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☆ US stocks rally and notch weekly gains as inflation continues to cool
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Brian Evans | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

US stocks closed higher Friday after reversing early-session losses. Easing inflation data added to investor optimism that the Federal Reserve could slow rate hikes. Sign up for our newsletter to get the inside scoop on what traders are talking about — delivered daily to your inbox. Loading Something is loading. SkyBridge Capital lost nearly 40% last year on losses from FTX and crypto bets.

☆ Lumber soars 13% as the housing market shows signs of a rebound for the first time in a year
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Matthew Fox | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Lumber futures soared 13% on Friday as the housing market finally shows some signs of life. The essential building commodity is up 21% since encouraging housing market data was released earlier this week, and is up 37% year-to-date. Lumber had been pummeled throughout 2022, falling 67% as soaring mortgage rates weighed on the housing market considerably. And that decline in mortgage rates has helped breathe some life into the housing market, with mortgage application volume jumping 7% last week. While we do expect a near-term slowdown in housing (a primary driver of lumber demand), in our opinion long-term fundamentals remain strong for housing demand," Domain's Scott Reaves told Insider in an email.

☆ Ship sinks between South Korea and Japan; 9 remain unconscious
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

South Korean officials said nine of them remain unconscious, but they did not immediately confirm any deaths. They said the crew members would be airlifted to Japan for treatment. AFP - Getty ImagesAccording to South Korean and Japanese officials, 14 crew members are Chinese and eight are from Myanmar. South Korean officials didn’t immediately say whether the nine who were unconscious were likely to survive their injuries if they weren’t already dead. The Japanese coast guard said the water in the area remained rough and its temperature was around 14 degrees Celsius.

☆ Thirteen crew rescued after ship sinks off Japan, search on for 9 missing
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The vessel, the 6,651-tonne Hong Kong-registered "Jintian", issued a distress call late on Tuesday, the Japan Coast Guard said. A Coast Guard spokesperson said winds were strong at the time the distress signal was received at around 11:15 p.m. on Tuesday. The Coast Guard "is also seeking cooperation from the Self-Defense Forces, South Korean Coast Guard, and vessels sailing near the waters," Matsuno said at a regular news conference. He said the five crew members who were rescued were all Chinese but had no further information on their condition. A Japan Coast Guard spokesperson told Reuters the Japan Air Self-Defense Force and the Korea Coast Guard rescued another eight members of the crew.

☆ Female TikTok users say they're deleting their dating apps and heading to Home Depot
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Ben Tobin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Some TikTok users say they have searched for their future husbands at Home Depot. Of the many women on TikTok who say they're "deleting the dating apps in 2023," some say they're looking for love in a surprise location. "Ladies, no joke, Home Depot is where you go if you want to meet a man," TikTok user meganlouise217 said in a video in March 2021. Tiktok user itscybersav said in an October 2021 video she was at Home Depot for the third time this month. TikTok user joleene_d asked a Home Depot employee in a March 2022 video: "Do you have an aisle specifically where single men are?"

☆ Joseph A. Hardy III Built the No-Frills 84 Lumber Chain
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( James R. Hagerty | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Joseph A. Hardy III once purchased a British royal title, lord of the manor of Henley-in-Arden, and began holding mock royal receptions at his resort. Joseph A. Hardy III , the founder of 84 Lumber Co., tried to keep the business simple by selling building supplies to contractors and remodelers in no-frills outlets scattered across the U.S.His personal life was more complicated.

☆ These three giant historic mansions were all on the market at the same time in Detroit
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-15 | by ( Konstantina Buhalis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The Book, Kresge, and Whitney mansions were on the market until the Book finally sold. The Book, Kresge, and Whitney mansions were on the market for months, with the Book finally selling at the end of 2022. The Book Mansion, sold for $1.2 millionJames Burgess Book Jr. developed the Book Mansion, part of the historic Indian Village neighborhood, in 1911. James Burgess Book Jr. developed the Book Mansion, part of the Indian Village neighborhood, in 1911. The Kresge Mansion has staff quarters and a carriage house with living quarters upstairs.

In that light, the Fed's interest rate hiking cycle is close to an end. That is still well above the Fed's target, but the speed and direction of travel since June's four-decade high of 9.1% is clear. U.S. breakeven inflation rates - the gap between yields on inflation-protected Treasuries and regular notes - reflect this. The two-year breakeven inflation rate this week fell as low as 2.02%, the lowest since December 2020. This will drive down the average inflation rate, whatever the time horizon.

☆ Bank of America upgrades Toll Brothers, cites favorable setup for homebuilder stocks as rates decline
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Samantha Subin | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Bank of America is getting more bullish on shares of Toll Brothers as mortgage rates decline from their peak. Analyst Rafe Jadrosich upgraded he homebuilding stock to buy from neutral, saying that the valuation looks compelling on a price-to-book basis. Toll Brothers' long build cycle also means it has yet to see the full impact of price hikes. Toll Brothers also bought about three-fourths of the land it owns before the pandemic, which should offer a "long runway for health margins," he added. He also upgraded shares of Pultegroup to a buy from a neutral rating, saying that its valuation looks attractive and he sees limited write-down risk.

