Good advice all the way around. Using these tips can apply to many as you suggested. Living within ones means and not constantly competing with the "Jones" next door. I think many fall into the trap of always thinking "the other person" must have it better than I do. A certain amount of confidence and personal motivation is important for all of us to have in order to succeed no doubt. However, it is important to realize and acknowledge our own individual success as we go about life. Appreciate and recognize you have done alright in the grand scheme of things.
A good day today for the markets. I think I was green yesterday....but I never looked. So with today....I think....I have two green days in a row. Today was a MILD gain for me.....eight stocks UP and two DOWN. I did get beat by the SP500 by 0.13% today. At least so far we have avoided a day like Monday.
HERE are the NVIDIA earnings which might make for a little bit of a bump tomorrow in the markets. Nvidia earnings fall short, Q3 forecast misses by $1 billion https://finance.yahoo.com/news/nvidia-q2-earnings-2023-194714803.html (BOLD is my opinion OR what I consider important content) "Nvidia (NVDA) announced its fiscal Q2 earnings after the bell on Wednesday, missing on earnings per share and falling short on Q3 forecasts amid a slowdown in PC and gaming sales following the explosive growth the sectors saw in 2020 and 2021. Here are the most important numbers from the report compared to what analysts were expecting. Revenue: $6.7 billion versus $6.7 billion expected Adj. EPS: $0.51 versus $0.53 expected Data Center: $3.8 billion versus $3.8 billion expected Gaming: $2.0 billion versus $2.0 billion expected Net income for the company fell 72% year-over-year to $656 million. Shares of Nvidia were down more than 2% following the announcement. Nvidia also announced Q3 revenue projections that fell short of expectations, saying it will bring in $5.9 billion in the quarter. Wall Street was looking for $6.9 billion. "We are navigating our supply chain transitions in a challenging macro environment and we will get through this,” Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang said in a statement. Nvidia released its preliminary earnings on Aug. 8, warnings investors that the company was going to miss on its own expectations for the quarter as gaming sales continued to plummet. According to the company's numbers, gaming segment revenue dropped an eye-watering 33% year-over-year and 44% quarter-over-quarter. Fellow gaming companies including Microsoft (MSFT), Sony (SONY), Nintendo (NTDOY), and others have also reported a drop in game hardware spending. It's not just sales of individual graphics cards that are hurting Nvidia, though. The slowdown in PC sales is also slamming the company. In Q4 2020, PC shipments grew 26.1% year-over-year to 91.6 million units, according to IDC. Since then, however, sales have fallen off considerably, with Gartner reporting a 12.6% decline in Q2 2022. Full year PC sales are expected to decline by 9%. While Nvidia's gaming segment is taking a beating, the company said its data center business grew 61% in the quarter. The data center segment is Nvidia's main growth engine, as companies increasingly turn to machine learning and artificial intelligence, they need high-powered chips that can handle multiple parallel processes with ease. And Nvidia's graphics chips are a winner in that regard. Still, chip stocks have been hammered during this year's market selloff, with Nvidia falling as much as 41% year-to-date and competitors Intel (INTC) and AMD (AMD) dropping 35% and 34%, respectively. When they'll turn the corner is still anyone's guess." MY COMMENT Many of their earnings components were a match to predictions.....but there were a number of misses as reported above. This is the dirty little secret with chip stocks.....they tend to be boom and bust......in cycles. this is true even in the best of times with no pandemic recovery attempting to happen.
