What I don’t get is the DOW is at its highest point ever and my IRA lost nearly 40% since 2019. All while consumer spending is breaking records. I smell a rat.
A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives. – Jackie Robinson
My IRA is coming back but nowhere near its high. I have been holding back on contributions to it since it was losing. Buying cds was my best option during the last couple of years. May have to make a couple contributions this coming year since the post Covid economy is starting to settle down.
A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives. – Jackie Robinson
My IRA is coming back but nowhere near its high. I have been holding back on contributions to it since it was losing. Buying cds was my best option during the last couple of years. May have to make a couple contributions this coming year since the post Covid economy is starting to settle down.
Buying during the COVID down turn was a big boost to my current 401k jump. Unfortunately (fortunately) I was unable to contribute to my Roth last year as I had a HUGE year with my art sales. It put me above the income level allowed to contribute. Kinda sucks because I was upside down much of the year and couldn’t dollar cost average to lower my overall purchase prices on my holdings. Kind of frustrating in that now much of that portfolio is back in the positive. Meaning I couldn’t capitalize on the down economy. Again, no complaints. l’ve had a financial year bigger than I ever could have dreamed.
You should have kept buying during the COVID economy. Your gains would now have likely exceeded your earnings off your CDs.
Remember how trump bragged about the stock market breaking records when he was president? What a great sign of a strong economy that was? Well that's not what he is saying now......
Trump bemoans record stock market as just making 'rich people richer'
Donald Trump, who predicted three years ago that if Democratic President Joe Biden won the White House in 2020 markets would crash, said on Sunday that stock markets hitting record highs were just making "rich people richer."
Trump, the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican nomination, often took credit for a rising stock market when he was president between 2017 and 2021. He was mocked by Biden last week for wrongly predicting a crash when they campaigned against each other in 2020.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average hit a record high last week, topping 37,000 and surpassing the previous record set in 2022. In a 2020 debate with Biden, Trump said that if Biden won the election, "the stock market will crash."
Biden defeated Trump in the 2020 election.
In an attempt to give a populist and anti-Biden twist on the new record stock market high, Trump, a self-described billionaire, told a crowd of supporters in Reno, Nevada: "The stock market is making rich people richer."
Turning on Biden, he changed the subject to high prices, a hallmark of Biden's three years in office.
"Biden's inflation catastrophe is demolishing your savings and ravaging your dreams," Trump said, as he looks ahead to a likely rematch with Biden in the Nov. 2024 White House contest.
Despite decreasing inflation in recent months, an increase in wages and low unemployment, Trump added: "We are a nation whose economy is collapsing into a cesspool."
Republican voters begin picking their 2024 White House standard-bearer on Jan. 15 in Iowa, the state which kicks off the nominating process.
Trump was holding a rally in Nevada, where Republicans vote on Feb. 8.
Trump enjoys commanding leads over his Republican rivals in state and national polls, despite his ..
I was all in the hype that we were going to be in a pretty steep recession this year so around this time last year I went to almost all cash and bonds. In the spring after I did not think that it was really going to be that bad so I put everything back in an 100 index fund. We had a lot going on this year with my wife's moms health and kids in college so I never went back and checked my fund until last week and was amazed at how much it had grown.
I looked at things and didn't believe all the hype-
And ytd-really good numbers Nasdaq +42.21% Nasdaq 100 +54.41% Dow +12.82%
I see more and more articles from “experts” who talk about the stock market taking a nose dive and predicting calamity. Sometimes there is a dip and then it comes roaring back. It does make me suspicious of those who might want to see the market drop for a value buying opportunity. 2008/2009 created a TON of wealth gap due to the recession “buy-in” from those who still had a lot of money to invest. It was like a going out of business sale, where the items you bought were worth 10x the value a couple years later.
Blue ostriches on crack float on milkshakes between the sidewalk titans of gurglefitz. --YTown
Thankfully I was able to contribute a lot into my 401k during that downturn. It essentially caught me up from getting a late start at building my retirement account. I’ve got 10-13 years until retirement. There will inevitably be another downturn between now and then. My hope is I’m at a place to capitalize on it again. My bigger hope is that downturn doesn’t happen when I’m looking to start tapping into my funds.
JMHO, I think it is so funny listening to the Republicans saying all the nasty crap about the Demorats killing the economy yadah, yadah, yadah......just check out the stock market--setting new HIGH records.....and they bitch about ruining oil.....here are the FACTS- President Joe Biden to phase out the oil industry, and Republicans argue he’s already doing that. Meanwhile, the surprising reality is the United States is pumping oil at a blistering pace and is on track to produce more than any country has in history,” CNN reporter Matt Egan stated. We produce more oil than ANYONE.