☆ Stocks making the biggest moves premarket: CarMax, Salesforce, Coinbase and more
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Tanaya Macheel | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

CarMax fell 53% in 2022 but has risen 18% since its disappointing quarterly results in December. Coinbase shares dropped 86% in 2022 as macro conditions and scandal dragged down the crypto market. Tesla — Tesla shares rose 2% after the EV maker registered with the state of Texas to expand its electric vehicle factory in Austin this year. Levi Strauss & Co — Shares of the clothing company slipped 2.2% after Citi downgraded the stock to neutral from buy. Shares were higher by less than 1% premarket.

☆ Biden plans first Canada visit in March
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Jan 10 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden will be in Canada in March in his first visit to one of the United State's top trading partners since taking office almost two years ago. Biden told Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau about his travel plans in a bilateral meeting at the North American leaders' summit in Mexico City on Tuesday, according to statements from the White House and Trudeau's office. The United States is by far Canada's biggest trade partner, recording over C$1 trillion ($745.1 billion) in bilateral trade in goods and services in 2021. Canada does have some issues with Biden, who canceled a key oil pipeline from Canada to the United States on his first day in office. Washington and Ottawa also have clashed over rules governing lumber, dairy and autos under the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement trade pact.

☆ CFOs Ponder Their Pricing Power as the Economy Cools
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Jennifer Williams-Alvarez | Dean Seal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +7 min

After a year of significant price increases, companies are trying to figure out how far they can go in 2023. However, pricing experts said, consumers and businesses will likely pull back on discretionary spending and will be less tolerant of price increases as they become mindful of their budgets. The Katy, Texas-based retailer takes an item-by-item approach to price increases. Customers haven’t balked at higher price tags, Ms. Huber said in late October. Still, the company said the aggressive price hikes in 2022 haven’t yet had a significant impact on consumers’ behavior.

Ram 1500 Revolution BEV electric concept pickup truck Stellantis"This is a vision, or a glimpse, into the future of Ram Trucks," Ram CEO Mike Koval Jr. told CNBC. The electric Ram truck is expected to enter an increasingly crowded segment of electric pickups that already includes the GMC Hummer EV, Ford F-150 Lightning, Lordstown Endurance and smaller Rivian R1T. Ram 1500 Revolution BEV electric concept pickup truck StellantisKoval said Ram isn't worried about being late to the segment. Ram 1500 Revolution BEV electric concept pickup truck StellantisThe design of the concept electric Ram pickup appears to be more of a lifestyle pickup rather than a traditional work truck, but executives said the production vehicle will serve both purposes. "The TRX (a performance version of the Ram 1500) has that in spades," Gilles told CNBC.

☆ Magnitude 5.4 earthquake strikes northern California
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Jan 1 (Reuters) - A 5.4-magnitude earthquake struck 15 km (9.3 miles) southeast of California's Rio Dell region, an area still recovering from a powerful earthquake last month. The latest earthquake was at a depth of 27.8 km, the U.S. Geological Survey said on Sunday. The California Department of Transportation said in a Twitter post that State Route 211 at Fernbridge was closed while it conducted safety inspections on the bridge following the tremor. That same region of California, located in Humboldt County, was jolted by a magnitude 6.4 earthquake on Dec. 20, which crumpled homes and roads, ruptured utility lines and left thousands of residents without running water and electricity. In the previous quake, at least a dozen people were injured, and two others died from medical emergencies that occurred during or just after the quake, according to the Humboldt County Sheriff's Office.

☆ Happy Fed Year: What’s on deck for the central bank in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( Alicia Wallace | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Minneapolis CNN —America’s central bank found itself in a glaring spotlight for much of this past year, as Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell wielded blunt tools of interest rate hikes and quantitative tightening to curb surging inflation. That means the Fed, with its “laser focus on the job market,” could be “continually hawkish” at the start of 2023, said Ross Mayfield, investment strategy analyst at Baird. “This latent strength in the job market could be the reason that the Fed over-tightens,” he told CNN. Jerome Powell, chairman of the US Federal Reserve, from right, Lael Brainard, vice chair of the board of governors for the Federal Reserve System, and John Williams, president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, during a break at the Jackson Hole economic symposium in Moran, Wyoming, on Aug. 26, 2022. That’s 0.2 percentage points higher than the 4.4% rate they were expecting in September and significantly higher than the current 3.7% rate.

☆ Rising Interest Rates Imperil Remodeling Mania
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( Ryan Dezember | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Higher interest rates have slowed home sales. Now, rising borrowing costs threaten to put the brakes on the renovation boom. Spending on home remodeling and renovation by stuck-at-home Americans helped the economy surge out of lockdown in 2020. Demand overwhelmed makers of paint, wood panels and PVC pipe, leading to shortages. Lumber prices shot to more than twice the old record.

