It’s Jerome Powell time — and one Wall Street bank warns the S&P 500 could fall another 20%. Goldman Sachs says the bull market will continue.

Posted by & filed under Economic Analysis, Governments & Regulators, Growth & Valuation, Market Analysis, Personal Finance.

Description: Markets have reeled since the Federal Reserve announced, through the release of the December minutes, that the central bank would like to take a big whack at its $9 trillion balance sheet rather than keep it at that lofty level. In just the last month, the S&P 500 SPX,  has dropped 9%, while the ARK Innovation… Read more »

Wood, Buffett Post Similar 2-Year Gain With Divergent Strategies

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Description: (Bloomberg) — The investment approaches of Cathie Wood and Warren Buffett couldn’t be more different. But over the past two years, their investors have ended up with almost exactly the same results. Source: Yahoo.Finance.com/Bloomberg.com Date: Jan 25, 2022 Link: https://news.yahoo.com/wood-buffett-post-similar-2-112314999.html Questions for discussion: What is being suggested by this comparison? What influence, if any,… Read more »

Microsoft shares up on strong cloud guidance

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Description: Microsoft shares were up about 4% Wednesday, a day after the company provided strong guidance for the next quarter in its latest earnings report. Source: CNBC.com Date: Jan 26, 2022 Link: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/01/26/microsoft-stock-up-on-strong-cloud-guidance.html Questions for discussion: Summarize the story on Microsoft. Why did Microsoft stock behave as it did, in your opinion? Would you be a buyer today?

Canada’s housing market is betting interest rates will never rise

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Description: The low interest rate loans that are helping propel one of the world’s frothiest property markets could also be what make it burst. Source: BNNBloomberg.ca – video report Date: Jan 26, 2022 Link: https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/canada-s-housing-market-is-betting-interest-rates-will-never-rise-1.1712555 Questions for discussion: Summarize what the report says about interest rates and the housing industry? What does this suggest to… Read more »

SPOS #811 – Ruth Gotian On Peak Business Performance

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Description: Here it is: Six Pixels of Separation – Episode #811 – Host: Mitch Joel. Dr. Ruth Gotian is the Chief Learning Officer and Assistant Professor of Education in Anesthesiology and former Assistant Dean of Mentoring and Executive Director of the Mentoring Academy at Weill Cornell Medicine. She has been hailed by the journal Nature and Columbia University as an expert in mentoring… Read more »

Activist investor Blackwells calls on Peloton to fire CEO, explore sale

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Description: An activist is pushing Peloton to fire its chief executive officer immediately and consider a sale as its share price has plummeted. Source: CNBC.com – video report Date: Jan 23, 2022 Link: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/01/24/activist-investor-to-call-on-peloton-to-fire-ceo-explore-sale-report.html?recirc=taboolainternal Questions for discussion: Was this a failure of management? Leadership? What would you advise the firm do now?

Here’s one reason the stock market is selling off in the final hour of trade: ‘We’ve shifted from buy the dip to sell the rally,’ says analyst

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Description: The Nasdaq Composite squandered its biggest intraday gain in almost 2 years on Thursday and was seeing declines deepen on Friday Source: MarketWatch.com Date: Jan 21, 2022 Link: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/heres-one-reason-the-stock-market-is-squandering-big-early-leads-weve-shifted-from-buy-the-dip-to-sell-the-rally-says-analyst-11642714042?siteid=yhoof2 Questions for discussion: What are the reasons for the market behavior? According to the report, what are the technical concerns? What do you think about… Read more »

Microsoft will buy Activision Blizzard, betting $70 billion on the future of games.

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Description: SEATTLE — Microsoft plans to buy the powerhouse but troubled video game company Activision Blizzard for nearly $70 billion, its biggest deal ever and one that places a major bet that people will be spending more and more time in the digital world. Source: NYTimes.com Date: Jan 19, 2022 Link: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/18/business/microsoft-activision-blizzard.html? Questions for discussion:… Read more »

Chipmakers are set to be ‘winners’ as the metaverse takes off

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Description: The metaverse, which requires a massive amount of computing power, is set to benefit global chipmakers— but other tech-related industries could also gain from it, analysts say. Source: CNBC.com – video report Date: Jan 18, 2022 Link: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/01/13/analysts-on-metaverse-benefiting-chipmakers-big-tech-crypto.html?recirc=taboolainternal Questions for discussion: Explain why chipmakers are expected to do well? Do some manufacturers present better… Read more »

Debt-strapped Canadians brace for a risky rate-hiking cycle

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Description: The era of historically low interest rates, which inflated Canadians’ wealth and facilitated their spending, is coming to an end. Source: BNNBloomberg.ca – video report Date: Jan 21, 2022 Link: https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/debt-strapped-canadians-brace-for-a-risky-rate-hiking-cycle-1.1711107 Questions for discussion: Summarize what the report says is coming and how investments and spending are likely to be affected. Do you agree with… Read more »