For the week....yes...another GREAT week for the markets. DOW year to date +5.43% DOW for the week +1.94% SP500 year to date +17.57% SP500 for the week +3.83% NASDAQ 100 year to date +44.98% NASDAQ 100 for the week +2.03% NASDAQ year to date +34.96% NASDAQ for the week +2.37% RUSSELL year to date +2.07% RUSSELL for the week +6.55% I had a very good week this week. As of the close today my entire account is at +39.86% year to date. Last Friday I was at +37.44% year to date. So I added +2.42% to my year to date total this week. Any time I can do about 2.5% in a single week is an AMAZING week.
NO....it is actually fairly NORMAL. Power Laws in the Stock Market https://awealthofcommonsense.com/2023/11/power-law-in-the-stock-market/ (BOLD is my opinion OR what i consider important content) "A reader asks: I keep hearing about the Magnificent 7 stocks are carrying the stock market this year while the rest of the stocks are sucking wind. Does this even matter? I get that these stocks could fall and bring the market down with them but should we be worried about this level of concentration? It’s true the Magnificent 7 stocks — Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Nvidia and Tesla — are carrying the stock market this year. The numbers are mind-boggling when you consider how big these companies are. The average market capitalization for these 7 companies is $1.6 trillion. The average return for the Magnificent 7 this year is a gain of 105%!1 The average market cap of the remaining stocks in the S&P 500 is around $57 billion with an average return in 2023 of just 4%. As of this writing, the S&P 500 itself is up close to 19% on the year after accounting for dividends. People worry about this dynamic because they worry about what happens if and when these ginormous stocks roll over. These 7 stocks make up close to 30% of the S&P 500 by market cap. Microsoft and Apple alone are nearly 15% of the index. This is a legitimate concern. If these stocks crash for some reason, the market will fall as well. It’s also possible the other stocks in the index will make up for some of those losses. You don’t have to go back too far to see how this dynamic would play out. In 2022, all of these stocks got rocked. Nvidia, Tesla, Facebook and Amazon were all down 50% or worse. The average return for the Magnificent 7 in 2022 was -46%. Each of these 7 stocks were down even more than the S&P 500. The S&P 500 was down just 18% in total last year. That means other parts of the market picked up the slack. My guess is that would happen again but you can’t be sure of it. However, if you invest in the stock market you should learn to become comfortable with returns being concentrated in a handful of stocks. This year is not normal in terms of short-term performance but over the longer-term most stocks stink while the biggest and best names shoulder most of the load. My favorite study on this was research done by Hendrik Bessimbineder from Arizona State University: Bessimbinder found just 86 stocks accounted for half of all wealth creation in the U.S. stock market going back to 1926. All of the wealth creation in that time came from just 4% of stocks. Nearly 60% of stocks failed to beat T-bill returns over their lives. Close to 40% of stocks barely beat T-bills. Of course, this is nearly 100 years of data. Plenty of stocks over this time had fantastic returns over shorter time frames before flaming out.2 My biggest takeaway from Bessimbinder’s work is it highlights the need for diversification since no one knows where the big winners are going to come from. Apple was months away from going out of business in the 1990s before securing a loan from Bill Gates and Microsoft to stay afloat. Now it’s the biggest company in the U.S. stock market. In a new paper titled Underperformance of Concentrated Stock Positions, Antti Petajisto from NYU took Bessimbinder’s stock even further by looking at the distribution of returns for stocks using shorter time frames. This was the main takeaway: Since 1926, the median ten-year return on individual U.S. stocks relative to the broad equity market is -7.9%, underperforming by 0.82% per year. For stocks that have been among the top 20% performers over the previous five years, the median ten-year market-adjusted return falls to -17.8%, underperforming by 1.94% per year. Since the end of World War II, the median ten-year market-adjusted return of recent winners has been negative for 93% of the time. The case for diversifying concentrated positions in individual stocks, particularly in recent market winners, is even stronger than most investors realize. Allow me to sum up these findings — picking individual stocks is hard. Petajisto created this neat chart that shows the distribution of returns for individual stocks over one month, one year, five years, ten years and twenty years: Just look at how many stocks show negative returns the longer you extend your time horizon. And if you look on the right side of the distribution just a handful of stocks account for the biggest gainers. His research shows 55% of all stocks are losers over 10 year time frames, on average. This is true across sectors too: You could pick a stock in any sector and hold it for ten years, and there is a greater than 50% chance