Author: businessinvestopedia.com

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq continued their record gains this week following weaker-than-expected Consumer Price Index data on Wednesday morning. The Fed’s rate cut is likely to be positive for the stock market as a whole, but some stocks in the CNBC Investing Club portfolio, from housing stocks to autos to biotech, could really rise. Let’s connect the dots here. The Consumer Price Index for May was released just hours before the opening bell on Wall Street and before the Fed concluded its two-day policy meeting in June. The unchanged CPI readings for the month continued for several months, indicating…

Inside the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema theater.Alamo DrafthouseSony Pictures The company announced Wednesday that it has acquired Alamo Drafthouse, North America’s seventh-largest movie theater chain.This marks the first time a movie studio has acquired a theater chain since the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division in 2020 repealed laws banning certain film distributors from owning exhibition companies.The Paramount Consent Decree, enacted in 1948, forced major movie studios to sell off their cinemas. It was a landmark antitrust decision for the film industry and remained in effect for over 70 years.However, the order only affected a handful of studios: Warner Bros., 20th Century Fox,…

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq closed at record highs for the third straight trading day on Wednesday, while Treasury yields pared losses from the previous day as investors weighed a market-pleasing inflation report against dwindling expectations of interest-rate cuts. The dollar weakened slightly after the US Federal Reserve (Fed) ended its two-day policy meeting by keeping interest rates unchanged and releasing its accompanying Statement of Policy and Summary of Economic Outlook (SEP). The S&P 500 and Nasdaq ended with big gains, while the blue-chip Dow fell slightly toward the close.The more hawkish SEP appears to be at odds with the…

Dive Overview: Customers of banks affiliated with bankrupt fintech intermediary Synapse owe $85 million more than they have in their accounts with those banks, Synapse’s trustee said in a filing last week in the US Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California.. The report was released the day before a hearing in which Trustee Jelena McWilliams, a former chairwoman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., proposed several options to a judge that could allow some customers to regain access to funds that have been frozen for about a month.. But during the hearing, Judge Martin Barash said it was…

According to Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA, investors who want to profit during a potential “summer slumber” should take refuge in the typically defensive areas of the market. In a recent client note, Stovall wrote that since 1945, the S&P 500 has only risen 1.6% on average between the Memorial Day and Labor Day holidays, despite prices rising in two of the three years. According to Stovall, the historical average return for June is just 0.1%, while July typically sees a 1.2% gain. “So instead of experiencing the summer blues throughout the entire three-month period, you’re more likely…

A view of the water tank at Paramount Studios as SAG-AFTRA members walk the picket line outside during a strike on September 26, 2023 in Los Angeles, California, USA. Mario Anzoni | ReutersNational Amusements is Paramount Global And its acquisition of Skydance this week has raised questions about the long-established media giant’s future at a time of industry turmoil.Paramount, like many other companies, is exploring how to make streaming a profitable business in the face of increasing competition, a steep decline in cable TV subscribers and a sluggish advertising market that has particularly weighed heavily on streaming services.Now it’s up…

A look at companies making waves in midday trading: Oracle — The software maker’s shares surged more than 13% to an all-time high after the database management company announced cloud deals with Google and OpenAI. Oracle said in November it would move its databases to Google’s cloud. The company is also teaming up with Microsoft and OpenAI to provide supplemental computing power. Investors didn’t mind Oracle’s disappointing fourth-quarter results, which fell short of Wall Street’s expectations. Apple — The iPhone maker rose nearly 3%, briefly surpassing Microsoft in market cap. This follows a 7.3% surge on Tuesday after Apple unveiled…

The Federal Reserve said it would keep interest rates steady on Wednesday, the same day the latest inflation data was released showing consumer prices still above the central bank’s target but easing gradually.The federal funds rate, the Federal Reserve’s policy interest rate, has remained in the range of 5.25% to 5.50% since July of last year.The central bank now expects one rate cut in 2024, down from its forecast of three cuts in March.High borrowing costs will put an even bigger strain on consumers already strained by the rising cost of living.”It’s not enough that inflation has gone down,” said…

Amid all the challenges for consumers, Goldman Sachs still has some stocks it sees as wise choices. Analyst Kate McShane said continued wage growth should help boost disposable income. The key question is how much of that translates into increased discretionary spending and savings, especially among lower-income Americans. That’s important to watch amid signs of consumer weakness, she said, citing rising credit card delinquencies, lower savings levels and weaker consumer confidence as reasons for caution. The latest indicator of how shoppers are doing was the Consumer Price Index for May, released Wednesday morning. The inflation measure rose 3.3% on an…

The Labor Department said Wednesday that the consumer price index did not rise in May, as inflation slightly weakened its powerful grip on the U.S. economy.The CPI, a broad inflation measure that measures the cost of a variety of goods and services across the U.S. economy, was flat from the previous month but up 3.3% from a year ago, according to the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had expected a monthly increase of 0.1% and an annualized rate of 3.4%. April’s monthly increase was 0.3% and the annual rate was 3.3%.Core CPI, which excludes volatile…