This was the market REALITY today. Stock market news live updates: Stocks rise as investors await rate clarity from Fed https://finance.yahoo.com/news/stock-market-news-live-updates-august-24-2022-120419696.html (BOLD is my opinion OR what I consider important content) "U.S. stocks rose Wednesday after a choppy start to the session as investors awaited clarity from Federal Reserve policymakers on their monetary tightening plans against a backdrop of downbeat economic data. The S&P 500 climbed 0.3% after the benchmark index fell for three straight sessions. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 60 points, or about 0.2%, and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.4%. Peloton (PTON) shares surged 20.4% after the company said it struck a deal to sell its fitness equipment and apparel on Amazon in an effort to turn its business around and regain investor confidence. The exercise-bike maker is also set to report earnings before the bell on Thursday. Investors are on edge over the Federal Reserve's annual symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming later this week, where officials are likely to reiterate their commitment to fighting inflation and curb hopes for rate cuts next year. Despite messaging from Federal Reserve speakers in recent weeks affirming rate increases will continue into the year end, the market is still pricing a dovish pivot, Baird Investment Strategy Analyst Ross Mayfield told Yahoo Finance Live. “I do think that all of their jawboning and hawkishness over the past couple of weeks is starting to show up,” Mayfield added. “But you still have a market that I'm not sure quite believes they'll stick to it as the economy slows through next year.” At the end of the Fed’s Wyoming meeting, traders will tune in for remarks from Chair Jerome Powell for clues on whether the next policy announcement September 21 will result in another 75 basis point rate hike or an eased increase of 0.50%. Meanwhile, shares of Nordstrom (JWN) plunged nearly 20% after the department store giant trimmed its guidance for full-year sales to a range of 5% to 7% Tuesday afternoon on slower demand and a buildup in inventory. The move comes just three months after the company raised its outlook. “The lower-income customer segments saw significantly more pullback versus higher income segments,” Chief Executive Officer Erik Nordstrom during Tuesday’s earnings call, pointing to specific deceleration in the store’s discount Rack business. The earnings season has winded down, but more earnings are in store for traders, with reports out of Nvidia (NVDA) and salesforce.com (CRM) due out Wednesday. In commodity markets, crude oil futures continued to gain after Saudi Arabia on Tuesday suggested the OPEC+ alliance may make possible cuts to production. WTI crude oil futures climbed roughly 1.2% to hold above $94 per barrel, while Brent crude oil futures rose by the same margin to top $101 per barrel." MY COMMENT As usual......NOTHING....going on. The typical FED speculation fueled by the media. A "nothing" week in terms of any changes or market news. A typical low volume August week while all the market BIG SHOTS are on vacation with each other on the East Coast.
That is all I have time for.......I will have company for another couple of days.......so very light posting from me for the rest of this week.
Well congrats if you haven't worked your butt off to finish paying off your student loans. I could use some car loan forgiveness, guess I'm the sucka for paying off my wife's and my own student debt.. Markets opening good today....
I feel your pain Ragin. AND.....since well over 50% of all student loan holders owe $20,000 or less.....it is a great giveaway. The media BS about the HUGE loan balances is just that.....BS. Owing $20,000 or less for a college education is NOT a BURDEN.
A great market open today. This.....plus the last couple of days..... shows that we are in a very different environment from the first months of the year. SO....keep this in mind. What to Consider in August's Purchasing Managers' Indexes Always remember stocks are forward-looking. https://www.fisherinvestments.com/e...nsider-in-augusts-purchasing-managers-indexes (BOLD is my opinion OR what I consider important content) "Has the global recession begun? That question was back at the fore Tuesday after S&P Global’s flash Purchasing Managers’ Indexes (PMIs) for August showed declining output in most major economies. In our view, that makes today ripe for a timely reminder: Regardless of what the global economy is doing this month, stocks generally look about 3 – 30 months out and have likely already digested whatever business surveys and output metrics will eventually confirm happened. PMIs, unlike “hard” data like retail sales and industrial production, aim to use survey responses to determine the economy’s general direction. They ask participants how business evolved across a range of categories including output, new business, employment, inventories, supplier deliveries, prices and others, then mash the responses into a number. Readings over 50 indicate expansion, with growth broader the farther above 50 it is. Similarly, under 50 means contraction, with lower readings implying widespread declines. Exhibit 1 shows the flash results for August, which S&P says include about 85% of expected responses. The Manufacturing and Services columns show headline indexes—the aforementioned mashups. The Composite column aggregates Manufacturing and Services output only, hence its apparent divergence. Exhibit 1: August’s Flash PMIs Source: FactSet and S&P Global, as of 8/23/2022. Now, PMIs aren’t airtight. The survey asks if activity was higher, lower or the same—broad descriptions that show direction only. There is a world of difference between a bit higher and way higher, and the combination of all those differences eventually determines the actual growth rate. Said differently: We know from these surveys that a majority of businesses in all of these places except the UK reported