tax, from receiving franking credits. They also rejoiced...

Stocks rose on Thursday as sentiment was boosted by strong earnings from Walmart and Cisco Systems while banks climbed on higher rates. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 214.66 points higher at 25,862.68, led by Walmart and Cisco. The S&P 500 gained 0.9% to close at 2,876.32 while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 1% to 7,898.05. The major indexes also closed higher for the third straight day. Walmart shares rose 1.4% after the retailer posted first-quarter earnings for fiscal 2020 that topped analyst expectations. The company said it is in a “good position ” to meet its goals for 2019 despite...