The Bulls got tested this week. The Bears were out for blood. It was like the Super Bowl for stocks on Wall Street. Heading into Friday, the Tech-heavy NAS was on track for its worst week since Obliteration Day back in April of ‘25. Silver lost over 1/3 of its value in the week. Bitcoin has been for sale all year, falling to levels last seen in 2024...

The price of Gold went parabolic. In fact, it’s been the case for pretty much all precious metals. The drivers are many: Ever-increasing geopolitical activity, sticky inflation, a weak Dollar and global institutions seeking alternatives to safe American assets. Gold went from $4k to $5K to $5500 seemingly in an instant...

Threats of more tariffs and taking Greenland knocked stocks downward to start the week. In fact, the 2% decliner on Tuesday was the worst day since October. Those losses reversed with word about a semblance of a deal. It’s still not clear what that means. Wall Street rejoiced, for a bit. Perhaps more accurately, it breathed a sigh of relief. Stocks slipped into the weekend mixed. Those all-time highs are not far from here. But there is some built-up, underlying angst out there. It’s very understandable. Issues tend to not go away easily...

What a week. It was quite eventful. That’s not new for the 2020s. It’s become the norm. But it was Market-moving. There’s plenty of innovation around. Robots took the stage. Controversy is always around. Geopolitical activity is grabbing headlines, all the while economic activity continues. Q4 Earnings Season has begun. All this and much more in another rapid rundown...

Happy New Year! The first half of the 2020s is complete. We have officially entered the second quarter of this 21st century. Can you believe it? Time sure flies...

'Twas the Night before Christmas
And all throughout the block,
Not a creature was stirring
Not even on TikTok...

Price increases have slowed. Inflationary pressures are subsiding. The November Consumer Price Index (CPI) reported prices rose at a 2.7% rate compared to a year ago. That was cooler than the September report, which is the most recent. That came in at 3%. There was no October report due to the government shutdown. Core CPI, which strips out food and energy, was up just 2.6%. That gave a serious jolt to stocks. The rally is back on...

It wasn’t Nvidia that saved the rally in November. It was the Fed. What was looking like a remote chance of a December rate cut, with a mere 30% probability 4 weeks ago, the central bank switched gears and lowered borrowing costs again this week. There has been much debate about this within the Fed’s Open Market Committee. They’re the ones who vote. There are twelve of them. The Fed Chair has been cautious and reluctant to cut more, as prices remain elevated. But the rate of inflation has definitely declined. It’s evident in Energy prices, Dairy prices, Lumber and other agricultural crops. They’ve come down. All other prices are just going up at a slower rate than the past couple of years. At least for now...