http://www.iberkshires.com/blogs/Bill_Schmick? The Retired Investor/@theMarket Sun, 18 May 2025 07:14:01 EDT en-us http://www.iberkshires.com/blogs/Bill_Schmick?bid=4546 http://www.iberkshires.com/blogs/Bill_Schmick?bid=4546 Fri, 16 May 2025 13:38:00 EDT The 90-day reprieve on tariffs has given markets a boost. This week, equity indexes briefly turned positive for the year. Are there more gains ahead?   Further upside in stocks is dependent on the next moves out of Washington. For now, tariff fears are on the back burner. Fewer... http://www.iberkshires.com/blogs/Bill_Schmick?bid=4545 http://www.iberkshires.com/blogs/Bill_Schmick?bid=4545 Thu, 15 May 2025 15:55:00 EDT As America's Pope Leo XIV  begins his reign at the head of the world's smallest country, this Catholic sovereign city-state's financial and economic challenges wait to be addressed. It may take more than American ingenuity to accomplish that.   Located in Rome, the... http://www.iberkshires.com/blogs/Bill_Schmick?bid=4544 http://www.iberkshires.com/blogs/Bill_Schmick?bid=4544 Fri, 09 May 2025 14:28:00 EDT One country down, only 194 more to go. This week, the announcement of a "framework" for President Trump's first trade deal and the first high-level meeting between the U.S. and China encouraged investors.   Wall Street's enthusiasm was somewhat tempered, given that... http://www.iberkshires.com/blogs/Bill_Schmick?bid=4543 http://www.iberkshires.com/blogs/Bill_Schmick?bid=4543 Thu, 08 May 2025 16:40:00 EDT The lifeblood of emerging markets has always been their exports within a framework of robust global trade. The advent of U.S. tariffs worldwide has placed these countries between a rock and a hard place.   The rock is clearly the size and extent of U.S. tariffs. These new tariffs... http://www.iberkshires.com/blogs/Bill_Schmick?bid=4542 http://www.iberkshires.com/blogs/Bill_Schmick?bid=4542 Fri, 02 May 2025 14:54:00 EDT Wednesday's release of the nation's first-quarter Gross Domestic Product stunned investors since it was the first quarterly decline in the economy since 2022. Looking beyond the headline number, however, the results told a different story.   At first blush, the minus-0.3... http://www.iberkshires.com/blogs/Bill_Schmick?bid=4541 http://www.iberkshires.com/blogs/Bill_Schmick?bid=4541 Thu, 01 May 2025 16:38:00 EDT As the flow of container ships to the U.S. slows and the number of trucks needed to distribute Chinese goods declines, retail shelves will soon begin to empty. Unless the tariff war is reversed, consumers should expect shortages.   Tariffs (so the story goes) will fuel a U.S.... http://www.iberkshires.com/blogs/Bill_Schmick?bid=4540 http://www.iberkshires.com/blogs/Bill_Schmick?bid=4540 Fri, 25 Apr 2025 14:56:00 EDT This week, statements from the president and his treasury secretary indicating a possible thaw in relations with China triggered a bout of FOMO among traders. Markets gained more than 6 percent for the week on a hope and a prayer. Was it justified?   On Monday, investors woke up to... http://www.iberkshires.com/blogs/Bill_Schmick?bid=4539 http://www.iberkshires.com/blogs/Bill_Schmick?bid=4539 Thu, 24 Apr 2025 16:07:00 EDT I have been retired for nearly 10 years and was never a trader. It was very much to pour as much into the 401K as possible and keep it in low-cost mutual funds. Warren Buffet's thoughts on that approach worked well for me. I ignored market fluctuations for 40 years and had the good fortune... http://www.iberkshires.com/blogs/Bill_Schmick?bid=4538 http://www.iberkshires.com/blogs/Bill_Schmick?bid=4538 Fri, 18 Apr 2025 13:41:00 EDT On Thursday, investors hoped that Fed Chair Jerome Powell, speaking in Chicago at the Economic Club, would assure markets that he would backstop any downside from President Trump's policies. They were disappointed.   Even worse, he said, "The level of tariff increases... http://www.iberkshires.com/blogs/Bill_Schmick?bid=4537 http://www.iberkshires.com/blogs/Bill_Schmick?bid=4537 Thu, 17 Apr 2025 16:12:00 EDT You may have weathered the Financial Crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic sell-off, some may even remember the Dot.Com boom and bust, but this time around feels different. That's because it is.   In my entire career, I have never seen the stock market move 8.3 percent in 34 minutes...