Author: starbpo

Another day, another goal reduced for the S&P 500. Ed Yardeni, the president and chief investment strategist of Yardeni Research, was one of the leading bulls on Wall Street, thus his downgrade is noteworthy for several reasons. (As of pixel time, Oppenheimer has the highest projection, aiming for 7,100 for the S&P 500, which would now need to rise 27% over nine months to reach.) The way he contrasted his opinion with Goldman Sachs’, which this week reduced its S&P 500 goal from 6,500 to 6,200, is also distinctive. “We hold Goldman Sachs’ strategists and economists in high regard. That’s…

The liquor business in the United regions has been hoping to avoid retaliatory tariffs on its products, but it appears like they will be impacted, especially in Southern regions. In reaction to President Donald Trump’s new 25% tax on imported steel and aluminum that took effect on Wednesday, the European Union is preparing to impose further duties on a variety of U.S. products next month. Beginning on April 1, the European Union is expected to impose a 50% tariff on American whiskey as part of its countermeasures. A 99-page list of American commodities that will be subject to increased E.U.…

Experts warn that despite promises that the Department of Education will “continue to deliver” on programs for which it is legally accountable, such as student loans, the Trump administration’s newest move to dismantle the department is likely to cause major problems for borrowers. Nearly half of the agency’s employees were let go on Tuesday. The action is a part of a larger initiative to abolish the Education Department entirely, as stated by President Donald Trump and Education Secretary Linda McMahon. Federal student loan borrowers are arguably the Americans who contact with the Education Department the most directly, despite the fact…

One analyst thinks Nvidia Corp. investors should focus on profit margins rather than Wall Street’s fears about lesser AI infrastructure spending. In a client note, BofA analyst Vivek Arya called attention to Nvidia’s (NVDA) gross profit margins and their recovery as a crucial to a stock resurgence. “Nvidia’s stock peaked last year (June) right around the time gross margins peaked around 79% in the Hopper product cycle,” he said. “In hindsight 79% was an abnormally high number,” but mid-70% gross margins may be “closer to trend.” The shift to Nvidia’s new Blackwell product line lowered its gross margin to 73%…

In reaction to President Donald Trump’s new import taxes on steel and aluminum that took effect on Wednesday, the European Union is preparing to impose fresh duties on a variety of U.S. products next month. According to EU officials, the breadth of their responses might be equivalent to the U.S. taxes on imported metal products, affecting approximately $28 billion worth of American goods. By announcing that its 2018 and 2020 countermeasures will resume on April 1 instead of remaining halted, the 27-nation trade bloc is partially reverting to the approach it took in response to the initial Trump administration’s tariffs.…

President Donald Trump’s tariffs have soured confidence in the U.S. stock market, and the S&P 500 is trying to recover from a significant decline that put it in danger of going into correction territory. According to Andrew Slimmon, a senior portfolio manager for U.S. equities at Morgan Stanley Investment Management, stock market investors appear to be “listening to the very dark side of tariffs,” during a phone interview. “I’m just not as convinced that it’s going to be as inflationary or it’s going to kill the economy.” FactSet data shows that following a volatile trading session, the S&P 500 SPX…

President Donald Trump’s tariffs have caused uncertainty, which has negatively impacted U.S. markets. The potential impact of these tariffs on consumers and the economy is already depressing the mood on Wall Street. In light of this, investors are eager to learn more about whether recent concerns about stagflation—a poisonous combination of high inflation and a faltering economy—seem warranted. This brings Wednesday’s consumer-price index report into sharper focus. According to a Wall Street Journal poll of economists, headline inflation will increase by 0.3% in February. As a result, the 12-month headline CPI rate would drop from 3.0% to 2.9%. Additionally, core…

On another day of turbulence for U.S. markets, President Donald Trump backed off a 50% duty on Canadian steel and aluminum imports on Tuesday, escalating a threat against a significant trading partner. In response to additional trade restrictions imposed by the province of Ontario this week, Trump announced on Truth Social that he will boost the tariff from 25% to 50%, intensifying his trade war in the morning. However, a deal later in the day between Trump’s commerce secretary Howard Lutnick and Ontario Premier Doug Ford resulted in the province suspending its 25% electricity tax to three U.S. states. Then…

One of Elon Musk’s staunchest supporters says it’s time for some “tough love” and is growing impatient with the multibillionaire businessman. One of Tesla’s most vocal and long-standing bulls, Wedbush tech analyst Dan Ives, broke with his customary upbeat outlook on Tuesday and wrote an extremely pessimistic letter to Tesla investors. Ives cautioned that investor patience is “wearing very thin” in the wake of Musk’s political escapade and the ensuing reaction it has caused to the brand, even if he kept his “outperform” rating on the stock. According to Ives, Musk is “showing no attention to Tesla during this turbulent…

Even before President Trump’s tariffs took effect, Wall Street was already concerned about a possible increase in inflation; investors don’t want to see another dismal price reading. Inflation is unlikely to seem any worse, but the February consumer-price index report, which is scheduled to be released on Wednesday morning, surely won’t provide much consolation. It is predicted that both the total CPI and the so-called core index, which excludes food and energy, will increase by an undesirable 0.3%. Price increases typically range from 0.1% to 0.2% per month when inflation is modest and steady. In the meantime, the annual rate…