U.S. equity markets neared their record highs as last week ended. Investors shrugged off worries about the energy crisis, inflation, and the wobbly bond market as they positioned themselves to cash in on what is expected to be another bumper earnings season that begins this week.
Restaurants are shutting down. Factories are closing. Retailers are disappearing. Mines are idling. Schools are cutting programs. And businesses that served their communities for years are turning off the lights.
Businesses are cutting workers and cutting costs as economic pressures mount and AI takes over human jobs.
After being ignored for years, months and weeks, the reality of the overinvestments in the AI/hi-tech stock sectors is now becoming a reality.
As the yields on treasury securities reached their highest in more than 20 years, the Standard & Poor’s 500 index barely dipped, and the NASDAQ actually gained 3 percent.
News that the U.S. economy created a surprisingly small number of jobs in September boosted stocks Friday.
The overall value of the U.S. stock market continued to reach new records in this year’s third quarter, with earnings among the Standard & Poor’s 500 companies again exceeding 25 percent.
Last month, consumer confidence dropped to its lowest level in 12 years, the Conference Board said in reporting the results of its newest monthly poll.
Last week, the average U.S. interest rate on a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage shot up to 7.28 percent from 7.03 the week before, marking the biggest weekly jump since October 2022, the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. reported.
A fundamental basis of tracking trends is the understanding that all things are connected.