Probably the greatest issue that long term investor face is knowing when to sell a stock. Second is being able to be decisive in selling. Here is a very nice little list of some selling suggestions. (BOLD is my opinion OR what I consider important content) To stay grounded and in the right mindset, keep these eight "secrets" in mind. Everyone makes mistakes. Just be sure to cut all losses short. Even the best investors get hit with a loss from time to time. But they don't indulge in worry as the stock drops even further. They cut their losses quickly and move on. Leave your ego and pride at the door. Don't let a loss get to you — either mentally or financially. If you don't sell too early, you'll sell too late. To lock in solid gains, sell while your stock is still going up. As IBD founder William J. O'Neil said, "Your objective is to make and take significant gains and not get excited, optimistic, greedy, or emotionally carried away as your stock's advance gets stronger." Following the 20%-25% sell rule can help you do that. In a strong bull market, leading growth stocks like Nvidia, Meta, Microsoft and Apple can, of course, run longer than expected. But locking in some profits along the way allows investors to safeguard a portion of those gains, while still maintaining a position to take advantage of a continued run. It also reduces the risk of giving back too much in an extended pullback. Have a sell plan in place before you buy. The real drama kicks in when it comes time to sell. If you don't have sell rules and an exit plan, it's easy to freeze and not take action when needed. If your stock is soaring, you might get greedy and ignore certain sell signals and warning signs. Also, if you're sitting on a loss, you may do the "hold and hope" routine. You pray it bounces back — while it continues to drop. Stay grounded and keep your emotions at bay by having a selling plan in place ahead of time. Write down your target sell prices for both taking profits and cutting losses. Don't let a decent gain turn into a loss. If you have a nice gain of, say, 10%, 15% or more and the stock begins to decline, don't let that profit disappear completely. It's much less frustrating to see a 15%-to-20% gain turn into a 5%-to-10% profit than to see it turn into a 10% loss. You can always buy the stock back if it shows renewed strength and forms a proper buy point. Don't marry your stocks. Just date them! "For better or for worse, for richer or for poorer" is a noble and time-honored approach to marital fealty, but it's a bad idea when it comes to investing in stocks. In most cases, it's better to take a good gain while you have it. And never hesitate to separate and protect yourself from a bad relationship if there are clear signs of trouble. Sell your losing stocks first. When building a winning basketball team, you wouldn't trade away all your top players for a bunch of benchwarmers. Yet many investors do just that. They sell stocks in which they have a good gain and hold those showing a loss. Further, they think a big gain is just around the corner. That's usually just wishful thinking. Do the opposite. Sell your losers and use that money — provided the market trend is favorable — to add winners to your roster or invest more money in the top performers you already own. When buying a stock, focus on both the fundamentals and the stock chart. When selling, focus on the chart. They say the view is great at the top, and that often applies to stocks as well. The warning signs typically show up in the stock chart — i.e., technical analysis — before they appear in the company's fundamentals. It's crucial to use both technical and fundamental analysis when buying stocks. The same is true on deciding when to sell stocks. Focus on the chart and technical analysis, like price and volume action and behavior around key moving averages. The most important sell rule is to buy at the right time. A very common mistake, particularly for beginning investors, is buying at the wrong time. Some will not pay attention to market timing and buy during a market correction when most stocks go down. Or they'll ignore the technical action in the stock chart and either buy too soon or too late. So before buying a stock, make sure three key factors — market trend, big earnings driven by something new, and institutional support — are in place. Doing so helps get you in at the right time, with the odds of success squarely in your favor. https://www.investors.com/how-to-invest/when-to-sell-stocks-nvidia-nvda-stock/?src=A00220
All you need to know for the week to come is the FED meeting and the rate cut announcement that will come on Wednesday. At least that is what the markets are expecting. This will be the last FED meeting of 2024. Thank goodness.
Seems like a typical and normal open today....as we limp our way to year end. Not much enthusiasm in the markets. We are in a little dull spot in the current bull market. NVDA is down pretty big again today.....as it continues to drop further into correction territory. It seems like much of the media and investor excitement is over.....at least for now. It (all the media coverage and resulting frenzy)...... got so overdone that it just wore out the stock....even though all the fundamentals are just as amazing as ever. We are also seeing year end profit taking. I think a lot of small investors that racked up big gains at multiples of 2x and 3x their initial investment are taking some money off the table. They are doing so based on a little bit of concern and skittishness.....and....it is probably not a bad thing for most people....as long as they move that money to other investments in stocks and funds as a lateral move....for the long term. This has basically been a SIX MONTH event for NVDA......with the return on the stock at less than 1% over the past SIX MONTHS.....actually.......+0.27%. We continue the relentless march......not that we have a choice......toward year end.
