Other economic stories today. Of course MUCH of this data is severely outdated not to mention totally untrustworthy. US retail sales unexpectedly unchanged in October https://finance.yahoo.com/news/us-retail-sales-unexpectedly-unchanged-135104119.html US Business Activity Growth Slows While Price Pressures Mount https://finance.yahoo.com/news/us-business-activity-growth-slows-144500119.html US business inventories increase slightly more than expected in September https://finance.yahoo.com/news/us-business-inventories-increase-slightly-152721047.html
HEY.....something positive....not that it matters. AI boom seen lifting chipmaking equipment sales 9% to $126 billion in 2026 https://finance.yahoo.com/news/ai-boom-seen-lifting-chipmaking-152903092.html
With the way the markets are reacting to any news right now....good or bad.....and with the constant pressure being applied by the daily negative media......I would not be surprised to see the markets talk themselves into a BEAR MARKET for 2026. REALITY does not matter. I dont think this is a PROBABILITY....but I do think it is close to perhaps 30/70 or 40/60 odds.
BOTTOM LINE....sentiment polls are useless data....totally untrustworthy. They do NOT reflect REAL consumer behavior or thinking. They are mostly a regurgitation of what is the big media concerns being pushed at the moment. Consumers are feeling gloomy about the economy. Here’s why they’re spending anyway https://www.cnbc.com/2025/12/16/consumer-sentiment-retail-sales-holiday-walmart-tjx.html "Consumer sentiment has fallen and layoffs are rising, yet U.S. shoppers have fueled solid retail sales growth and turned out in large numbers during the five-day stretch from Thanksgiving Day through Cyber Monday."
MORE good news for the consumer and the economy. Oil prices tumble to lowest since May, on pace for biggest annual decline in 7 years https://www.cnbc.com/2025/12/16/crude-oil-prices-today.html
I am not going to WASTE any more time posting for now. EVERYTHING today is short term.....mild drama. Outdated data...being fear mongered by the media. AND....the AI PROGRAM TRADERS are more than happy to trade it all day long. The extremely speculative, short driven, negative trading market continues. There is ZERO focus on fundamentals of companies or business.
I have to make one more comment.....POOR COSTCO. A new 52 week LOW today.....around $844. And for ONE year.....(-13.61%) All I can say is look at the past four earnings reports....is this justified? Not to me....I am fully committed to this stock and company.