Our oil companies are on their last legs......RIGHT- give me a break. If you like steady, almost ZERO chance of loss, gains- buy ET.
Merry Almost Christmas
"You've never lived till you've almost died, life has a flavor the protected will never know" A vet or cop
Oil production in America has increased since Biden became president. Higher than production under trump.....
Joe Biden Tops Donald Trump in Crude Oil Milestone
The Biden administration has outpaced the Trump administration when it comes to crude oil production, with the United States now producing more crude oil than at any other time in history at 13.2 million barrels a day, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said.
The second-highest crude-producing week in the U.S. was during the week of March 13, 2020, at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, when 13.1 million barrels were produced under former President Donald Trump. When President Joe Biden took office in January 2021, the U.S. was producing 11 million barrels.
When former President Barack Obama took office in January 2009, the U.S. was producing around 5 million barrels of crude oil.
The U.S. is the largest producer of crude oil in the world, followed by Russia with 9.3 million barrels per day and Saudi Arabia with 8.94 million barrels per day. The U.S. became the largest crude oil producer in the world during the Trump administration in 2018.
The increase comes amid production cuts by Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) members over the past year. According to the EIA, concerns about slowing economic growth reducing worldwide demand for oil have pushed crude oil prices down. Gasoline prices have also fallen in general across the country.
"Crude oil prices are the primary driver of U.S. gasoline prices, making up 55 percent of the total cost to produce a gallon of gasoline," the EIA said in its Wednesday report.
Meanwhile, the average retail price of regular gasoline was $3.29 per gallon during the week of November 20. The highest gas prices in the country were seen on the West Coast with a gallon of regular gas averaging $4.42 per gallon, down 8 percent from the same period last year, the EIA said.
Global oil output increased overall by 320,000 barrels per day to 102 million barrels per day, according to the International Energy Agency.
"Growth in the United States and Brazil is outperforming forecasts, helping to propel global supply higher by 1.7 million barrels per day to a record 101.8 million barrels per day in 2023," the IEA said in its November report. "Non-OPEC+ will again drive overall growth in 2024, projected at 1.6 million barrels per day. There has been no material impact on oil supply flows from the war between Israel and Hamas that started in early October."
World oil supply, the IEA said, is on an upward trajectory despite fears that the Israel-Hamas conflict would disrupt supply.
Heading into 2023, the predictions were nearly unanimous: a recession was coming.
As the year comes to a close, the forecasted economic downturn did not arrive.
So what’s in store for 2024?
An economic decline may still be in the forecast, experts say.
The prediction is based on the same factors that prompted economists to call for a downturn in 2023. As inflation has run hot, the Federal Reserve has raised interest rates.
Typically, that dynamic has triggered a recession, defined as two consecutive quarters of negative gross domestic product growth.
Some forecasts are optimistic that can still be avoided in 2024. Bank of America is predicting a soft landing rather than a recession, despite downside risks.
More than three-fourths of economists — 76% — said they believe the chances of a recession in the next 12 months is 50% or less, according to a December survey from the National Association for Business Economics.
“Our base case is that we have a mild recession,” said Larry Adam, chief investment officer at Raymond James.
That downturn, which may be “the mildest in history,” may begin in the second quarter, the firm predicts.
Of the NABE economists who also see a downturn in the forecast, 40% say it will start in the first quarter, while 34% suggest the second quarter.
Americans who have struggled with high prices amid rising inflation may feel a downturn is already here.
To that point, 56% of people recently surveyed by MassMutual said the economy is already in a recession.
Layoffs, which made headlines at the end of 2023, may continue in the new year. While 29% of companies shed workers in 2023, 21% of companies expect they may have layoffs in 2024, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas, an outplacement and business and executive coaching firm.
Blocking those who argue to argue, eliminates the argument.
Economists now predict the U.S. is heading for a "soft landing." Here's what that means.
With inflation cooling and hiring remaining strong, economists are now venturing that something other than a recession may be around the corner: a so-called soft landing.
That's a quite a turnabout from earlier this year. Economists in February were were predicting that the U.S. was about to tumble into a recession — thanks to the Federal Reserve's 11 interest rate hikes since early 2022 and signs that inflation-weary businesses and consumers might be pulling back from spending.
Yet so far, the economy has continued to plow ahead, and inflation is retreating faster than some economists expected. Some types of products are even seeing deflation, or a decline in prices compared with a year ago. The Federal Reserve sounded cautiously optimistic on Wednesday, with Chair Jerome Powell saying he was "pleased with the progress" in the battle against inflation and the Fed's goal of keeping full employment.
