Author: starbpo

Although the U.S. economy isn’t officially in a recession, a careful examination of regional economies suggests that the country may be on the verge of one as we approach Memorial Day weekend. According to the Federal Reserve’s most recent analysis of the country’s economy, growth in three of the bank’s twelve districts was unchanged in April, while growth in four of them was falling. It was slow, and only five reported growth. In the meantime, key regional industries were struggling along with little impetus, according to economists, local business leaders, and other experts from across the nation. They claim that…

The closing direction of the stock market was misreported in an earlier version of this story. When it comes to indicating how investors are being shaken by the U.S. fiscal picture, the 30-year Treasury yield has recently garnered the most attention. Another, less discussed aspect that affects attitude is coming from abroad. It is the turbulent recent increase in bond yields in Japan. Japan’s 30-year yield, BX:TMBMKJP-30Y, reached its highest level in about 25 years of record-keeping on Thursday, at about 3.17%, following a lackluster 20-year bond auction a few days earlier. Additionally, its 40-year yield, BX:TMBMKJP-40Y, surged to 3.67%,…

One day after a lackluster 20-year Treasury auction caused bond rates to spike and new concerns about investor appetite for U.S. debt to surface, the selloff in U.S. government bonds persisted Thursday. House Republicans’ massive tax and spending measure, which threatens to reduce food aid, Medicare, and other safety-net programs while increasing the national debt, prompted the renewed selling. Following the release of the 20-year auction results, Wall Street’s “fear gauge,” the Cboe Volatility Index VIX, surged on Wednesday. While the main stock indexes saw their largest one-day decline since April 21, longer-duration bond yields also spiked, with the 30-year…

President Donald Trump’s threats of fresh tariffs against Apple and the European Union brought trade tensions back into the spotlight ahead of a long holiday weekend, just when investors thought they might relax from the tariff jitters. As they navigate a volatile macroeconomic environment with worries about rising U.S. government debt, high yields for long-dated Treasurys, and a spike in Japan’s bond yields that could lead to further outflow from U.S. assets, stock market investors are reminded that tariffs will probably continue to play a role this summer. James Knightley, chief international economist at ING, wrote in a note on…

Addiction to gambling is discouraged by Catholicism. However, traders on Kalshi continued to place bets totaling more than $10 million on the response to the question, “Who will the next pope be?” The U.S. presidential election, interest rates, egg prices, and more may all be gambled on by traders using Kalshi and other prediction-market systems like Polymarket and ForecastEx by Interactive Brokers (IBKR). Critics may be ignoring something significant, even while it’s simple to laugh at some of the more bizarre prediction markets, such as “Will Luigi Mangione plead guilty to murder?” Despite being relatively new, these markets have grown…

In the past, a sell-off in bonds was usually interpreted as a positive indication for equities. It indicated that merchants were placing bets on a more robust economy. Not this time, though. Investors were caught off guard by a selloff in global government bonds, even though none of the problems they seemed to be objecting to are new. Moody’s decision earlier this month to deprive the U.S. of its top-tier credit rating seemed to initiate the selloff, even though nations like the U.S. and Japan have had significant debt loads for decades. See: Growing U.S. bond yields frighten investors. Japan…

Bitcoin and stocks, particularly tech stocks, have been moving in lockstep for years. But just because bitcoin surged to a new high this week doesn’t indicate stocks will do the same. Although stocks and cryptocurrency have long been seen as dangerous investments, there have been significant price fluctuations in 2025. Although analysts felt it was too soon to call for a decoupling, Bitcoin (BTCUSD) proved more resilient than stocks during the market turmoil earlier this year caused by concerns over President Donald Trump’s tariff policy. Read: Amid tariff unrest, bitcoin beats markets and the dollar, making it “too early” to…

President Donald Trump of the United States threatened to impose new tariffs on the European Union and smartphone manufacturers on Friday, claiming that the trade discussions are “going nowhere” and that the EU would be subject to a 50% charge on June 1. Trump stated that Apple Inc. (AAPL) will be subject to an import tax of “at least 25%” on any iPhones that are not manufactured in the United States. Subsequently, he stated that his trade action would be directed on Samsung Electronics Co. (KR:005930) “and anybody that makes that product,” with an estimated date of late June. According…

Despite worries about whether there would be much of an immediate impact, shares of companies involved in nuclear power surged Friday thanks to President Donald Trump’s announcement of four executive actions intended to bolster the industry. According to White House adviser Will Scharf, one order tries to overhaul the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, while another seeks to expedite the adoption of specialized nuclear reactors at defense installations. According to Scharf, a third order aims to update nuclear reactor testing laws, while a fourth order aims to revitalize the nuclear industry. It’s “very hard to see how the U.S. will shift to…

The numbers: The government said Friday that U.S. new home sales increased 10.9% to a seasonally-adjusted annual pace of 743,000 in April from a revised 670,000 in March. Sales haven’t been this high since February 2022. As mortgage rates increased in April, Wall Street Journal economists predicted a drop in new house sales. The data are frequently drastically changed. Important information: The median price of new homes sold in April was $407,200, which was higher than the previous month’s sales price of $403,700. Between March and April, the number of new homes available for purchase decreased by 0.6%, resulting in…