The markets closed lower yesterday after the Federal Reserve announced a .5% interest rate hike. The Fed chair Jerome Powell expects an "economic slowdown" continuing throughout next year partly due to increasing unemployment. But he does not expect the downturn to be a recession.
Futures this morning are continuing yesterday's trend with all major indexes down moderately. The reasons for this include the Feds continued raising of interest rates and today's report that Retail and food service sales for November fell 0.6% instead of the 0.3% Dow Jones estimate. Maybe because prices for food are just so high that people are adapting their spending habits.
Pre-market movers include the homebuilder Lennar (LEN) after reporting a slowdown in new home orders, likely because of higher mortgage rates. Tesla (TSLA) is also down slightly pre-market as CEO Elon Musk is selling $3.6 Billion worth of shares to fund whatever escapades he has on his mind. The stock is down 55% year to date.
US Treasuries are trending down which could be a good sign for stocks. As treasury bonds become less interesting as an investment vehicle, capital finds its way into other assets such as stocks.
Stocks to Watch
Warren Buffets Berkshire Hathaway (BRKB) has beaten the market this year and is up 5.5% while the S&P 500 is down over 15%. His energy holdings might be the key to his success.
Delta Airlines (DAL) is expecting 2023 earnings to double due to "robust" travel demand. Could this be the turnaround after the airline posted a record loss just two years ago in 2020?
Tesla (TSLA) Elon Musk is selling $3.6 Billions worth of Tesla shares, which shouldn't really be a concern for investors since CEOs often have the majority of their net worth tied up in company stock and sell stocks for many reasons like paying taxes. It should not be seen as a sign that Musk has less belief in the company. In fact, Cathy Wood's ARK Innovation ETF (ARKK) has picked up another $11.7 million worth of Tesla shares to take advantage of the stock's recent dip.
Thanks for reading,
The Punkrock Capitalist
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