http://www.iberkshires.com/blogs/Bill_Schmick? The Retired Investor/@theMarket Mon, 10 Aug 2026 01:36:10 EDT en-us http://www.iberkshires.com/blogs/Bill_Schmick?bid=4668 http://www.iberkshires.com/blogs/Bill_Schmick?bid=4668 Fri, 07 Aug 2026 14:20:00 EDT The U.S. economy shed 23,000 jobs in July. The forecasts were for a gain of 80,000. Some workers appeared despondent while investors were ebullient as the weaker data signaled less reason for the Fed to hike interest rates.   Employment figures for May and June were also revised... http://www.iberkshires.com/blogs/Bill_Schmick?bid=4667 http://www.iberkshires.com/blogs/Bill_Schmick?bid=4667 Thu, 06 Aug 2026 14:20:00 EDT As if food prices aren't high enough, climate scientists around the world are concluding that the October-December El Niño period this year could see numerous droughts, floods, and other climate catastrophes. If so, the impact on the supply of agricultural commodities could be... http://www.iberkshires.com/blogs/Bill_Schmick?bid=4666 http://www.iberkshires.com/blogs/Bill_Schmick?bid=4666 Fri, 31 Jul 2026 13:35:00 EDT Late in the week after a further drubbing, the technology sector staged a rebound from a deeply oversold position. How long it lasts and how far it will go is debatable. In the meantime, long-dated yields in the bond world continue to rise.   You can blame the Fed for the continued... http://www.iberkshires.com/blogs/Bill_Schmick?bid=4665 http://www.iberkshires.com/blogs/Bill_Schmick?bid=4665 Thu, 30 Jul 2026 16:07:00 EDT You may have missed it given all the geopolitical turmoil, wildfires, and so on. Congress passed a bill this month that some call the most significant piece of housing legislation in almost 40 years. It is called the 21st Century Road to Housing Act.   It is remarkable for a variety... http://www.iberkshires.com/blogs/Bill_Schmick?bid=4664 http://www.iberkshires.com/blogs/Bill_Schmick?bid=4664 Fri, 24 Jul 2026 13:53:00 EDT Oil spiked higher this week, regaining $90 a barrel as the dollar rose and U.S. Treasury bonds sold off. It is not hard to guess what the stock market did as a result.    Down.   I'm sure you are just as tired as I am watching this Kabuki show unfold in the... http://www.iberkshires.com/blogs/Bill_Schmick?bid=4663 http://www.iberkshires.com/blogs/Bill_Schmick?bid=4663 Thu, 23 Jul 2026 16:22:00 EDT In an era of populism, distrust in government is rampant. That lack of trust has seeped down into just about everything one reads or hears. Government data is no exception.   As I wrote in my last column, our own president fired the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, claiming... http://www.iberkshires.com/blogs/Bill_Schmick?bid=4662 http://www.iberkshires.com/blogs/Bill_Schmick?bid=4662 Fri, 17 Jul 2026 14:02:00 EDT Misery loves company, or so they say. There was plenty of that this week as declining technology stocks dragged down the indexes.   While the stock market had been stuck in a rut most of the month, the tone changed this week. Markets felt the pain as the leading AI -fueled... http://www.iberkshires.com/blogs/Bill_Schmick?bid=4661 http://www.iberkshires.com/blogs/Bill_Schmick?bid=4661 Thu, 16 Jul 2026 16:41:00 EDT The data system supporting U.S. economic decisions is losing staff and funding. What's worse is the diminished trust the financial markets have placed in that data.   There are roughly 13 primary statistical agencies embedded within various cabinet departments and federal... http://www.iberkshires.com/blogs/Bill_Schmick?bid=4660 http://www.iberkshires.com/blogs/Bill_Schmick?bid=4660 Fri, 10 Jul 2026 14:54:00 EDT The above risks can be a lethal brew for investors. And yet, markets barely budged by the end of the week. Quarterly earnings expectations are buoying the averages, with 23 percent earnings growth expected to vindicate the bulls.   Markets have moved beyond Trump's War despite... http://www.iberkshires.com/blogs/Bill_Schmick?bid=4658 http://www.iberkshires.com/blogs/Bill_Schmick?bid=4658 Thu, 09 Jul 2026 16:22:00 EDT It has been 10 years since Brexit took center stage in the politics of the Western world. The populist furor of an unhappy electorate triggered Great Britain's exit from the European Union. How has that worked out for the Brits?   The populist rhetoric of a "Global...