I have been saying for the past year or two that WMT is on my list of potential stocks to buy.....if I had a good chunk of extra money. Walmart is the 2024 Yahoo Finance Company of the Year https://finance.yahoo.com/news/walmart-is-the-2024-yahoo-finance-company-of-the-year-110030254.html (BOLD is my opinion OR what I consider important content) "Now past its sixth decade, Walmart (WMT) is getting its second wind. The legacy retailer, once seen as slow to adopt technology as Amazon (AMZN) rose to the forefront, has quietly invested in everything from artificial intelligence and augmented reality to same-day delivery and cheap groceries. The combo punch has led to nearly four quarters of record earnings — and a title as Yahoo Finance's annual Company of the Year award winner. A committee of Yahoo Finance editorial leaders selected Walmart because of its strong year of sales and profits, financial outperformance relative to key rivals like Target (TGT), and a stock price that has reached fresh records in 2024. "I'm a pretty conservative, kind of play-it-safe kind of person," longtime CEO Doug McMillon said in an exclusive sit-down inside a Walmart supercenter near its Bentonville, Ark., headquarters. "But to get the change that we needed, we had to take risks in the form of acquisitions, in the form of big investments. Those can be breathtaking at times, but that's one way that I know I've changed — I'm faster to accept risks than I was before." McMillon, who climbed the ranks from loading Walmart trucks in his teens to the top of America's largest retailer, is charging ahead as the business enters a 2025 fraught with uncertainties. Through the years, some Walmart lifers have gone so far as to paint McMillon as founder Sam Walton reincarnated — though the humble, deeply religious McMillon would never repeat those words. Yet his vision has vaulted Walmart to the top of the Yahoo Finance stock charts, even as consumer sentiment struggles amid high inflation and the company deals with controversial decisions such as mandatory return to office and rolling back diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. In August, Walmart said it would cut prices on 7,200 products to maintain "competitive price gaps" with rivals. The result? The company trounced cheap-chic rival Target in its third quarter despite Target's own slew of price cuts. Earlier this month, Walmart closed on its $2.3 billion acquisition of smart TV maker Vizio. The deal will yield a plethora of consumer data while turbocharging an advertising business growing at a double-digit sales pace a quarter. Walmart's shares are up 82% year to date, compared to a 27% gain for the S&P 500 and an 18% advance for the Dow Jones Industrial Average. "I'm aware [of the stock price]," McMillon said, chuckling as we chatted inside the produce section. "I try not to focus on that too much. It's the inputs that drive the outputs, and I spend my time on the inputs." I met McMillon somewhat early in his CEO tenure in 2017. We set up shop inside a hotel lobby in New York City and talked for 30 minutes or so. I remember coming away thinking McMillon was a quietly intense guy who maybe had the best grasp on his business of any executive I knew. When we reconnected in Bentonville just prior to Black Friday madness, McMillon appeared to be the same guy I met in 2017 — but with the elevated confidence befitting a battle-tested executive. "I go back to before the pandemic," McMillon recalled. "[When] we invested in wages for our associates, we invested in our people in things like education, we invested in lower prices, we invested in e-commerce, and we invested in technology all within a pretty tight period of time." "That obviously created some pressure on the bottom line and some overhang for how people think about Walmart." The bets paid off as the pandemic spurred an age of curbside pickup and fast deliveries. "I think it caused a lot of people, customers and our associates, to recognize that we were on the right track. And we just kind of haven't looked back since then," he said. The company is becoming very competitive with Amazon as it offers more items online and grows its third-party seller marketplace. It's working on generative AI-powered chatbots and making the site more responsive and personalized. It's also leaning into same-day delivery and buy online, pickup in store. Walmart has begun using drone delivery in the Bentonville area and has ambitions to bring that to life in more towns. The chain is gaining market share from high-income households who are noticing the vastly improved shopping experience. It's a callout Walmart has mentioned in each of its earnings reports this year as the retailer shakes its no-frills image. "Walmart has become a much