Free Republic

S&P Global Ratings announced yesterday that it was changing its outlook on San Francisco's debt from stable to negative.The outlook on the city-county’s outstanding general obligation and appropriation debt was cut to negative from stable this week by the ratings company. The weakness in the city’s commercial real estate market and tourism activity were factors that drove the move, S&P said. Adding to the city’s burdens, San Francisco’s budget expenditures outpaced revenue growth in fiscal 2023.To be clear, the ratings agency hasn't downgraded the city's credit rating, which is still at "AAA," the highest possible. A downgrade in the credit...

Just 6 Percent of New S&P Jobs Went to White Applicants in The Wake of George Floyd, Analysis ShowsOnly 6 percent of new S&P 100 jobs went to white applicants in the year after George Floyd’s death, according to an analysis by Bloomberg News, a testament to the pervasiveness of legally tenuous diversity programs throughout corporate America.The analysis, based on data reported to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, shows that S&P 100 companies added 323,094 new jobs between 2020 and 2021. Of that total, 302,570 of them—94 percent of the total increase—went to "people of color," defined as blacks, Asians,...

JUST IN: First Republic Bank, the San Francisco-based lender that was cut to junk by S&P and Fitch, is exploring strategic options including a sale https://t.co/fRG03oAtZG pic.twitter.com/p5vSNmnTnd— Bloomberg (@business) March 15, 2023

Again, it’s difficult to say with a high degree of certainty, but stock investors will likely experience a bumpy ride over the next 6-12 months. The timing is possibly the most uncertain element here. Higher interest rates and a smaller money supply will reduce loan growth and economic activity. No question on that. However, will the Fed go too far and push the economy into recession? Globally, most of the world’s central banks are on a similar path as the U.S. Federal Reserve. For example, Europe, the U.K., and India are all raising interest rates. China, however, is not. Europe...

US stocks have further to fall even after a steep decline this week, Bank of America said Friday. The Nasdaq this week fell 5% in one session as investors grapple with tighter Fed monetary policy. Based on previous bear markets, the bank foresees the decline in stocks ending in October 2022. The S&P 500's massive selloff during the week deepened this year's correction for the broad index, and it's likely to sink even lowers before finding a bottom and rebounding, according to Bank of America. The S&P 500 so far this year is in a correction, down 14% from its...

Despite the stock market's recent sell-off, sticking to your investment plan is still the best strategy. There's evidence that the market may bounce soon in what is known as a relief rally. It's important to remember that even though this year has been tough, the stock market always rebounds eventually. The market has been tough this year. Really tough. Year-to-date, the S&P 500 is in correction territory, down over 12%, and the NASDAQ? Forget about it. It's in a bear market, down over 20%. You don't even want to know how much some of last year's high-flyers are down. Let's...

President Donald Trump and Team Trump attorney Jenna Ellis have both indicated that there are no plans to use the Insurrection Act and impose Martial Law to intervene on the contested election. However, there are other routes to take using military involvement which attorney Sidney Powell could potentially be suggesting through her telegram channel.Powell has developed a very powerful tool for communicating in an ‘end around’ the corrupt corporate media. The new medium — the encrypted app Telegram, which is very easy to use and very effective.The legacy media has lost all credibility and is dying; a Telegram channel is...

Tesla will be added to the S&P 500 index on Dec. 21. Based on its market value Monday, the electric car maker would be one of the top 10 companies in the benchmark index upon entry. S&P Dow Jones Indices made the announcement after the closing bell. Tesla shares jumped nearly 14% in after-hours trading. Tesla became eligible to join the S&P 500 after posting its fourth consecutive profit in the second quarter of this year. However, it was not selected for inclusion in the index in September by the index committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices. Tesla shares have...

Summary: Although the WSJ will never admit this, the stock markets rose or held their own through election day itself (Nov 3), Wednesday, and Thursday (Nov 5). But today? Friday Nov 6, as Biden-Harris voters continue to increase at Trump's expense? All markets are slipping.

Stocks decline sharply as coronavirus infections surge and stimulus negotiations remain at a stalemate. Stocks declined sharply Monday to kick off a week heavy with earnings from U.S. tech giants as coronavirus infections surged, stimulus negotiations remained at a stalemate and investors prepared for the presidential election just more than a week away. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 721 points, or 2.55%, to 27,613, the S&P 500 tumbled 2.15% and the Nasdaq slumped 1.73%. Stocks closed mostly higher Friday but the S&P 500 fell 0.5% for the week, its first weekly loss in four, after negotiations between the White...

