@theMarket: Markets Down, Economy Up, What Gives?By Bill Schmick,
03:34PM / Friday, October 27, 2023 | |
Sometimes good news on Main Street is bad news for Wall Street. Let's start with the good news. The U.S. economy grew at its fastest pace in nearly two years during the past three months. Third-quarter Gross Domestic Product grew at an annualized pace of 4.9 percent blowing away economists' expectations of a 4.5 percent growth rate.
The resilient U.S. consumer continued to spend, which has boosted growth, defying those who have been expecting the economy to slow down under the weight of 18 months of interest rate hikes. The bad news is the stronger economy will make the Fed's fight against inflation that much more difficult and therein lies the rub for the 0 Comments
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The Retired Investor: Halloween Spending Expected to Hit a RecordBy Bill Schmick,
02:56PM / Thursday, October 26, 2023 | |
Spending on candy, costumes, decorations, and parties is rising. The expected amount Americans plan to spend on Halloween is $12.2 billion in 2023, according to the National Retail Federation NRF). That beats last year's record of $10.6 billion.
More Americans than ever are celebrating with 79 percent of people participating, which is greater than last year and exceeds pre-pandemic levels as well. In addition, 76 percent of adult American pet owners plan to put their pets in costumes, according to a PetSmart national survey. The average amount consumers will pay to celebrate the holiday is $108.24 versus $102.74 last year.
Candy is still at the top of 0 Comments
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@theMarket: If Bond Yields Continue Climb, Stocks Will FallBy Bill Schmick,
04:00PM / Saturday, October 21, 2023 | |
Investors sold stocks, as bond yields reached new multi-year highs. Third-quarter earnings are almost an afterthought in this climate, and geopolitical events did not help either.
The 10-year, U.S. Treasury bond hit the 5 percent mark. The 30-year bond has already broken through that number and then some. The higher yields climb, the more investors fear that they will rise even further. As it stands now, the return you can get by putting your money in bonds is becoming more and more attractive versus stocks.
This is happening despite the cessation of long-term bond auctions by the U.S. Treasury this week. Short-term bills and notes have been auctioned 0 Comments
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The Retired Investor: Primary Care Changing as Doctors DisappearBy Bill Schmick,
04:49PM / Thursday, October 19, 2023 | |
They are called general practitioners or primary-care doctors. Overworked, suffocating under mountains of paperwork, they see more than 30 patients a day in one of the most underpaid areas of the medical field.
An estimated one-third of all physicians in the U.S. are primary-care doctors, according to the Robert Graham Center, which studies the primary-care market. They include medicine physicians, general internists, and pediatricians. Depending on the definition, other researchers, like the Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker, say that number is far lower, around 12 percent. That compares with a range of 23-45 percent of primary care doctors in Europe.
My 0 Comments
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The Retired Investor: Four-Day WorkweekBy Bill Schmick,
04:38PM / Thursday, October 12, 2023 | |
The American work culture has shifted radically since COVID-19. The idea that there is more in life than work is catching on among many workers. Working from home, quiet quitting, and "missing Mondays" are all symptoms of this change as is a four-day workweek.
Most full-time workers and job seekers, when asked, say a four-day workweek is at the top of their wish list. That is what a recent study by Bankrate, a consumer financial services company, discovered. Fully 81 percent of 2,367 adults polled, supported such a move, and 89 percent of workers were willing to make sacrifices to achieve that goal. Those surveyed said they would work longer hours, change jobs, 0 Comments
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