falling output. But we don’t know if those were big drops. Nor do we know if the minority that reported higher output might have enjoyed fast enough growth to offset those in decline. We won’t get a better picture until the corresponding output data come out several weeks from now. Still, PMI trends have a solid history of corresponding with the economy’s general direction, so we think it is fair to surmise that the global economy is at least enduring a slowdown right now, if not an actual contraction. We say this not to alarm, but because it is important to look negatives in the eye as well as positives. But more importantly, at this point, is anyone surprised that economic conditions appear to be wobbling? According to S&P Global’s press releases, businesses across the world cited supply chain pressures, full inventories, input prices and a general sense of prudence and unease among clients as headwinds. Folks, these aren’t new considerations: They are the exact things headlines have stewed over for months. And they are the exact things that investors feared throughout this year’s stock market downturn. In our view, the sheer lack of surprise power here is a powerful sign for stocks. When sentiment hits stocks, as we think it did this year, we think it unfolds in a repeatable cycle. First, the fear manifests, hurting stocks. Then it snowballs as headlines sketch out worst-case scenarios and extrapolate every potential negative forward, and the decline escalates. From here, sometimes the fear proves false, and people move on as if the whole thing never happened. Sometimes, it comes true—usually in a milder way than anticipated—and seeing it come true also enables investors to get over it and get on with it. Getting confirmation zaps the uncertainty—people don’t have to wonder anymore. It wouldn’t surprise us if that played out regarding investor sentiment toward the global economy, given the deep fears that have preoccupied investors for months. PMIs and other metrics could easily trigger a general sentiment of guess the bad times came after all, and it isn’t so bad. What next? Couple that with easing price pressures, which survey respondents reported across the board, and it all points to a high likelihood of investors feeling some relief. So no, August’s PMIs aren’t good news. But we also don’t think they are reason to avoid stocks now. Yes, they seem out of sync with stocks’ bounce since mid-June, but stocks regularly rebound before the economy does. Remembering these first principles is key to navigating these rocky stretches, in our view." MY COMMENT DUH.....we are in a recession.....and have been. But I expect it will be mild and generally irrelevant to much. In fact in terms of the FED it is likely to be good news for stock investors.
My kid took out $6000 in Federal student loans in the late 2000's. We decided to take out the loan rather than paying our own money since we could do that loan and than just pay it back when the kid graduated at no interest while the kid was in school. So why use our money when we could defer using it for four years. When the kid graduated.....we paid the payments for a few months till I got tired of it and just paid the balance. The payment on $6000 was.......$50 per month. Not a big burden. Since about 25% of all student loan holders owe $10,000 or less that would be about $100 per month. I am guessing that $20,000 would be about $175 to $200 per month.
$ECDD market cap and enterprise volume are excellent. $ECDD is highly regarded by its shareholders. Current market cap is $35M+.
Yeah, I remember being young and graduating college to begin paying back my loans. The minimum payment was pretty low, but I just kept working at it and paid it off. That was a long time ago and was really the only way I could afford school. Like a lot of folks, my parents made just enough to prevent student aid, but poor enough you really couldn't fund college, so the loan was about the only way. My kiddo graduated college and had two loans, one already paid off and then this deal came out. Kid seems a bit indifferent about it. Doesn't like the idea that taxpayers are gonna get stuck with the bill and also some feeling that she can payoff her balance sooner with the elimination of the 10k. I told her not to feel bad/good either way...as a gainfully employed productive member of society she is gonna pay more than her fair share for the lifelong freeloaders who do not want to work.
And here is some more money..... IRS will refund $1.2B in late-filing penalties. The IRS will refund $1.2 billion in penalties to 1.6 million individual and business taxpayers who were fined for not filing tax or information returns on time for 2019 and 2020, as the pandemic disrupted the economy and led to a pileup of unprocessed returns at the agency. The penalty relief — detailed in an IRS notice — is automatic, so taxpayers won’t have to apply for it, and many of the payments will be completed by the end of September, the agency said Wednesday. For those who haven’t paid fines yet, the penalties will be abated. Still, to qualify, taxpayers must file by Sept. 30 any returns that are still outstanding for the 2019 and 2020 tax years. There are various other deadlines for information returns that businesses must file. Refunds won’t be available to taxpayers who have already accepted a compromise offer or closing agreement with the IRS, where penalties were determined by a court or for fraudulent returns. Fines for failing to pay taxes won’t be automatically refunded either. The relief will cover individuals; banks, employers and individuals required to file information returns; and filers of various international information returns. “Besides providing relief to both individuals and businesses impacted by the pandemic, this step is designed to allow the IRS to focus its resources on processing backlogged tax returns and taxpayer correspondence to help return to normal operations for the 2023 filing season,” the agency said in a statement. Politico by Toby Eckert.