it will end up a loser. The beautiful thing about the stock market is the winners have more than made up for the losers over time. While the median stock return is negative, the average is positive, which shows just how significant the gains can be from the winners. So what does this tell us about the Magnificent 7 stocks? Outsized gains are normal. It doesn’t feel right for a handful of stocks to experience the biggest returns but this is the norm in the stock market over the long run. Some of these stocks are going to underperform (eventually). Interestingly enough, underperformance increases when you pick the top 20% of stocks over the previous five years: The relative underperformance over rolling ten-year periods increases to 17.8% (or 1.94% per year) when considering only stocks whose performance ranked in the top 20% over the prior five years. These tech behemoths have already defied the laws of gravity so I wouldn’t want to put myself in a position of guessing which ones are going to underperform in the coming years. But there’s a high likelihood of it happening to some of them. Other stocks will pick up the slack. Sure, some of the Magnificient 7 stocks will falter eventually. They can’t keep this up forever. Microsoft is the only one of these stocks that was in the top 10 of the S&P 500 in the year 2000. Others on the list include companies like General Electric, Citigroup, Cisco and AIG. These stocks all went on to underperform in a big way but the new giants stepped up and took their place. I don’t know who the up-and-comers will be in the years ahead but it will happen again at some point. Concentration can be a killer. Holding concentrated positions in the stock market gives you the opportunity to outperform but also increases your chances of underperforming by a wide margin. The problem with trying to outperform through concentration is the probabilities are stacked against you. For every Buffett, there are thousands of other investors who tried and failed to hold concentrated positions. We never hear about the losers. Diversification not only helps manage risk in a portfolio but also increases your return in the stock market by giving you more opportunity to own the biggest winners." MY COMMENT The above is one reason that I start out any portfolio of mine with half the money in the SP500 Index and the Fidelity Contra fund. I than let the winners run.....on the stock side and the fund side. This also gives me a healthy balance of my money outside my stock picking BIAS. Over a long time....many decades of investing.....this has worked well for me when combined with my BIG CAP ICONIC stock holdings. Does it concern me that the big winners this year are concentrated in only about seven stocks? Not in the slightest. This is simply.....normal....in my opinion. In fact it is what I intentionally do in my account.......only own 10-15 individual stocks typically. At the moment with only eight.....I am somewhat under my ideal number......but that is just how it is.
I guess this is what I missed today. S&P 500 ends Friday slightly higher, major averages cruise to third week of gains https://www.cnbc.com/2023/11/16/stock-market-today-live-updates.html (BOLD is my opinion OR what I consider important content) "The S&P 500 rose on Friday and clinched a third straight winning week amid a red-hot November rally. The broader index added 0.13% to settle at 4,514.02. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the day higher by 0.01%, or 1.81 points, closing at 34,947.28. The Nasdaq Composite crept up by 0.08% to end the session at 14,125.48. The major averages each notched their third straight positive week. The S&P 500 added 2.2%, while the Nasdaq jumped about 2.4%. The Dow closed the week with a 1.9% advance. This is the first three-week win streak for the Dow and S&P 500 since July, and the first since June for the Nasdaq. Those gains were sparked by tame U.S. inflation data that gave hope to investors that the Federal Reserve’s tough stance on rate policy may be in the rearview mirror. Stocks have been on a tear this month. In November, the S&P 500 is up 7.6%, while the Dow has a 5.7% gain. The Nasdaq has leapt 9.9%. “I think the story for the rest this year isn’t are we going to finish with a bit of a rally, because it does appear likely that we’re going to finish with a bit of a rally,” said Scott Ladner, chief investment officer at Horizon Investments. Instead, Ladner believes the debate will center around the next market leader. “Is it going to be small caps and emerging [markets], kind of like the losers of 2023?” he said. “Are they going to be the things that lead? Or are we going to get a continuation of the mega-cap tech rally that we’ve had basically all year long?” Gap shares leapt 30% a day after the company posted better-than-expected results for its fiscal third quarter. Electric vehicle charging network ChargePoint slid 35% after announcing a shake-up in its C-suite late Thursday and cutting its forecast for third-quarter revenue." MY COMMENT Yet another retail stock above....GAP....with a good earnings BEAT. the consumer is alive and well. I expect we will see a good Holiday Season for retail business. There is also....nothing....next week to change the market direction.