better competitor," noted retail strategist Jan Rogers Kniffen. In 2017, Amazon took 36.4% of sales among Digital Commerce 360's top 2000 North American online retailers, while Walmart accounted for a paltry 4.4%. This year, it projects Walmart will have a 10.6% share to Amazon's 39.7%. "They are reaching new limits on what a mature company can do," Neuberger Berman analyst John San Marco told Yahoo Finance. Despite Walmart's gargantuan size and competitive industry dynamics, the raw numbers support the view that the company will set the bar even higher in 2025. Walmart rings the register financially Walmart's third quarter showed a retailer capitalizing on penny-pinching consumers on both the low-income and higher-income spectrums. The company beat Wall Street estimates on sales and earnings, powered by a 5.3% comparable sales gain at its largest division — its namesake US business. Walmart US saw sales gains in higher-frequency product categories such as food and health and wellness. Its global e-commerce sales rose a hearty 27%. The company lifted its full-year forecast again, with a sales growth of 4.8% to 5.1%. The midpoint of its earnings outlook of $2.45 per share represents an 11% year-over-year jump. For the nine months ending on Oct. 31, Walmart added close to $26 billion in sales compared to last year. It spent $3 billion on stock buybacks — more than three times that of a year ago. Its operating margins at Walmart US, Walmart International, and Sam's Club expanded despite consumer headwinds and investments in tech. Yahoo Finance data shows that 90% of analysts who cover Walmart rate the stock a Strong Buy or Buy. "So [the results] didn't happen by accident," Walmart CFO John David Rainey told me inside the company's palatial health and wellness center in its soon-to-open new headquarters. "And what you're seeing right now is all the pieces of this strategy beginning to come together, and it's coming together in a way where between this year and next year, we'll grow operating income about 10% on average each year." By comparison, Target has had a dreadful year. In November, the company badly missed third quarter profit forecasts, slashed full-year guidance, and took a cautious stance on holiday sales and profit. Its same-store sales rose a meager 0.3%. Year to date, Target's sales have barely budged at $75.7 billion. Same-store sales dropped 0.5%, weighed down by shoppers spending less per visit. The online business is growing at a fraction of Walmart's pace. "Walmart has been much more successful with the more affluent Target customers than anyone thought they could be," Kniffen said. "I think that they have out-invested Target regarding technology." The wild card with Walmart's outlook is twofold, though it's borne from the same issue. If President-elect Donald Trump hammers China with stiffer tariffs, it would elevate costs for a sizable chunk of Walmart's goods, hitting its profit margins. And if Walmart passed on some of the hikes, then its price-sensitive consumers could pull back on their spending. For a stock priced for perfection at a multiple of 24 times estimated forward earnings, investors expect more growth — not disappointing tariff-related outlooks. The tariff drama isn't lost on McMillon. "We're positioned to manage it, but what I worry about is customers experiencing higher prices, and we're going do everything we can to try and keep them low," McMillon said. "We encourage [leaders] to be strategic and really thoughtful with them and help them understand how the math works." No straight path to success It would be folly to think corporate America is a perfect machine. Decisions made at the top often trickle down and impact performance over time. And Walmart's top brass made a few choices that have upset the apple cart this year — with unquantifiable long-term effects. First, there was a decision this summer to implement a strict return-to-office policy. Most employees, notably top executives, were required to relocate to the Bentonville headquarters by Oct. 31. Sam's Club's chief technology officer Cheryl Ainoa reportedly resigned over the policy. A few Walmart employees Yahoo Finance talked to were unhappy and viewed the policy as a cost-cutting exercise. They're unsure if they'll stay at Walmart. In the future, how such a strict mandate will shape Walmart's workforce is anyone's guess as workers continue to demand more flexibility and work-life balance. The company is building a 350-acre futuristic campus in Bentonville to house about 15,000 employees. The hope is to attract the best talent by offering modern workspaces, affordable childcare, and plush amenities like the aforementioned health and wellness center replete with massage chairs, cryotherapy rooms, pools, pickleball