Category Archives: U.S. Economic News

[11/30/22]Rising inflation and interest rates, along with several other factors, will push the economy over the edge, says Beth Ann Bovino. Many economists, including luminaries Larry Summers and Nouriel Roubini, anticipate a recession next year. And so does Beth Ann Bovino, chief U.S. economist at S&P Global Ratings. “Continued high prices through most of next year and the Federal Reserve's decision to aggressively raise interest rates … are leading households to pull back on spending and businesses to cut costs in response to slowing demand,” she wrote in a commentary. “We continue to expect the U.S. will fall into recession in 2023. We expect GDP growth to weaken to negative 0.1% in...

[11/17/21]Real Money's Timmothy Collins spotted the recent breakout in precious metal. Gold has had a rough year so far.  Over the course of 2021 alone the price of gold has fluctuated by nearly 12 percent of its peak value, moving within a band of roughly $250.

“Gold trades seem to be my nemesis. When I take them, they fizzle. When I don't, they run," Timothy Collins wrote recently on Real Money. "That's how it often feels for me, even if it's a slight exaggeration. Usually, it is just small wins and small losses when playing the commodity or miners. When I get the pattern, like...

[10/8/21]The supply chain disruption problem does not seem to be going away anytime soon, and so many companies are trying some innovative solutions to help ease the bottlenecks. From chartering their own container ships to adding more local fulfillment centers, some of the largest retailers are taking drastic measures to speed up the delivery of their products to the marketplace. With the shortage of shipping containers used on cargo ships, Walmart (WMT) - Get Walmart Inc. Report is switching to larger 53-foot containers and Ikea has purchased thousands of containers of its own. Coca-Cola (KO) - Get Coca-Cola Company Report has even chartered three “bulk carriers”—a type of cargo...

[7/20/21]Bitcoin falls below $30,000 for the first time in about a month and crypto stocks slide as the global market selloff sparks a rush to old-school paper bonds and gold. A selloff in Bitcoin accelerated Tuesday, pushing it below $30,000 for the first time in about a month, and other virtual currencies retreated as a global market selloff spurred by concerns over the delta variant of COVID-19 sparked a rush to old-school paper bonds and gold. Stocks related to cryptocurrencies also declined, extending Monday's losses. At last check, Bitcoin was down 3.8% at $29,494, while Ethereum, the world’s second-biggest digital currency, was down 3.95% at $1,741.10. XRP was down 6.3%,...

[5/29/21]President foresees GDP growth of 5% this year, but assumes no permanent inflationary impact. President Joseph Biden unveiled a proposed $6 trillion budget for the U.S. Friday, forecasting 5% economic growth this year but no permanent inflationary impact. The plans include previously announce proposals for a $2.3 trillion jobs and infrastructure plan and $1.8 billion in spending to boost education and families, both of which are receiving sharp pushback from Congressional Republicans. Biden’s move comes as the U.S. economy is accelerating its reopening from pandemic shutdowns thanks to widespread vaccinations against COVID-19 that have reached at least half of Americans over the age of 12. Biden’s spending plans seek to...

[3/1/21]New York State Attorney General Letitia James urges investors to be extremely cautious with bitcoin and its crypto brethren. New York State Attorney General Letitia James on Monday issued two investor alerts in response to the “extreme risk” that she says New Yorkers face when they invest in cryptocurrencies. The first alert urged “extreme caution when investing in virtual currencies." The second warned brokers, dealers, salespersons, and investment advisers that they could face civil and criminal liability if they don’t fulfill their obligations regarding registration with the State of New York when they do business with virtual currencies. “Too often, greedy industry players take unnecessary risks with investors’ money, but,...

[1/4/21]Stocks finish lower on the first day of the new trading year. Investors are concerned about pandemic restrictions and the outcome of Tuesday's Georgia runoff. Stocks ended lower Monday as Wall Street's optimism about the rollout of coronavirus vaccines was dashed by a climb in infections and fears of tougher restrictions and lockdowns. Also focusing Wall Street's attention were Tuesday’s runoff elections in Georgia, which will set the balance of the Senate and the legislative agenda of President-elect Joe Biden. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 382 points, or 1.25%, to 30,223, the S&P 500 fell 1.48% and the Nasdaq declined 1.47%. The Dow and S&P 500 had set intraday records...

[10/8/20]Stocks ended higher Thursday as Wall Street parsed mixed signals about a stimulus package from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and President Donald Trump. Pelosi told Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin she wouldn't agree to a stand-alone relief bill for airlines without a guarantee they would address a more comprehensive package. “They just want money for the president to spend money on who knows what?” Pelosi said at a news conference Thursday. “There is no stand-alone bill without a bigger bill.” Meanwhile, Trump, who recently told his staff to halt the stimulus talks till after the election, said Thursday that negotiators were making headway. “I shut down talks two days ago because they...

[7/13/20]Chipmaking giant Analog Devices announces plans to acquire Maxim Integrated Products in a $21 billion all-stock deal. Chipmaking giant Analog Devices  (ADI) - Get Report on Monday announced plans to acquire Maxim Integrated Products  (MXIM) - Get Report in a $21 billion all-stock deal. The enterprise value of the transaction is $68 billion. Under the terms of the agreement, Maxim stockholders will receive just under two-thirds of a share of ADI common stock for each share of Maxim common stock they hold at the closing of the transaction, which is expected to occur next summer. Upon closing, current ADI stockholders will own approximately 69% of the combined company,...

[4/14/20]Stocks finish higher as earnings season begins, clouded by uncertainties caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Stocks were rising Tuesday after JPMorgan Chase  (JPM) - Get Report, Wells Fargo  (WFC) - Get Report and Johnson & Johnson  (JNJ) - Get Report kicked off an earnings season clouded by uncertainties caused by the coronavirus pandemic's upending of the global economy. Signs that virus infections were leveling off in certain countries also gave a boost to sentiment, as did President Donald Trump saying his administration was working on a plan to reopen the U.S. economy. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 558 points, or 2.39%, to 23,949,...