Earlier this year, I had the honor of delivering a commencement address to a graduating class of business-focused college students. It was an opportunity not just to speak, but to listen—to the student speakers who spoke before me. Given the celebratory nature of the occasion, I was surprised by one topic that came up again and again among the students, mostly business majors: regret. One student warned their classmates that the opportunities they’re too afraid to take are the ones they’ll wind up regretting most. Another observed that no amount of regret can change the past. Their candor inspired me…

There are four reasons DJT fell $20 (40%) last week: First, the stout $50 barrier once again blocked DJT’s rise. With speculators and short sellers focused on technical indicators, the seemingly impenetrable $50 level was an easy read. Moreover, it dropped further, breaking through the next major barrier, $35. Note: DJT has been labeled a meme stock which heightens risk and volatility. See my October 30 article for explanation: “Trump Media Stock (DJT) – A Meme Stock Plummet Can Be Hard To Stop” Second, the rapid rise on extremely high trading volume means that many stock buyers were drawn into…

On Tuesday, voters will decide on more education-related ballot measures than ever before, says Michelle Exstrom, director of the education program at the National Conference of State Legislatures. Most of the questions fall into one of two buckets—revenue-raising measures for K-12 schools and community colleges or school choice initiatives. Funding for public schools has been an historically popular issue, but “in general, we’re seeing in some states, especially in some school districts, it seems to be harder and harder to pass revenue raising measures,” Exstrom says. Indeed, California voters struck down a $15 billion bond measure for capital improvements at…

As an investor and stock-market columnist, I have many successes – and plenty of failures, too. One of my shortcomings is that I pay too little attention to momentum. My gut instinct when a stock rises 200% or more is to suspect it will fall back to earth. That’s often wrong, because market leaders are frequently doing something right. This year, Summit Therapeutics Inc. (SMMT) leads the parade of winners among large stocks (those with a market value of $10 billion or more). It’s up 628% through Nov. 1. Carvana Co. (CVNA) is second, with a 333% gain. Next come…

Further evidence of disinflation is expected with October’s Consumer Price Index report. However, with inflation close to the Federal Open Market Committee’s 2% annual goal, jobs data is likely to have a greater bearing on the FOMC’s upcoming interest rate decisions. Still, relatively good news on inflation is expected. When Is The October CPI Report? CPI figures for the month of October 2024 are scheduled to be released on November 13 at 8:30 a.m. ET. This is the earlier of two major inflation releases for the month, with Personal Consumption Expenditure Price Index being released on at 10 a.m. ET…

These NYSE stocks are shaping up as breakouts, a point-and-figure chart term for, in these cases, a generally positive set-up. The reason for using p-n-f price charts is the glimpse of clarity they provide. Once you see the x’s and o’s lined up over a time period, you can begin to understand why some analysts still use it. An X represents a move up of one dollar and a O represents a move down of one dollar. This method provides a trader or investor with the ability to quickly identify support and resistance levels. It also shows the direction of…

In my previous post, I pointed out how tinkering with your stock portfolio ahead of elections might cause you to miss out on future gains. It doesn’t matter who is in the White House or what the makeup of Congress looks like—the smartest strategy has always been to stick with stocks as part of a long-term plan. Yet, Wall Street pundits love to stir the pot, pushing for immediate action based on the latest poll or candidate comment. With 2024 Election Day upon us, it’s important to remember that political predictions often don’t translate into market realities. History shows that…

Key News Asian equities had a strong day as Hong Kong and Mainland China significantly outperformed the region, while Japan, the Philippines, and Thailand had good days, and South Korea underperformed. Starting with today’s macroeconomic tailwinds, though, we’ll get into the microeconomic/stock-specific movers. Yesterday, we wrote about the NPC agenda item on addressing local government’s hidden debts, though that clearly was released after the close as it was front page news going into Tuesday trading. Further positive news came from the mid-morning release of the Caixin Services October PMI, which rose to 53 from September’s 50.3, beating economist expectations of…

On November 4, 2024, the AIG Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend on AIG common stock of $0.40 per share. The dividend is payable on December 30, 2024 to stockholders of record at the close of business on December 16, 2024. 10 mREITs With Impressive Yields » Williams’ board of directors has approved a regular dividend of $0.4750 per share, or $1.90 annualized, on the company’s common stock, payable on Dec. 30, 2024, to holders of record at the close of business on Dec. 13, 2024. This is a 6.1% increase from Williams’ fourth-quarter 2023 quarterly dividend of…

I know things feel pretty tense right now. But don’t be pulled into the trap of thinking everything is up in the air these days. Truth is, there are always rock-solid trends out there that no one can change. I’m talking about sure things that outlast presidencies, wars, inflation, deflation, you name it. One of my faves: soaring food demand, which is tied straight into global population growth—hands-down the most “baked in” (sorry, I couldn’t resist!) trend there is. According to the UN, there will be 9.7 billion people on the planet in 2050, nearly 2 billion more than now.…