☆ Rising rates are weighing on the housing market - and macro headwinds could keep the sector depressed in 2023.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Don't shoot the messenger here, but today I'm breaking down the many troubles plaguing the housing market and homebuyers. The Fed's interest rate maneuvering and the housing market are connected, and mortgage rates often move in lockstep with the central bank's benchmark rate. Brian Jacobsen, a senior strategist for Allspring Global Investments, pointed to a triumvirate of headwinds weighing on the housing sector: labor shortages, rising costs, and soaring mortgages. That means more rate hikes are effectively guaranteed, which raises the odds of a recession and can further squash housing demand. What's your forecast for the housing market next year?

☆ Crews work to restore running water, power to quake-rattled northern California
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Steve Gorman | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/5] CalTrans workers assess damage to a bridge after a strong 6.4-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of northern California, in Rio Dell, California, U.S. December 20, 2022. Property inspections also continued a day after the quake, with at least 30 homes and a grocery store declared structurally unsafe from quake damage, officials said. Most of the damage occurred in the hard-hit town of Rio Dell, whose 3,400 residents remained without running water on Wednesday, the county sheriff's office reported. The cities of Eureka and Rio Dell have done likewise. On Tuesday night, California Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency for Humboldt County to support emergency response efforts there.

☆ Investors won't see big returns on stocks 2023 if a Santa rally doesn't happen before the new year.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The S&P 500 is down about 19% on the year, and those losses could spill over into the new year if stocks don't see the usual holiday rally. But if the S&P 500 misses that final rally, that bodes poorly for rebound odds in 2023. The lack of a holiday rally so far suggests that more rocky markets await when the calendars change. Recall that while the S&P 500 tumbled 37% in 2008, it rebounded 26% in 2009. What's your stock market outlook for 2023?

☆ The collapse of FTX has left many crypto investors without access to their cash. Meet one student who got $14,000 stuck on Sam Bankman-Fried's exchange.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

In light of the hubbub surrounding FTX and Sam Bankman-Fried, this morning I'm thinking about a quote by novelist G. Michael Hopf:"Hard times create strong men, strong men create good times, good times create weak men, and weak men create hard times." And that's the sense I got from speaking to one 26-year-old investor who lost a sizable chunk of his portfolio in FTX. I just caught up with FTX user Daniil Pemberton, who lost access to roughly $14,000 in funds when the crypto exchange imploded last month. Now, FTX users like Pemberton have been left with a hole in their pockets and faltering faith in the digital asset sector. Do you have a story to share about losing access to funds in FTX, or on how you're changing your investment strategy?

☆ Costco CEO's cautious consumer outlook justifies our near-term view on the stock
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Kevin Stankiewicz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Craig Jelinek, chief executive officer of Club holding Costco (COST), said Monday he sees a more-vigilant consumer this holiday shopping season and potentially beyond. Consumer behavior Jelinek highlighted a number of stronger areas for Costco, including its Kirkland-branded products across a number of categories. "Our food [and] sundry business, our fresh business, our travel business, continues to be strong," Jelinek added. Looking ahead to next year, Jelinek said Costco is taking stock of the economic uncertainty and factoring that into its merchandising plans. As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade.

Uniper (UN01.DE) has already booked billions of euros of losses on derivatives, exacerbating a crisis as it rushed to plug the gap left after Russia turned off the taps. Like other energy firms, Uniper uses derivatives, such as securing an option to sell gas at a set price in the future, to guard against energy price swings. "In total, we have derivative positions of about 216 billion euros as of September 30 2022," a spokesperson for Uniper said, adding that the riskier part of this was small. According to its accounts, Uniper held around 198 billion euros of receivables from derivative instruments as assets. It is also more than the 131 billion euros Germany's RWE (RWEG.DE) had at the end of June, public data shows.

☆ Decade ahead will be great for investing but we'll need to wait 12 months first, CIO says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Hannah Ward-Glenton | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Bill Smead looks ahead to the best stock picks in 2023 and beyond. Investors will need to wait out the next year to reap the financial rewards of the next decade, according to Bill Smead, chief investment officer at Smead Capital Management. Smead said capital and labor-intensive businesses were winners as the value of their income streams for the next decade "is way more viable than those stocks are representing." Smead Capital Management has oil and gas, land and Canadian lumber producers under its belt, which should all be bolstered thanks to the current property market in the U.S., Smead said. "We know that we've got to build a lot of houses in the next 10 years," he said.

[1/2] The Wall Street entrance to the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is seen in New York City, U.S., November 15, 2022. U.S. stocks edged higher in early trading, indicating a cautious start on Wall Street. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) rose 0.55%, the S&P 500 (.SPX) gained 0.27%, and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) added 0.07%. The U.S. consumer price index for November is due on Tuesday, when a slowdown in core annual inflation is anticipated. Two-year yields, which typically move in step with interest rate expectations, rose just 1.4 basis points to 4.342%.

Just because rural areas are less populated doesn’t mean it’s cheaper to provide health services there. She recommends that rural counties explore lower-cost, evidence-based options like distributing naloxone, funding syringe service programs, or connecting people to housing or employment. “We couldn’t function if we didn’t partner for lots of different services.”In Colorado, pooling funds is built into the state’s model for managing opioid settlement money. “Nobody has paid any attention to our rural areas and this problem for years,” Laske said. They cross-referenced the results with a list of allowable uses for the $9 million in settlement funds they’ll receive over 18 years to create a priority grid.

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