http://www.iberkshires.com/blogs/Bill_Schmick? The Retired Investor/@theMarket Tue, 21 Mar 2023 03:51:51 EDT en-us http://www.iberkshires.com/blogs/Bill_Schmick?bid=4341 http://www.iberkshires.com/blogs/Bill_Schmick?bid=4341 Fri, 17 Mar 2023 16:04:00 EDT The global banking sector took center stage as three U.S. banks bit the dust and a fourth large bank in Europe floundered. This puts the Fed between a rock and a hard place.   The Federal Open Market Committee meets this coming Wednesday and, before the collapse of the Silicon... http://www.iberkshires.com/blogs/Bill_Schmick?bid=4340 http://www.iberkshires.com/blogs/Bill_Schmick?bid=4340 Thu, 16 Mar 2023 16:11:00 EDT The recent calamity in the banking sector is complicated, but one issue stands out. Even the safest of investments have risk.   Understanding the relationship between bond prices and interest rates is extremely important. Bonds, overall, are considered safer investments than stocks... http://www.iberkshires.com/blogs/Bill_Schmick?bid=4339 http://www.iberkshires.com/blogs/Bill_Schmick?bid=4339 Fri, 10 Mar 2023 16:05:00 EST Stocks fell this week as investors turned more bearish. You can blame Fed Chairman Jerome Powell for that as well as troubles in the banking sector.   "Higher for Longer" may be finally sinking in. Powell's two-day testimony in front of the House and the Senate this... http://www.iberkshires.com/blogs/Bill_Schmick?bid=4338 http://www.iberkshires.com/blogs/Bill_Schmick?bid=4338 Thu, 09 Mar 2023 16:06:00 EST Coats to protect your pets from severe weather, or orange safety vests during hunting season are fairly common but today, the fashion industry has embraced the concept and taken pet clothing to new heights.   Canine couture is a big business. The pet clothing business market is... http://www.iberkshires.com/blogs/Bill_Schmick?bid=4337 http://www.iberkshires.com/blogs/Bill_Schmick?bid=4337 Fri, 24 Feb 2023 15:11:00 EST There is a discrepancy growing between bond and stock markets. The bond vigilantes are betting the Fed is nowhere near done hiking rates. Stock jockeys disagree. Which camp will prove correct?   A look at the government's U.S. Treasury bond auctions this week resulted in most... http://www.iberkshires.com/blogs/Bill_Schmick?bid=4336 http://www.iberkshires.com/blogs/Bill_Schmick?bid=4336 Thu, 23 Feb 2023 16:40:00 EST It may not be the 1970s when interest rates offered investors double-digit returns, but 5 percent on a six-month U.S. Treasury bill isn't bad.   We last saw that kind of return in 2007. To be sure, the rate still comes up short when compared to the 6.4 percent annual rate of... http://www.iberkshires.com/blogs/Bill_Schmick?bid=4335 http://www.iberkshires.com/blogs/Bill_Schmick?bid=4335 Fri, 17 Feb 2023 15:59:00 EST It has been a week of consolidation. A string of downside negative surprises has kept the markets in check but has failed to break anything. Given the macroeconomic data, that has been impressive.   Both the monthly Consumer Price Index (CPI) and the Producer Price Index (PPI) came... http://www.iberkshires.com/blogs/Bill_Schmick?bid=4334 http://www.iberkshires.com/blogs/Bill_Schmick?bid=4334 Thu, 16 Feb 2023 16:39:00 EST In a few months, be prepared for politicians of both parties to turn up the heat as the June debt ceiling deadline approaches. Normally, the stock market responds with increased volatility. The question is should investors pay attention at all?   That may sound like heresy given... http://www.iberkshires.com/blogs/Bill_Schmick?bid=4333 http://www.iberkshires.com/blogs/Bill_Schmick?bid=4333 Fri, 10 Feb 2023 16:07:00 EST They say you can't keep a good market down. That is proving to be the case thus far in 2023. Every dip continues to be bought and the technical charts indicate there may be more upside ahead.   I was expecting that January's bounce in the averages would reverse in February.... http://www.iberkshires.com/blogs/Bill_Schmick?bid=4332 http://www.iberkshires.com/blogs/Bill_Schmick?bid=4332 Thu, 09 Feb 2023 17:04:00 EST One of the silver linings of the pandemic was an explosion of startups throughout the nation. After a 40-year decline, entrepreneurship rose from the ashes, and contrary to expectations continues to thrive today. What is behind this trend?   In 2020, the early days of COVID-19, as...