courts, and cooking classes. McMillon stood by the decision to join the likes of Amazon and JPMorgan (JPM) in requiring workers to be in the office. "We learn so much by being around each other," he said of the return-to-office policy. "We could execute remotely from a task point of view, but not as much innovation, not as much relationship building. The things that we get by being together are sometimes hard to measure but really valuable to us." Another unknown is the impact of Walmart's Nov. 26 decision to scale back its DEI work amid right-wing pressure. The decision came a few days after our interviews with McMillon and Rainey, at which time Walmart had already secured its Yahoo Finance Company of the Year recognition. The company said it's ending racial equity training programs for its staff. It's also evaluating programs designed to grow supplier diversity. Walmart had been focused on increasing the number of suppliers that are at least 51% owned or managed by a woman, minority, veteran, or someone who identifies as LGBTQ. The company is reviewing its funding of Pride and other events. Target said in May it would limit Pride merchandise following backlash that weighed on sales. Walmart will not extend its Center for Racial Equity, a $100 million philanthropic commitment to tackle the causes of inequity African Americans face in education, health, criminal justice, and other areas. The pledge was made in 2020, then an important initiative by McMillon. The company is the largest private employer in the US, with about 1.6 million workers. More than half of its hourly employees and 42% of management are people of color, per its own data. Its decision was met with a sharp reaction from DEI experts. "Older generations tend to consider it is not preferable or desirable for companies to be engaged in these social conversations. Whereas millennials, they tend to be more supportive for this trend. So as millennials are becoming more of the backbone of this economy, there can be some potential consequences," M.K. Chin, associate professor at the Indiana University Kelley School of Business, told Yahoo Finance. In a Dec. 2 phone call with Yahoo Finance, Walmart's chief people officer, Donna Morris, defended the company's choice. "We are the exact same company today as we were last week, and we will continue to be the same company," Morris said. "We act with integrity, we serve our customers and our members, and we strive for excellence. So our values are absolutely not changing." Morris said Walmart has been working on these changes since 2022 and did not cave to any right-wing person or group. Moving forward, Morris said, Walmart will be focused on "belonging." The next chapter — and beyond When asked where he sees himself in 10 years, McMillon laughed and said wherever Shelley, his wife of 33 years, tells him to be. Pressed further, McMillon noted he's a leader living in the moment and not spending a lot of time plotting his life after Walmart. "I was with our leadership team this morning; we were talking about Warren Buffett's comments that he made during one of our board dinners many years ago about avoiding the ABCs of business: arrogance, bureaucracy, and complacency," McMillon said. "So today I was asking our big group, do you remember what the ABCs are? That's what we're trying to avoid." MY COMMENT I very much like the comment above on the ABC's of business. In my view these are and will continue to be the PRIMARY drivers of business failure and stagnation....."arrogance, bureaucracy, and complacency,". Just about any business failure I have seen is based to some degree on these factors....if you look at companies that lost the bubble. The key for WMT going forward will be to hang onto their customer base and the new customers that have been driven to the company by inflation and rising prices in the economy. It looks like they have a very committed and engaged CEO tthat understands the business very well. As long as they can keep that sort of engaged management they will probably continue to do just fine. I am always looking for non-tech stocks as potential investments.....WMT is still at the top of my list even though I dont have any money at the moment to dedicate to the company.
I dont see anything about this in the financial news.....but this has the potential to be a small....black swan....for the markets. Especially if it turns out to be a strike on IRAN and their nuclear capacity. Netanyahu Testimony Postponed; Hostage Deal, or Iran Strike, Imminent https://www.breitbart.com/middle-ea...stponed-hostage-deal-or-iran-strike-imminent/ OR.....it may turn out that this is just fantasy media speculation regarding either issue. If either one happens....I dont see much long term impact on the markets.