Speaking of next week....and.....market direction. We will get the final BIG EARNINGS report next week. NVDA will announce on Tuesday. No doubt it will have the potential to drive the entire week. I am not seeing much ahead of time....a good thing. No doubt they will BEAT and probably BEAT BIG. The question is will the markets accept it as.....good enough.
It will be a short week this week. The markets will be closed on Thursday for Thanksgiving. They will close early on Friday....1:00PM Eastern time. Hopefully the markets and the NVDA earnings will give us a big kick off for Thanksgiving dinner and family gathering on Thursday. I will be making a Pecan Pie for Thanksgiving dinner on Wednesday. It is always better if it can sit in the refrigerator for one or two days before it hits the table. In honor of Thanksgiving and in honor of my mom.....my early investing mentor......here is her old time (1940's) Texas Pecan Pie recipe which I will be using for my pie. Somehow I became the Pecan Pie person for Thanksgiving and Christmas....so I have made many, many, of them. They are really extremely simple to make and nearly impossible to screw up. Clean up is a snap. TEXAS PECAN PIE RECIPE (PLEASE......INGREDIENTS ARE CRITICAL.....use the exact brands specified) To start.....the pie crust.....I know home made is often best for a pie....but...for this particular pie a store-bought crust is highly recommended. A very specific crust.....9 inch, deep dish, Pillsbury frozen pie crust....comes in a pack of two. This pie is best in a crust that is on the thin side and not the star of the show....and ...that is why this specific crust is good 3 large eggs. 2/3 cups sugar. 1/3 Teaspoon salt. 1/3 cup melted BUTTER....real butter. 1 cup KARO BRAND DARK CORN SYRUP.....this brand product is important....dark not light corn syrup. 1+ cups pecan halves. Gently melt your butter in the microwave. Combine the three eggs, sugar, salt, butter, and Karo dark corn syrup in a bowl. Stir it so it is well mixed. Add one cup of pecans to the mixture.....stir them in so they are covered with the mixture. Pour the mixture into a UNCOOKED 9 inch frozen Pillsbury pie crust. The pecans will float to the top of the mixture in the pie crust. Use additional pecans to fill in holes as needed so the entire top of the mixture in the pie crust is covered with pecans. The pecans should only be one pecan in thickness....you dont want to fill the pie with pecans....just a single pecan layer covering the top of the pie (floating flat in the mixture). Make sure the pecans that you add are coated with the filling...this keeps them from burning and contributes to the flavor. You can use a fork to move the floating pecans around on top of the mixture as needed. Cook for 40 to 50 minutes in a preheated 375 degree oven. You want to cook it till it is semi firm.....till the 1-2 inches in the center of the pie moves like jello when you gently move the pie. If in doubt do not over cook......check it at 40 and 45 minutes.....you should be ok as long as you cook it no more than the maximum 50 minutes. The pie will not be firm when you take it out of the oven....it will be semi-firm. Put the cooked pie in the refrigerator after cooling for about 20 minutes....it will firm up.....over the next hour or so. Keep refrigerated till about an hour before serving. If your pie crust seems to be getting too dark while cooking....cover with a pie crust shield or strips of tin foil.....(crust edge only....not the pie) (GUYS ONLY).......if you want to impress your girlfriend or wife or family.....this is the way to do it. This pie is nearly fool-proof. For some reason many people think making a pecan pie is hard. Show up with one of these for Thanksgiving and announce that you made it yourself....they will be impressed. OK.......I will be the first to say.......HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE. We have had a GREAT year in the markets this year. Most of us have a HUGE GAIN going and it will likely hold or even grow to year end. We have erased horrible year 2022 completely. Remember on Thursday that taking care of and providing for FAMILY is the reason we invest.