"I have always felt, since the beginning, that there was a possibility, because of the unusual situation, that the economy could cool off in a way that enabled inflation to come down without the kind of large job losses that have often been associated with high inflation and tightening cycles," Powell said on Wednesday.
This year, the U.S. economy has engineered a rare confluence of trends, as inflation has cooled considerably while the economy has continued to grow — something that "many economists thought would be impossible," noted Brian Rose, senior U.S. economist at UBS Global Wealth Management in a Monday research note.
"We maintain our view that the economy is headed for a soft landing," he added.
Here's what to know about a soft landing. What is a soft landing?
A soft landing is "the equivalent of 'Goldilocks' porridge' for central bankers: following a tightening, the economy is just right – neither too hot (inflationary) nor too cold (in a recession)," noted Sam Boocker and David Wessel of the Brookings Institution.
But, they noted, there's no official definition of a soft landing, and the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), which determines when the U.S. is in an official recession, doesn't outline the requirements for a soft landing — or a hard landing, for that matter. How does that differ from a recession?
A recession is generally considered two consecutive quarters of declining economic growth, but the NBER describes it a little more broadly: "a recession involves a significant decline in economic activity that is spread across the economy and lasts more than a few months."
Generally, recessions include a decline in GDP and a rise in job cuts, which is how most Americans typically experience a recession. During the Great Recession, about 700,000 people lost their jobs each month from October 2008 to April 2009, according to Brookings. What happens to the job market in a soft landing?
In a soft landing, the unemployment rate might rise, but the incline would be far from the extremes experienced in the Great Recession, when the jobless rate jumped from 5% to 10%.
Right now, the Fed is forecasting that the jobless rate will inch up to 4.1% for 2024 and 2025, slightly higher than its current rate of 3.7%.
That also marks a retreat from the Fed's 2022 projection that the jobless rate would jump to 4.4%, resulting in an additional 1.2 million people losing their jobs. But, so far, companies have been loath to fire workers given a tight labor market that's made it more difficult to maintain and hire employees. What about inflation?
Part of the good news about a soft landing is that inflation is projected to continue cooling from its current level of 3.1%. And that could help consumers increase their standard of living, given that employers say they'll boost wages by 4% next year.
The Fed, for its part, is forecasting that inflation as measured by the PCE index will sink to 2.4% next year. On Wednesday, the central bank held off on boosting rates, while also projecting three rate cuts in 2024.
"[I]nflation has surprised their projections to the downside, and that progress allows the Fed to consider lifting its foot off the policy brakes earlier than anticipated," noted TD Securities analysts in a Wednesday research note. Does this mean a recession isn't in the cards?
A recession is still possible, of course. Powell stressed in his comments on Wednesday that while he's pleased with the economy's progress, he isn't declaring victory yet.
"I think there's always a probability that there will be a recession in the next year, and it's a meaningful probability no matter what the economy is doing," Powell said.
Indeed, some economists are still predicting a recession, albeit later in 2024.
"PNC expects a decline in consumer spending in the second half of 2024 as the U.S. economy enters into a mild recession," noted PNC analysts in a research note. "High interest rates and modest job losses will cause households to turn more cautious." If the economy's great, why do I feel like I'm falling behind?
The majority of Americans say their income isn't keeping up with inflation. That's leaving many feeling disgruntled with the economy, even as the jobless rate remains low and the economy continues to grow.
Powell nodded to this issue on Wednesday, saying that consumers are very sensitive to prices, but that wages are catching up.
"People are still living with high prices, and that is something that people don't like," he said. "Real wages are now positive, so that wages are now moving up more than inflation as inflation comes down, and so that might help improve the mood of people."
“To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.”
More strain on the infrastructure. Between this and the Red Sea Houthi attacks, there will most definitely be issues. I'm sure shippers will jack rates through the roof with no accountability to exacerbate the cost to consumers.
Panama Canal traffic cut by more than a third because of drought
WORLD NEWS BY ASSOCIATED PRESS Updated 1:38 AM EST, January 19, 2024
PANAMA CITY (AP) — A severe drought that began last year has forced authorities to slash ship crossings by 36% in the Panama Canal, one of the world’s most important trade routes.
The new cuts announced Wednesday by authorities in Panama are set to deal an even greater economic blow than previously expected.
Panama Canal Administrator Ricaurte Vásquez now estimates that dipping water levels could cost them between $500 million and $700 million in 2024, compared to previous estimates of $200 million.
