Author: starbpo

Following President-elect Trump’s choice of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, stocks of companies that make or are creating the new class of drugs for diabetes and weight loss fell sharply on Friday. Kennedy is against GLP-1 drugs because he thinks they are not the best way to deal with the fat problem. He has said that instead of drugs, which cost thousands of dollars, the government should encourage people to eat well. This would cost a lot less. Novo Nordisk B.V. (NVO) and Eli Lilly & Co. Inc. (LLY -3.68%). NOVO.B -5.36%,…

The amounts: In October, store sales went up a lot, which showed that the economy is still going strong as we head into the holiday shopping season. The government said Friday that sales went up 0.4% last month and that September receipts were twice as high as they had been thought. About one-third of all customer spending goes to stores, so they can tell you a lot about how strong the economy is. According to a study by the Wall Street Journal, economists thought the rate would go up by 0.3% last month. Important facts: In October, sales of new…

The U.S. Commerce Department said Friday that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. will receive up to $6.6 billion in CHIPS Act funds. This company is an important part of modern chipmaking. Besides the direct funds, Taiwan Semi will also be able to get loans of up to $5 billion. The award will help the company with its plans to spend more than $65 billion in three new, cutting-edge factories in Phoenix, Arizona. The money will be given out based on the completion of project milestones. Taiwan Semi stock TSM -1.22% went up a little in premarket trade. This year, the company…

Vaccine makers’ stocks went down on Thursday after it was announced that President-elect Donald Trump would be putting Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in charge of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Kennedy Jr. is against vaccines and was a candidate for president in 2016. BioNTech (BNTX -2.96%) and Novavax (NVAX -2.98%) both lost 7% of their value at the close of business, while Moderna (MRNA -9.33%) lost 6%. Pfizer PFE -4.55% fell 3% and Vaxcyte PCVX -5.69% fell 4%. A Politico story around 3:30 p.m. Eastern time said Trump was about to announce his choice of RFK Jr.,…

Donald Trump, the next president, has announced his picks for a number of important government jobs, but he has not yet announced his choice for Treasury secretary. He seems to be choosing between Howard Lutnick, CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald, and Scott Bessent, head of a hedge fund. Other names are still being considered for the job, though. As the country’s chief financial officer and the president’s major economic advisor, the head of the Treasury Department is a very important job. It was Lutnick’s job as co-chair of Trump’s transition team in 2024 to hire people, but now he wants to…

Shares of Rivian Automotive Inc. fell 12% on Thursday, the worst day for the company in months, as more people worried that the Trump administration is planning to get rid of EV tax credits. Tesla Inc. shares TSLA -5.82% also went down, but not as much as other stocks because Tesla is thought to be less dependent on the $7,500 tax credits than its rivals. It is also thought to benefit from the new administration in other ways, since CEO Elon Musk is a well-known Trump adviser. It was the worst day for Rivian shares RIVN -14.32% since February 22,…

Investors always hope that businesses will show higher profits than expected and surprise experts. These “earnings beats” can lead to changes in how much money the company is expected to make in the next few quarters. This can help stock prices rise over time. But sales growth can also push up stock prices. And there are many companies in the S&P 500 SPX -0.67% that are outliers and have sales growth rates that are projected to be much higher than the index as a whole through 2026. We expect the S&P 500 to have a 5.7% compound annual growth rate…

People in the US who want to save money on taxes in retirement may have more time to plan their approach now that the election results are clear. With Donald Trump as president-elect and Republicans controlling the Senate and the House of Representatives, it is more likely than not that income taxes will stay the same or go up in 2026, when the Trump tax cuts from 2017 end. That’s a big change for people who are putting money into a Roth IRA or saving for retirement. People move money from regular IRAs to Roth IRAs, but they have to…

In October, U.S. market prices went up a bit faster than in September. This suggests that the Federal Reserve may have to keep working hard to bring inflation down to levels that were low before the pandemic. Top Federal Reserve officials say that the new “bump” in inflation could make it harder for the central bank to cut U.S. interest rates as quickly as Wall Street had hoped a few months ago. The government said Thursday that the producer price index went up 0.2% last month. Also, wholesale prices went up a little faster in September than was thought before.…

What will the GOP’s tax plan for next year offer? That’s a very important question now that the party controls the White House and the Senate and has been called the winner in the House of Representatives race by some news sites but not by the Associated Press yet. Republicans led by President-elect Donald Trump are likely to act quickly in the new year to deal with the end of the tax cuts they negotiated in 2017 and to address other tax policy issues. An Inflation Reduction Act measure that can give up to $7,500 to people who buy electric…