I agree with this little article.....the impact is just about ZERO.....so far. Rate Cut Focus Is Proving Overrated … in Charts! Rate cuts haven’t interrupted this year’s stock market trends. https://www.fisherinvestments.com/e...rate-cut-focus-is-proving-overrated-in-charts (BOLD is my opinion OR what I consider important content) "A lot has changed in 2024, but one thing remains: Investors remain irrationally and unnecessarily obsessed with central banks. Headlines are at it again this week, first cheering that the benign inflation report could tee up another supposedly bullish Fed rate cut next week, then bemoaning that the ECB’s cut on Thursday—its fourth this year—is too little, too late. To us, this all smacks of recency bias. Rate cuts aren’t inherently bullish … or inherently feckless, in the eurozone’s case. Rather, we think they are well known and priced in, little dots that don’t interrupt the longer trends. Exhibits 1 – 3 show you this with S&P 500, MSCI UK Investible Market Index (IMI) and MSCI Economic and Monetary Union (EMU—aka the eurozone) Index returns year to date. In the US, stocks were enjoying a rollicking bull market run before the Fed’s first cut in September … which has continued since. The trend just extended after the cuts. Ditto for the UK, where initial post-election optimism in the summer gave way to Budget uncertainty in the autumn. And in the eurozone, where political uncertainty in France and Germany contributed to choppy returns since May and an autumn correction (sharp, sentiment-fueled drop of -10% to -20%). At no time this year did rate cuts coincide with a change in stocks’ broader direction. Exhibit 1: Rate Cuts and the S&P 500 Source: FactSet, as of 12/12/2024. S&P 500 total return in USD, 12/31/2023 – 12/11/2024. Exhibit 2: Rate Cuts and UK Stocks Source: FactSet, as of 12/12/2024. MSCI UK IMI return with net dividends in USD, 12/31/2023 – 12/11/2024. Exhibit 3: Rate Cuts and Eurozone Stocks Source: FactSet, as of 12/12/2024. MSCI EMU Index return with net dividends in USD, 12/31/2023 – 12/11/2024. Something else you probably noticed: Non-US stocks haven’t shone as brightly as US stocks. UK and eurozone stocks are both flattish in US dollars and local currencies, and recently, volatility has struck. Given headlines hype headwinds across the pond and are getting warmer toward US stocks, it wouldn’t surprise us if the temptation to ditch a global portfolio and go all in on the U-S-of-A was bubbling. But trading on past performance and widely known fears is always an error, in our view—true whether we are talking about short-term declines, rallies or leadership trends. The issues weighing on UK and eurozone stocks are well-known: economic jitters, political uncertainty and tax hike dread in the UK and France. The negativity you see in Exhibits 2 and 3 is likely, to a very large extent, stocks pricing these fears. Timing a resurgence precisely is impossible, as sentiment is fickle. But experience tells us sentiment-driven volatility rarely lasts long, and in our view, it isn’t a reason to avoid the rest of the world. Recent volatility doesn’t change the fact a global portfolio is more diversified, with more opportunities to capture return and mitigate risk. When strong returns in a given category prompt investors to get greedy and chase heat, we will generally counsel that you can’t buy past returns and that past returns don’t predict. Well, when recent volatility tempts you to sell, remember you can’t sell past returns—and they, too, don’t predict more downside ahead. It can be difficult, we know, but it is important to look forward without letting returns that just happened skew your view. And, of course, without overrating central banks’ moves" MY COMMENT At least here in the USA......rate cuts have done NOTHING for the markets.....good or bad. They have been a non-event. Although we have only seen a few cuts so far....and I do think there is a good chance that we will pause in 2025 and perhaps only do 1-2 more cuts in the year to come. On a historic basis....rates are STILL.......very LOW.
A perfect example of the current trend of companies....cannibalizing themselves. This is the short term STUPIDITY of....creating share holder value. As usual this stuff is always driven by short term BIG investors....looking for quick profits. In my view this is nothing more than management CAVING IN to the short term big money shareholders....at the expense of the real owners of the company.....all the little shareholders. Honeywell weighs jettisoning aerospace division, following the breakup of other US conglomerates https://finance.yahoo.com/news/honeywell-weighs-jettisoning-aerospace-division-142042385.html "Since last December, Honeywell announced plans to spin off its advanced materials business, entered an agreement to sell its personal protective equipment business, as its made several acquisitions." MY COMMENT This is how BIG COMPANIES....become small and irrelevant companies. it is basically nothing more than a sell-out to a big shareholder.....that really has no interest in the company other than as a short term money pot.
A typical day for me.......MIXED. NVDA down and PLTR down big. Four stocks DOWN and five stocks UP. The outcome for today is totally up in the air. In other words a totally NORMAL market day......which will not even be visible in a five year chart of the markets.