One of the most severe droughts to ever hit the Central American nation has stirred chaos in the 50-mile (80-kilometer) maritime route, causing a traffic jam of vessels, casting doubts on the canal’s reliability for international shipping and raising concerns about its affect on global trade.
“It’s vital that the country sends a message that we’re going to take this on and find a solution to this water problem,” Vásquez said.
The disruption of the major trade route between Asia and the United States comes at a precarious time. Attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea by Yemen’s Houthi rebels have rerouted vessels away from the crucial corridor for consumer goods and energy supplies.
The combination is having far-reaching effects on global trade by delaying shipments and raising transport costs. Some companies had planned to reroute to the Red Sea — a key route between Asia and Europe — to avoid delays at the Panama Canal, analysts say.
Now, that’s no longer an option for most.
On Wednesday, Vásquez said the canal authorities would cut daily ship crossings to 24, down from 38 a day in normal times last year. Vásquez added that in the first quarter of the fiscal year the passageway saw 20% less cargo and 791 fewer ships than the same period the year before.
It was a “significant reduction” for Panama, Vásquez admitted. But he said that more “efficient” water management and a jump in rainfall in November have at least ensured that water levels are high enough for 24 ships to pass daily until the end of April, the start of the next rainy season.
Canal authorities attributed the drought to the El Niño weather phenomenon and climate change, and warned it was urgent for Panama to seek new water sources for both the canal’s operations and human consumption. The same lakes that fill the canal also provide water for more than 50% of the country of more than 4 million people.
“The water problem is a national problem, not just of the Canal,” Vásquez said. “We have to address this issue across the entire country.”
Another reason for drastically increasing domestic manufacturing and production. More jobs.
Amidst Manufacturing Boom, President Biden Will Sign an Executive Order on Federal Research and Development in Support of Domestic Manufacturing and United States Jobs to Encourage “Invent it Here, Make it Here” in Industries of the Future
A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives. – Jackie Robinson
Biden is pretty angry over some price gouging that's going on,
For instance, Many products had price increases during the Pandemic. It was warranted because of the difficulty getting stuff..
Goods are flowing pretty well now. Not at all like the Pandemic days. But the pricing on so many products has remained high...
The other day on Facebook ( In know, don't say it) a guy from Youngstown said he paid $8.00 a dozen for Eggs. BS, he heard Trump say it and so he repeated it without checking. I had paid $3.40 for a dozen eggs that very day in Aurora Ohio in a Heinens store. They are NOT known for being cheap. In fact, the Eggs I bought were Eggslands Best. The most expensive brand on the shelf.
My point is that inflation is indeed coming down. Not perfect yet, but lower.
#GMSTRONG
“Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not to his own facts.” Daniel Patrick Moynahan
"Alternative facts hurt us all. Think before you blindly believe." Damanshot
Yep. A bipartisan effort from Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and JD Vance (R-OH).
And let's be honest... if you are using federal funds (aka our money) to research and develop a product... it should be mandated that it's manufactured here.
Biden is pretty angry over some price gouging that's going on,
For instance, Many products had price increases during the Pandemic. It was warranted because of the difficulty getting stuff..
Goods are flowing pretty well now. Not at all like the Pandemic days. But the pricing on so many products has remained high...
The other day on Facebook ( In know, don't say it) a guy from Youngstown said he paid $8.00 a dozen for Eggs. BS, he heard Trump say it and so he repeated it without checking. I had paid $3.40 for a dozen eggs that very day in Aurora Ohio in a Heinens store. They are NOT known for being cheap. In fact, the Eggs I bought were Eggslands Best. The most expensive brand on the shelf.
My point is that inflation is indeed coming down. Not perfect yet, but lower.
You can't find eggs no where in Youngstown even at a quicky mart for 8 dollars a doz. I just got 7 1/2 doz at Sams for 13.48 last week. My have they come down in price
We have a couple fridges to store them-much cheaper buying in bulk- I have 2 kids-my daughter loves to bake/cook and is cooking for my wifes parents-Mother in law had a serious heart operation at Cleveland. We probably go through 8-12 eggs each day on the weekend
I still have to go back and get more eggs about every 2 1/2-3 weeks or so. We also buy the 6 pack of egg whites when we go-that lasts about 4-5 weeks.
Anyone buying groceries at a quicky mart is going to pay through the nose. We bought eggs a couple of weeks ago at Kroger 18 for $1.99. the price of eggs had decreased by quite a bit. The price of them is however beginning to rise again.
Intoducing for The Cleveland Browns, Quarterback Deshawn "The Predator" Watson. He will also be the one to choose your next head coach.