YEAH the IRS was CRAZY than. I got a notice that I did not file a return.....when my return was caught up in the 20MILLION return backlog. I spent about 3 hours on hold till I got to talk to someone......that was a complete IDIOT. I kept telling him that I had the canceled check showing that they cashed it in April. He just kept repeating over and over.....well the computer says you did not file a return. Later I called again and got a lady that was GREAT.......she took care of it immediately and very efficiently. Since that time I always include tracking on my tax return.
I have a really nice gain today.....if it can hang on for another couple of hours. Nine of ten stocks are UP. TSLA is my only down holding. Surprisingly NVDA is UP by 3.2% at the moment. BUT.....even with the nice gain today and the small gains yesterday and the day before......I have still not made up what I lost on Monday. I am not griping.......it is nice to be right where I am now after the past seven months and after Monday. This week has been nicely GREEN so far after Monday. I believe we are seeing a nice UPSIDE potential to the markets at the moment. The RALLY of the past 3 months is....NOT.....over with.
Down 9% ytd so I'm almost 3% ahead of S&P. Today was a great day and I hope all of you did even better.
Yes a good day today. We will take every GREEN day we can get. The media is focused on if JP will reveal anything tomorrow when he speaks, so short term volatility is going to be present either way. Even though the next decision will not be until late September the predictions will fly all around. Inflation is not going away overnight or even in September. This little narrative is going to be with us for awhile unfortunately. That being said, we just keep moving forward and enjoy the GREEN when we get them and ride out the rest.
Yes.....a very nice day in the neighborhood. I am just a hair (investing term of art) shy of my account balance before this Monday. I was nicely GREEN today. Plus....a good beat on the SP500 by 0.31%. Onward and upward from here. Who cares about the big bad FED. If we have a good day tomorrow we.....might.....end the week positive.
Well, as expected the markets respond to JP's little speech and the doom and gloom begins. I don't know why anyone would have expected a different tone. The rate increases are going to continue...oh my, who could have imagined that. In any case, we knew the reaction would result in a typical "pie in the sky" moment or "the sky is falling." It is just how the short term works. We will see if it moderates some from the early drop, but with everyone running around with their hair on fire about it, it may be asking too much. Just a silly, typical response to something that should have been widely expected by most rational investors.
Exactly Smokie. There is NOTHING Powell said that is shocking or unexpected. Anyone with a brain......and not pushing some agenda.......knows that the September hike will be 0.75%. It is clear as day.....and has been for a month or more. Now....if I was a big bank short term day trader......yes.....I would love to jerk the markets around using this stuff to bolster my trading advantage with my AI trading based on news and rumor. It is also clear as day that the ratee hikes are going to continue for this year and well into next year. Mostly due to the FACT that nothing the FED does is going to have much impact on the general economy. It will impact stock markets day to day......but what is going on right now in the economy is so distorted and divorced from the FED actions.....as to make them worthless. The FED taking action here in the USA is NOT going to matter in the slightest......to ALL the various economic disruption that is happening all around the world at the moment and impacting the USA. In addition....our government.....continues to spend money like a drunken sailor......or......put money into the economy......ie: student loan payment deferrals and loan forgiveness.......and as a result stimulate INFLATION. With the recent spending bill AND the student loan payment deferrals and the student loan forgiveness......we are talking well over another $TRILLION dollars. As a result what the FED is doing is simply a joke. It will have a couple of impacts.....tanking the housing markets......and....punishing investors......especially all the millions of baby boomers that are retiring every year now......with NO PENSIONS. Meantime.....wages are still going up, job hoppers are still hopping, 30% of the labor force continues to be disappeared.......and what the media NEVER mentions.......the labor participation rate is STILL down from before the pandemic.