My comment for the day: Have PATIENCE......and....when patience is not possible.....simply ENDURE.....for the long term. Over the past SIX years we have had a single down year in the general markets.....using the SP500....2022. I do not predict a LOSING year in 2025....but I do say it is possible. Actually....it is possible any single year. It is simply unpredictable and not something you can anticipate. We do know that for any single year the PROBABILITY is...at about 70%....that the year will be positive. BUT....of course that means there is a 30% chance of a negative year. After the last two BOOMING years investor expectations are HIGH....and...probably skewed. Probably out of whack.....with reality. Something to keep in mind......since abnormal expectations......can undermine the ability of an investor to stay in the markets for the long term. When you look at the long term average in the SP500 total return....the last six years have been highly abnormal with the following elevated returns: 2019 +31.49% 2020 +18.40% 2021 +21.78% 2022 (-18.11%) 2023 +26.29% 2024 +28.17%
The story of the day....not that anyone is surprised since this is......OBVIOUS. Nvidia falls into correction territory, down more than 10% from its record close https://www.cnbc.com/2024/12/16/nvi...ore-than-10percent-from-its-record-close.html (BOLD is my opinion OR what I consider important content) "Nvidia shares slumped on Monday, putting the AI chip darling officially in correction territory even as the rest of the Nasdaq Composite rose to a record. The chipmaker and de facto artificial intelligence trade has rallied 165% this year amid ongoing excitement for the buzzy technology trend. However, shares have faced a sluggish stretch as of late. The stock is down 5% in December and officially in correction territory, sitting about 12% off its closing high of $148.88 reached last month. The definition of what comprises a market correction can vary. Many generally regard it as a drop of 10% or more from an all-time high close. The stock was last down about 2%. “You need Nvidia, and you need their chips for infrastructure,” said Keith Lerner, co-chief investment officer at Truist. “But I think what the market’s also saying is that there are other beneficiaries beyond that. There’s a rotation within the Magnificent Seven, which we’ve seen a couple times this year already.” The recent underperformance in Nvidia could signal some profit-taking on Wall Street after another marquee year. The maker of graphics processing units underpinning large language models has benefited, as data center demand has swollen since ChatGPT’s late-2022 launch. But there are some reasons for concern for the market leader and fundamental player among the three major averages. The market has continued powering to new highs as Nvidia underperforms. That could be a warning signal if the pattern continues, with Roth MKM noting that the $125 to $130 level marks a key test for the stock and the overall market. As Nvidia struggles, other chipmaking stocks have fared well, with Broadcom powering to new highs Monday. The stock surged around 8% during Monday’s session, building on a 24% rally from Friday that pushed the stock above a $1 trillion market capitalization following a strong earnings report. The Nasdaq Composite hit a record in trading Monday without Nvidia’s help. “Broadcom’s comments last week probably drove momentum investors to start looking there for even faster growth,” said Kim Forrest, chief investment officer at Bokeh Capital Partners. “Momentum has been driving this stock. I don’t think momentum is going to kill it quite yet, but momentum does what momentum does, which is it seeks the higher flyer.” Other semiconductor stocks also gained Monday, with Micron Technology last up about 7% ahead of its quarterly results. Marvell Technology gained 2%, while On Semiconductor, Lam Research and Taiwan Semiconductor added at least 1%." MY COMMENT This stock is now disconnected from fundamentals. It is being challenged by profit taking at year end......and....the loss of the momentum traders. BUMMER. I have not sold a single share and dont plan to. Broadcom is now the momentum darling of the markets....for a while.
At the end of the day I ended with a small loss in my stocks. PLTR made a valiant effort to get positive....but did not make it. I had PLTR, NVDA, and HD in the red today. I also got beat by the SP500 by 0.40%. I am slogging my way to year end.....like walking through deep mud....a lot of flailing around but not much progress. Not losing much money....but being frustrated by the inability to make gains over the last 5-6 market days. WELL.....not really frustrated.....this is just how the markets go. Sometimes you just dont capture the gains in the day to day markets.....BUMMER.
OK.....the final countdown begins. We are now down to the....FINAL TEN DAYS.....for the markets in 2024. And one of those days....CHRISTMAS EVE.....is a short day.
At least I am making money in some of my stocks. "The Nasdaq moved up 1.2%, with shares of Alphabet (GOOGL, GOOG), Tesla (TSLA), Amazon (AMZN), Apple (AAPL), and Broadcom (AVGO) all closing at fresh records." https://finance.yahoo.com/news/live...e-amazon-apple-hit-fresh-highs-210100728.html I own AAPL, AMZN, and GOOGL mentioned above.