It's funny how eggs are always the poster-child for gauging inflation. And yeah, they're cheap right now, mostly because we're back inside the seasonal cycle. Believe me, I've purchased 10s of millions of eggs.
In about a month farmers will start killing hens to deplete supply so they can bend us over during the Easter holiday (which seems to get longer and longer each year where eggs are concerned). February 20th of every year you would find my walk-in coolers packed so that I could dollar-cost my way through the season. Imagine trying to sell consumers on this charade that coloring Easter eggs should make the price triple... for a month lol.
Interesting read here from about a year ago. This [censored] goes unchecked anymore. It was going on with chicken about five years ago -- until Chick-fil-a sued everyone involved.
The current economy is dwarfing anything achieved under Trump, yet GOPers act like the sky is falling… Maybe once dems have fully repaired the GOPer damage from our last REAL boom under Obama, blind GOPers might finally start to see the light… I know they won’t but it never hurts to hope they might return to normal human awareness status. But I doubt it happens without 20 years of GOPer floundering in Trumplandian hell, because disregarding facts and acting like house MAGA GOPers (petulant uneducated childish scum) is the in thing for fascist book-banning domestic terrorists.
Last edited by OldColdDawg; 01/20/2403:19 PM.
Your feelings and opinions do not add up to facts.
Biden is pretty angry over some price gouging that's going on,
For instance, Many products had price increases during the Pandemic. It was warranted because of the difficulty getting stuff..
Goods are flowing pretty well now. Not at all like the Pandemic days. But the pricing on so many products has remained high...
The other day on Facebook ( In know, don't say it) a guy from Youngstown said he paid $8.00 a dozen for Eggs. BS, he heard Trump say it and so he repeated it without checking. I had paid $3.40 for a dozen eggs that very day in Aurora Ohio in a Heinens store. They are NOT known for being cheap. In fact, the Eggs I bought were Eggslands Best. The most expensive brand on the shelf.
My point is that inflation is indeed coming down. Not perfect yet, but lower.
You can't find eggs no where in Youngstown even at a quicky mart for 8 dollars a doz. I just got 7 1/2 doz at Sams for 13.48 last week. My have they come down in price
Wait, you paid $13.48 per dozen?
#GMSTRONG
“Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not to his own facts.” Daniel Patrick Moynahan
"Alternative facts hurt us all. Think before you blindly believe." Damanshot
It's funny how eggs are always the poster-child for gauging inflation. And yeah, they're cheap right now, mostly because we're back inside the seasonal cycle. Believe me, I've purchased 10s of millions of eggs.
In about a month farmers will start killing hens to deplete supply so they can bend us over during the Easter holiday (which seems to get longer and longer each year where eggs are concerned). February 20th of every year you would find my walk-in coolers packed so that I could dollar-cost my way through the season. Imagine trying to sell consumers on this charade that coloring Easter eggs should make the price triple... for a month lol.
Interesting read here from about a year ago. This [censored] goes unchecked anymore. It was going on with chicken about five years ago -- until Chick-fil-a sued everyone involved.
Keep in mind, I didn't make that idiotic statement that eggs cost 8 bucks a dozen. Trump made that comment and some fool just believed him then repeated it.
#GMSTRONG
“Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not to his own facts.” Daniel Patrick Moynahan
"Alternative facts hurt us all. Think before you blindly believe." Damanshot
My belief is that (not counting some massive catastrophe or war) that it takes 1-2 to pass and implement policy, then it takes 1-2 years to see the effects.
So trump economic policy kicks in right as biden took over, 1.5 years later biden's changes are made and 1.5 years later we are seeing the effects. The math puts that at right about now. So all the crappy economy stuff was the results of poor economic policy by the ttrump administration and it has taken this long for the biden administration to fix it
Don't blame the clown for acting like a clown. Ask yourself why you keep going to the circus.
Biden is pretty angry over some price gouging that's going on,
For instance, Many products had price increases during the Pandemic. It was warranted because of the difficulty getting stuff..
Goods are flowing pretty well now. Not at all like the Pandemic days. But the pricing on so many products has remained high...
The other day on Facebook ( In know, don't say it) a guy from Youngstown said he paid $8.00 a dozen for Eggs. BS, he heard Trump say it and so he repeated it without checking. I had paid $3.40 for a dozen eggs that very day in Aurora Ohio in a Heinens store. They are NOT known for being cheap. In fact, the Eggs I bought were Eggslands Best. The most expensive brand on the shelf.
My point is that inflation is indeed coming down. Not perfect yet, but lower.
You can't find eggs no where in Youngstown even at a quicky mart for 8 dollars a doz. I just got 7 1/2 doz at Sams for 13.48 last week. My have they come down in price
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