Yes on the pecan pie. They are delicious. And to add on to the positive thinking as we get closer and closer to the end of the year, we all deserve it for hanging in there despite all of the continual noise. When you think back to early last year and up to now, think about all of the things investors were told and fear mongered about. The headlines, the daily barrage of negative thinking, and many dire predictions. It was and is a complete overdose of information to a point. How many of those dire things actually came about? As we always say, there will always be good and rough times throughout ones investing life. How you react and deal with some of the nonsense can determine whether you will reach your goals. Have a plan, execute it, and stay with it for the long term. You will be glad you did. There is pretty clear evidence of this throughout this whole thread. You will see the many ups and the many downs. The good times and the bad. I venture to say that many of the posters within this thread have and continue to do really well. They have been through many of the peaks and travelled through the valleys, and have a nice size investment portfolio. They did not "luck" into this by chasing their tail and heading for the exits every time some boogeyman headline came out.
You said it Smokie. I am sure many of us are at or near an all time high. I am about 1.5% from an all time high in my primary account. So after all the pandemic drama and market impact.....after the massive losses of 2022....and....after everything else over the past five years.....here I sit right on the edge of an....ALL TIME HIGH. AND.....I have been fully invested for the long term....no trading....no market timing.....no short term focus. AND....best of all.....there dont seem to be any BOOGIE MEN out there right now for the rest of the year and into next year. All of the old ones have been shown to be nothing but smoke.
Does not look like much drama for the week ahead. Stock futures open little changed to start the shortened Thanksgiving holiday week https://www.cnbc.com/2023/11/19/sto...-the-shortened-thanksgiving-holiday-week.html (BOLD is my opinion OR what I consider important content) "U.S. equity futures opened little changed on Sunday evening, heading into the shortened Thanksgiving holiday week with all of the major averages coming off of their third straight winning performance. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 2 points, or less than 0.1%. S&P 500 futures were down by about 3 points, or nearly 0.1%, and Nasdaq 100 futures were lower by 34 points, or 0.2%. The S&P 500 closed last week higher by 2.2% and the Dow added 1.9%, marking the first three-week streak for the indexes since July. The Nasdaq Composite finished the week higher by 2.4%, notching its best week since June. The yield on the benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury had also ended Friday at its lowest level since Sept. 20, leading some traders to expect that Treasury yields will continue to compete with equities and become more attractive to investors. Market bulls remain enthusiastic into the year-end, however, particularly after cooler-than-expected U.S. inflation data released last week calmed investors’ nerves about stubbornly high prices and provided a hopeful indication that the Federal Reserve could stop raising interest rates. “I actually think it’s pretty likely we could see record highs before the end of the year,” Bill Baruch, founder at Blue Line Futures, told CNBC’s “Halftime Report” on Friday. “This is one of the most healthy consolidations over the last couple of days.” Ahead of the Thanksgiving Day-shortened week, traders are awaiting Nvidia’s earnings and forward guidance out Tuesday. The chipmaker, which has since its stock price skyrocket this year amid the craze around artificial intelligence, is expected to beat on earnings and revenue estimates for the third quarter, according to analysts polled by FactSet. Concerns still exist about the company’s valuation, however. Investors and techies are also rattled by Friday’s sudden ouster of OpenAI’s former CEO Sam Altman and the resignations of other top executives and staff members at the Microsoft-backed company, igniting broader concerns about the future of the AI industry. Trading around the Thanksgiving holiday has been choppy in recent years, but November is still the best-performing month for the S&P 500, according to the Stock Traders’ Almanac." MY COMMENT I see good things ahead this coming week. NVDA should put up good earnings numbers. AND....all the reccent economic news has been very favorable. I expect that the OpenAI drama will be over either by tomorrow or perhaps by the end of the day tomorrow. Microsoft and a good number of the other big investors have taken the remaining board to the woodshed. The big winner from all this drama will be Microsoft....they will end up with a board seat or even more influence with the company. There should be a good...."probability" for another positive close at the end of next week.
