Crude oil prices settled higher on Monday despite paring a substantial portion of early gains. Oil prices rallied after Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest crude exporter, pledged to cut its production by another 1 million barrels per day in July. Saudi Arabia will reduce its output to 9 million bbl/day in July from about 10 million bbl/day in May, its […]

Premarket action on Monday had the three major U.S. indexes trading mixed. The Dow Jones industrials were up 0.04%, the S&P 500 up 0.03% and the Nasdaq 0.14% lower. At Sunday’s meeting of OPEC+ oil ministers, the cartel agreed to cut production by 1 million barrels a day in July. The cut may or may not be extended through the […]

Shortly after Friday’s opening bell, the Dow Jones industrials traded up 0.77%, the S&P 500 up 0.85% and the Nasdaq up 0.99%. Nonfarm payrolls jumped by 140,000 new jobs month over month in May to 349,000, far higher than expected. Offsetting that, the unemployment rate rose from 3.4% in April to 3.7%, more than expected. The mixed report has investors […]

Great-West Lifeco (CA:GWO), the insurance subsidiary of Montreal-based Power Corporation of Canada (CA:POW), announced on May 31 that it was selling its Putnam Investments subsidiary in the U.S., to Franklin Resources (US:BEN), the parent of Franklin Templeton, for as much as $1.3 billion. (All figures in U.S. dollars unless otherwise noted.) The Winnipeg-based insurance company has moved further into the […]

The biggest technology giants in the US have seen a resurgence in 2023 after a shaky year, driving the S&P 500 gains and increasing their dominance in the index. However, due to this high concentration, investors may find the index unsuitable for diversifying their portfolios. Ten Biggest Companies Prop Up the S&P 500 Index, Gain 44% YTD The ten biggest tech […]

On Sunday, Bali’s local media reported that Governor Wayan Koster warned would-be tourists. At the Bali tourism development press conference, he warned foreigners not to use cryptocurrencies for payment in any capacity. Otherwise, “strict actions” will follow for all parties involved: “Strict actions range from deportation, administrative sanctions, criminal penalties, closure of business premises, and other tough sanctions,” The Governor […]

The futures were trading mixed, with the Nasdaq futures up huge after massive numbers from Nvidia, after a dreadful Wednesday that saw all the major indexes close in the red. Once again, the leading cause for the selling was the ongoing debt ceiling issue, which is quickly running out of time for a solution. The Republicans continue to stand their […]

More conservative investors (boomers) are partying like it is 1999, as money market rates are at 4.5% and certificates of deposit are above the 5% level. Back at the turn of the century. CD yields hit 6.91%, and it was smooth sailing for a few years. The question now is whether rate hikes are finished or one or two more […]

Following the rebound seen in the previous session, treasuries fluctuated over the course of the trading day on Wednesday. Bond prices bounced back and forth across the unchanged line before closing in negative territory. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, rose 2.1 basis points to 3.719 percent. The choppy trading […]

With the major equity indexes printing red ink on Tuesday, Designer Brands (US:DBI) — one of North America’s largest designers, producers and retailers of footwear and accessories — popped conspicuously higher. To be fair, that “higher” wasn’t so big, but DBI stock is an investment in the consumer discretionary sector, an arena that remains challenged against historical norms. Interestingly, diluted […]