The stock market rallied once again on Monday, pushing the S&P 500 into the green for the year as the benchmark completed its wild round trip amid the coronavirus pandemic. Investors are growing more and more optimistic about a speedy economic recovery as states continue to reopen. Stocks finished the day at their session highs with the S&P 500 jumping 1.2%, or 38.46 points, to 3,232.39. The equity benchmark turned positive for the year in the final moments of Monday and has now bounced more than 47% off its March low. At one point this year, the S&P 500 was...

Once again, a few stocks lead the many. This is a time for pre-retirees to understand what that means. This is probably a good time to remind you that I am neither a bull nor a bear. I am a realist. So, while some professional investors manage money with an emphasis on “where’s the market going,” I favor a different approach. I cut the market into many smaller pieces, and make decisions based on more of a “weight of the evidence” approach. That is, I don’t stop my market analysis after checking out the S&P 500, Dow and Nasdaq NDAQ....

Click here to read the entire article

Stocks fell sharply on Monday even after the Federal Reserve embarked on a massive monetary stimulus campaign to curb slower economic growth amid the coronavirus outbreak. The S&P 500 dropped 8.14% shortly after the open, triggering a “circuit breaker” trading halt that will last for 15 minutes. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 9.7%, or 2,250 points. The Nasdaq Composite slid 6.1%. Before the open, futures contracts tied to the major averages hit their “limit down” levels, meaning they could not trade below that threshold. Those limits are imposed by the CME Group to maintain orderly market behavior. While the...

Stock market people please weigh in All I know is that it goes from a bull to a bear market when all three of these are down 20% from the most recent high.

I’m nominating Leah Remini for this year’s John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award. Let me tell you why. For as long as I can remember I have been obsessed with the “religion” of Scientology. As a child I was a big fan of L. Ron Hubbard’s science fiction writing. My mom used to get me a subscription to Isaac Asimov’s monthly sci-fi publication and often there were short stories from Hubbard. One day I mistakenly checked out his Scientology handbook “Dianetics” and while I was grossly disappointed to discover it was not the sci-fi romp I’d hoped for, it...

One of the most popular measures of volatility is being manipulated, charges one individual who submitted a letter anonymously to the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The letter makes the claim to regulators that fake quotes for the S&P 500 index SPX, +0.26% are skewing levels of the Cboe Volatility Index VIX, -2.50% which reflects bearish and bullish options bets 30-days in the future on the S&P 500 to gauge implied stock-market volatility (see excerpt from the letter below). The flaw allows trading firms with sophisticated algorithms to move the VIX up or down by...

U.S. stocks kicked off 2018 on a strong note on Tuesday, and world markets rose to new highs on Wednesday as early indications suggested it would be another year of synchronized global growth led by a robust European economy. "If you look at the S&P 500 and what makes up the sectors, technology has the largest international exposure. When you look at driving futures sales, it has to come from growing economies," said Jeff Powell, managing partner of Polaris Wealth Advisors. But gains in the technology sector were capped by a 2.43 percent drop in Intel (INTC.O) following a report...

S&P says downgraded China as credit growth still too fast BEIJING (Reuters) - China’s attempts to reduce risks from its rapid buildup in debt are not working as quickly as expected and credit growth is still too fast, S&P Global Ratings said on Friday, a day after it downgraded the country’s sovereign credit rating. While S&P warned in June that a cut may be on the cards, it said it decided to make the call after concluding that China’s “de-risking” drive that started early this year was having less of an impact on credit growth than initially expected. “Despite the...

U.S. stock futures shot higher on Monday, as Hurricane Irma hit Florida with less force than expected, while an easing of North Korea tension also boosted appetite for riskier assets such as equities. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures YMZ7, +0.56% jumped 113 points, or 0.5%, to 21,893, while S&P 500 futures ESZ7, +0.53% rose 12 points, or 0.5%, to 2,473. Nasdaq-100 futures NQZ7, +0.73% gained 32.75 points, or 0.6%, to 5,958. Forecast to be downgraded to a tropical storm on Monday, Hurricane Irma was expected to keep pushing across Florida and make its way into Georgia. Irma has left at...