Looks like there might be HOPE for Argentina now that they have turned away from Socialism....at least for a while. This quote from their new leader is classic: "The state does not create wealth; it only destroys it. The state cannot give anything because it doesn’t produce anything, and when it wants to do so, it does so badly,"
MASSIVE news for Microsoft today. Ousted OpenAI head Sam Altman to lead Microsoft’s new AI team https://www.cnbc.com/2023/11/20/ous...-microsofts-new-ai-team-ceo-nadella-says.html (BOLD is my opinion OR what I consider important content) "Key Points OpenAI’s board announced late Friday that it was removing Altman and replacing him on an interim basis with technology chief Mira Murati. Then late Sunday night, OpenAI said it was bringing on board former Twitch CEO Emmett Shear to run the artificial intelligence company. And just hours after, the story took another twist with Nadella announcing that Altman and Greg Brockman would be absorbed in-house into the Microsoft team. Former OpenAI CEO Sam Altman will be joining Microsoft to lead a new advanced AI research team, according to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. Nadella said on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, that Altman and Greg Brockman, former OpenAI president and board chair, alongside other colleagues, will be joining Microsoft to lead a new advanced artificial intelligence research team. Tech giant Microsoft has invested billions of dollars in OpenAI and has a close technology partnership with the company. “We look forward to moving quickly to provide them with the resources needed for their success,” Nadella said. “We remain committed to our partnership with OpenAI and have confidence in our product roadmap, our ability to continue to innovate with everything we announced at Microsoft Ignite, and in continuing to support our customers and partners.” Altman himself reshared Nadella’s post, adding a somewhat cryptic comment to it: “the mission continues.” Altman had been leading the company since 2019. OpenAI’s board announced late Friday that it was removing Altman and replacing him on an interim basis with technology chief Mira Murati. The post said Altman “was not consistently candid in his communications with the board.” This did not dissuade a group of OpenAI investors, who were pushing to bring Altman back as CEO over the weekend. Late Sunday night, OpenAI said it was bringing on board former Twitch CEO Emmett Shear to run the artificial intelligence company. Just hours after, Nadella announced that Altman and Brockman — who was removed from his role as chairman on Friday alongside Altman, and later quit the company altogether — would be absorbed in-house into the Microsoft team. Nadella said Sunday night he was looking forward to getting to know Shear and OpenAI’s new leadership team. OpenAI, which was reportedly in talks as recently as last month to sell employee shares to investors at an $86 billion valuation, emerged as a household name this year after releasing its ChatGPT chatbot in late 2022. ChatGPT allows users to type in simple text queries and retrieve answers that can lead to more in-depth conversations." MY COMMENT This is a HUGE COUP for Microsoft. They have the potential to now vault to the forefront of AI....in addition to all their other ICONIC business areas. They also will probably see more and more ChatGPT workers come over to the company. In fact when we look back in a few years we might see that this was the start of Microsoft completely absorbing ChatGPT. A BRILLIANT move by Microsoft to protect their investment in OpenAI and potentially make OpenAI irrelevant. A huge gain.....nearly an acquisition......at little cost....for Microsoft.
