Led by the NASDAQ, equities rose on the hopes that the UU and China are nearing a trade deal. Cypto, gold and bonds all fell.
It is also almost a certainty that the Fed will lower rates by 0.25% on Tuesday. It is the forward looking statements that will be of great interest.
Also five of the largest companies post results this week. Have the massive investments in AI begun to bear fruit?
Perhaps of more significance and a great learning experience for our kids, Friday is Halloween. An industry peer wrote this yesterday.
Halloween closes the week. To me always a fun holiday and for those with kids that still participate, this is an excellent time to teach a lesson on taxes. They go out and do all the work collecting candy and then the long arm of their government aka the parents sticks their hand in the sack to take what is ours…
While some are adamantly stating that next week’s election may be a barometer for next year’s midterms, if the expected results occur (Democratic wins in NJ and VA which are both blue states), there is little to be gained. However, if the Republicans win in either or both states or there is lopsided Democratic victory, then the election is perhaps of significance.
And then there is NYC. Politico has written extensively about the impact of white, married, college educated and mostly unworking women aged 35-50 and how this demographic group has influenced the outcome NYC’s primary and current polling.
Living in VA, I am tired of the disingenuous ads from both candidates. What happened to truth? Oh yea that’s right, the first virtue lost in both war and politics and war is truth. Social media is a massive echo chamber where one’s preconceived views can be readily validated a gazillion times.
Last night the foreign markets were down. London was up 0.05%, Paris down 0.10% and Frankfurt down 0.09%. China was down 0.22%, Japan down 0.58% and Hang Seng down 0.33%.
Futures are flat ahead of the upcoming mega cap tech earnings and FOMC meeting. UPS exceeded expectations and announced that they will cut 34,000 jobs. AMZN is planning to cut 30,000 jobs. The two companies combine employee about 1.75 million workers thus suggesting about a 3.6% reduction in the combined work force.
The US government employees about 2.95 million workers and the workforce and according to the BLS the workforce is down about 27,000 or less than 1% from its apex in January 2025.
Will there be protests that AMZN and UPS are reducing headcounts similar to the protests and vitriol about attempting to make government more efficient?
Many market luminaries including the Federal Reserve and money center bank chieftains have stated the US is on the path to a fiscal crisis if spending is not reduced. It is not a question as to if but as to rather as to when if reforms are not enacted. It is not a revenue issue. It is a spending issue,
The 10-year is up 1/32 to yield 3.99%.