Come on now, no bah-humbug allowed this time of year….have a cup of cheer!! We are still doing really well.
Day TEN......the final countdown. The slog to year end continues. Here is the story of the day. November retail sales top Wall Street's expectations https://finance.yahoo.com/news/november-retail-sales-top-wall-streets-expectations-133350109.html (BOLD is my opinion OR what I consider important content) "November retail sales grew at a faster pace than Wall Street analysts had expected, reflecting continued resilience in the American consumer and indicating that the holiday shopping season in the US is off to a strong start. Retail sales rose 0.7% in November. Economists had expected a 0.6% rise in spending, according to Bloomberg data. Meanwhile, retail sales in October were revised up to a 0.5% increase from a prior reading that showed a 0.4% increase in the month, according to Census Bureau data. A 2.4% month-over-month increase in motor vehicle and auto parts sales, as well as a 1.8% increase in online sales, drove the gains. November sales, excluding auto and gas, rose 0.2%, below consensus estimates for a 0.4% increase. The control group in Tuesday's release, which excludes several volatile categories and factors into the gross domestic product reading for the quarter, increased by 0.4%, in line with estimates. Capital Economics North America economist Bradley Saunders wrote in a note to clients Tuesday that the report reflects "consumer resilience." "The solid rise in retail sales in November was led by vehicle sales but still showed signs of broad-based strength, with control group sales increasing at a healthy pace too," Saunders added. Wells Fargo senior economist Tim Quinlan wrote in a note to clients that Tuesday's data points to a "decent" holiday season for retailers. But there are some warning signs that consumer spending could slow headed into 2025. "The potential for new tariffs at some point next year suggests some new price pressure," Quinlan wrote. "We expect households to keep spending into the new year, but for the pace of consumption to slow as the year progresses and tariff-related price pressure bites. While the broad household sector is still in a decent financial position today, data suggest consumers are growing more vulnerable amid slowing real income growth and still-high financing costs." The report comes as investors continue to closely monitor the health of the US economy and the Federal Reserve dials back its restrictive interest rate policy. To date, economic data has largely been better than expected, a welcome sign for investors as markets shift to accept the Fed may not slash interest rates as quickly as initially hoped. Investors are awaiting an update on how the Federal Reserve is feeling about the trajectory of the US economy on Wednesday with the release of the central bank's latest Summary of Economic Projections and a press conference from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. As of Tuesday morning, markets were pricing in a roughly 97% chance the Fed cuts interest rates by 25 basis points on Wednesday, per the CME FedWatch Tool." MY COMMENT Exactly as expected....at least by some of us. The consumer is out there and shopping. Contrary to the impact of inflation.....consumers are making higher wages and are willing to spend. People are ready to just let go and spend some money....even if it is done by credit card.
As usual.......here comes the usual media fear-mongering articles. This topic is dragged out every time there is some weakness in NVDA. No one cares. Nvidia stock slides amid AI spending slowdown fears, increased competition https://finance.yahoo.com/news/nvid...wn-fears-increased-competition-145636549.html
YES......a worthless day for the markets. Dow falls more than 200 points as index poised for first 9-day losing streak since the ’70s https://www.cnbc.com/2024/12/16/stock-market-today-live-updates.html WHATEVER.
Here is the other economic news today...not that it matters. BUT....it is a good way to ignore the boring, meaningless, and irrelevant market action today. US business inventories barely rise in October https://finance.yahoo.com/news/us-business-inventories-barely-rise-152449928.html US manufacturing output rebounds less than expected in November https://finance.yahoo.com/news/us-manufacturing-output-rebounds-less-145949474.html
To show how stupid today is in the markets.....I just saw an article that NVDA is down today because of investor fear over how quickly it can ramp up Blackwell sales. I swear they just make this stuff up. The last eight or nine days are what I mean when I talk about what will happen if the markets become disconnected from reality. We are used to seeing this over the short term.....but.....the real issue will come when this sort of "stuff" starts to last long enough to impact the longer term. Once the TRUST is broken.....that the markets and stock prices are based on fundamentals....the markets will be done. They will never recover. People think our systems......government.....markets....economy....etc, etc, etc are timeless and will be around forever. In reality they are very fragile....once broken.....if broken....it would be very difficult to put them back together.