This is a nice summary of the week. Nvidia results, more retail earnings: What to know this week https://finance.yahoo.com/news/nvid...arnings-what-to-know-this-week-163029187.html (BOLD is my opinion OR what I consider importaant content) "An update from the AI darling of the 2023 stock market rally will highlight a holiday-shortened week for investors. Chip giant Nvidia's (NVDA) quarterly report is slated for Tuesday, while Lowe's (LOW), John Deere (DE), Best Buy (BBY), and Zoom (ZM) are also expected to release results. The drama surrounding Sam Altman's ouster — and potential return — at ChatGPT-maker OpenAI, which kicked off late Friday, will also be in focus given the role the AI boom has played in catalyzing this year's market rally and Microsoft's sizable investment in the AI startup. The economic calendar is expected to be mostly quiet with the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment survey and manufacturing data highlighting the schedule. The stock market will be closed for the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday. Stocks gained ground across the board last week, with a softer than expected inflation reading for the month of October sending the market into rally mode. Since the start of November, all three major indexes are higher with the Nasdaq (^IXIC) up about 10% while the S&P 500 (^GSPC) is up almost 8%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) has risen almost 6%. The economic narrative began to tilt last week, as October's surprise inflation print revealed consumer prices increased at a slower pace than expected. Investors took this and other data suggesting the economy is moderating as a signal the Federal Reserve is likely done raising interest rates and could be successful in engineering a "soft landing" in which inflation retreats to the central bank's 2% target without a recession. Still, economists warn investors should not quite celebrate this outcome yet. Oxford Economics' lead US economist Michael Pearce doesn't see the Fed's fight against inflation as complete, even if he agrees interest rates are unlikely to rise further. "While there is probably more good news on shelter and core goods prices coming down the pike over the next few months, that is not enough to convince the Fed that inflation is on a sustained path back to 2%," Pearce wrote in a research note on Friday. "That will require more softening in labor markets, which is likely to be a protracted affair, keeping the Fed on hold until well into the second half of next year." This week's big corporate event will be earnings out of Nvidia, which should have repercussions across the market. The company's blowout earnings sent the market roaring higher at the end of May as this year's AI hype cycle kicked into high gear. This narrative appeared to cool towards the end of the summer, with many of the so-called "Magnificent 7" stocks falling along with the broader market through early fall. Nvidia stock, however, has of late taken up the mantle as a market leader again, rising more than 20% since the start of November. Year-to-date, Nvidia stock is up nearly 240%. Wall Street expects the company to report adjusted earnings per share of $3.39 on revenue of $16.11 billion, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence. "We expect NVDA to beat/raise consensus when it reports on Nov. 21," Bank of America research analyst Vivek Arya wrote in a note previewing the earnings release. The firm remains positive on the stock, calling the valuation "compelling" and noting seasonal trends remain favorable. A recent report from Goldman Sachs showed that the "Magnificent 7" tech stocks currently make up nearly 30% of the S&P 500 and have driven the majority of the S&P 500's gains this year. As a group, the "Magnificent 7" are up around 70% this year while the remaining 493 members of the S&P 500 are up closer to 6%. The index has risen 17.5% this year as of the close on Friday. Elsewhere on the corporate side, investors will digest another look at the consumer as Best Buy, Lowe's, and Dick's Sporting Goods are all set to report results." MY COMMENT Everything is all lined up for another great week.......the markets just need to cooperate. I find it interesting that the media and others continue to.....mostly......not comment on the AMAZING earnings BEATS this time around. They report individual results but are in a semi-blackout.....of reporting on the earnings results as a whole.
A good open today. Nearly 30 minutes in all the big averages are in the green. Now all we have to do is hang on for the rest of the day and build on the gains from here. There is really little to no news today. The primary news is the Microsoft coup....picking up Altman for their AI services. The other news is the coming NVDA earnings. NVDA has been on a tear all month. I would not be surprised to see them back off a bit after posting GREAT earnings. Investors have been driving the stock up for weeks in anticipation of earnings. There is likely to be some short term profit taking once the actual news hits the street tomorrow. The forward guidance will be critical to the short term stock action this week. BUT....for those of us that are long term investors.....any short term NVDA selling will be irrelevant......."IF"....it even happens. I do believe that there is still much money siting on the sidelines for NVDA and the rest of the market. It is very positive for the medium term future of the BULL MARKET....that the markets STILL continue to climb a wall of worry. for trivia fans.....NVDA is nearing their all time mid day high.....$502.66. It is currently at....$495.65.
To continue the story of the day. Microsoft emerges as big winner from OpenAI turmoil with Altman on board https://finance.yahoo.com/news/microsoft-emerges-big-winner-openai-131427287.html Microsoft on Pace to Hit All-Time High After Hiring OpenAI’s Sam Altman https://finance.yahoo.com/news/microsoft-pace-hit-time-high-130515965.html
What a difference a year makes.....this time last year the markets were DOWN, DOWN, DOWN. I was saying.....at the end of November 2022: "In reality little to nothing has changed today. BUT.....I will take any gains I can get....even if they are short term. Hopefully we end the day the same way we have started. I could use some additional "cushion" for the inevitable future drops in the market as we fight the current BEAR. I continue to bounce back and forth between about (-25%) and (-33%). So far I have hit a low in about the same area four times this year. Each time I bounced back up from that point. I am encouraged by this....that the markets are at a bottom. BUT.....even if we have seen the bottom that does not mean that the bear market is over. No one can predict when the BEAR will be beaten back and go away....but we are probably looking at somewhere between about 6 months and 2 years. This does not mean that 2023 will be a negative market year for investors........even though we are definitely looking at 2022 being a losing year. I am filled with hope and confidence for the long term markets. YES.......I remain fully invested for the long term as usual."
My bottom line view on OpenAI....and all the turmoil.....they are basically done. They have lost massive talent to Microsoft. There will be continued resignations as more people move to Microsoft. I am sure their employees are confused, pissed off, and disappointment by the lose of the stock sale that was about to happen. These will not be happy people.....and many will be picked off by Microsoft and other tech companies. Talk about committing corporate suicide.
I like this little....seasonal story....from Costco. Costco reportedly sees pumpkin pies fly off shelves during holiday season https://www.foxbusiness.com/lifesty...umpkin-pies-fly-shelves-during-holiday-season (BOLD is my opinion OR what I consider important content) "Many people may have a popular Costco bakery item on their shopping lists as they prepare to buy food for their Thanksgiving and other holiday meals. That item is the retailer’s pumpkin pie. In the brief time frame between September and December, people buy some 6 million of Costco’s well-known pumpkin pies, Susan Schwartz, who authored "The Joy of Costco: A Treasure Hunt from A to Z" with husband David Schwartz, told FOX Business in October. Costco has set the cost of the large seasonal pie at $5.99 this year, according to reports. Pumpkin pies started appearing in Costco warehouses at the end of August, Delish reported. Costco has over 590 locations in the U.S. plus 270 more in 13 other countries. The company has apparently seen a sizable amount of pumpkin pie sales on the Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday immediately before Thanksgiving in the past. In 2019, Costco shoppers bought roughly one-third of the 6.3 million it sold overall that year in that three-day window, according to People. Meanwhile, a typical Thanksgiving dinner with enough food to serve 10 people will have a price tag of $61.17 this year, the American Farm Bureau Federation said last week. It looked at the costs of turkey, pie shells, pumpkin pie mix, dinner rolls and eight other items when calculating the figure." MY COMMENT These pies are HUGE....in size. We get one every year from a realtor that we know. We usually pass them on to police officers at one of the local substations.
Looking at my account....I have a nice moderate gain right now. Four stocks UP and four stock DOWN. My UP stocks are MSFT, NVDA, AAPL, and COST. I expect that there is a significant probability for some of my down stocks.....AMZN, HON, and GOOGL.....to turn positive by the close today. Those three are very slightly in the red right now......and could easily turn to the green side over the next hours. Regardless......I will take any gain I can get.
I just got home from lunch and found out that my primary portfolio has now blown through my previous all time high. Right now I have all eight stocks UP so far today. Lets show some good strength into the close......I HATE the late day fade. That means that I am now up by more than +40% year to date. It is a very rare year to see these sort of gains in only one year. Historic actually.
