Oil prices climb, eyeing highest settlement since November as U.S. inflation report looms

Oil prices climb, eyeing highest settlement since November as U.S. inflation report looms

Oil futures traded higher early Tuesday, leaving the front-month contract within striking distance of its highest settlement level since November as investors awaited more U.S. inflation data and a European central bank decision on interest rates this week. Price action The front-month October West Texas intermediate contract CL.1, +1.26% CLV23, +1.26% rose 80 cents, or…

Watch this ‘canary in the coal mine’ for signs of trouble in markets, Neuberger Berman CIO says

Watch this ‘canary in the coal mine’ for signs of trouble in markets, Neuberger Berman CIO says

Neuberger Berman, an asset manager with eight decades under its belt, is on the lookout for cracks in credit markets from the Federal Reserve’s rate-hiking campaign. Erik Knutzen, chief investment officer of multi asset, worries that several factors could be a tipping point for the economy, from an economic slowdown in China to U.S. consumers…

Dow heads for third day of gains ahead of coming inflation, retail-sales data

Dow heads for third day of gains ahead of coming inflation, retail-sales data

U.S. stock indexes remained higher in Monday’s final hour of trading, boosted by producers of luxury items and services including Tesla, as investors await inflation and retail sales data later this week to help guide the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate policy. How stock indexes are trading The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA advanced 83 points, or 0.2%…

Instacart sets IPO terms with proposed market cap of nearly $9 billion

Instacart sets IPO terms with proposed market cap of nearly $9 billion

Instacart on Monday said it plans to offer 22 million shares at an estimated price of $26 to $28 per share with lead underwriters Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan in a bid to raise about $594 million in its upcoming initial public offering. The IPO adds the grocery-delivery name to an uptick in activity of late…

Here’s an easy way to make a more concentrated play on the ‘Magnificent Seven’ stocks

Here’s an easy way to make a more concentrated play on the ‘Magnificent Seven’ stocks

Investors in index funds have been well rewarded by a high concentration in the largest technology companies over the past decade. But there are also continuing warnings about the risk of such heavy concentrations, even in index funds that track the S&P 500. Solutions are offered to limit this risk, but if you expect Big…

Hostess’ stock soars toward a record after J.M. Smucker buyout deal valued at $5.6 billion

Hostess’ stock soars toward a record after J.M. Smucker buyout deal valued at $5.6 billion

Shares of Hostess Brands Inc. shot up into record territory Monday after the Twinkies and HoHos maker announced an agreement to be acquired by J.M Smucker Co. in a cash-and-stock deal valued at $5.6 billion. The stock TWNK, +0.86% jumped 17.9% in premarket trading, to put it on track to open well above the current…

The likelihood of a U.S. recession is actually rising, says former Goldman Sachs chief strategist Abby Joseph Cohen

The likelihood of a U.S. recession is actually rising, says former Goldman Sachs chief strategist Abby Joseph Cohen

“‘While I don’t think recession is now the most likely scenario, I think the probability of recession has been rising in recent months.’” — Abby Joseph Cohen Those are the words of Abby Joseph Cohen, former chief U.S. strategist at Goldman Sachs GS, +1.11%, who discussed her forecasts for the U.S. economy over the next…

Just how much is the AI discourse helping stocks? An analyst scoured earnings calls for clues

Just how much is the AI discourse helping stocks? An analyst scoured earnings calls for clues

Talking about AI alone has been pixie dust for big technology stocks this year. And as executives look for any way to shoehorn AI into their business plans, more S&P 500 index companies during their second quarter earnings calls mentioned “AI” than at any point since at least 2010, according to a report published on…

When will consumers stop buying more stuff? It’s a key question for the stock market in the week ahead.

When will consumers stop buying more stuff? It’s a key question for the stock market in the week ahead.

Consumer spending has defied Wall Street expectations all year, both by keeping stocks afloat near record levels and by preventing the U.S. economy from running aground into a recession. That’s why sentiment around stocks in the week ahead could hinge on two related economic data points: the consumer-price index (CPI) for August due on Wednesday…

Why crude-oil rally can’t be ignored by stock-market investors — or the Fed

Why crude-oil rally can’t be ignored by stock-market investors — or the Fed

Central bankers like to focus on core inflation readings, which strip out food and energy prices, but that doesn’t mean that they, or investors, will be able to ignore a renewed surge in crude-oil prices. In a Thursday note, DataTrek Research observed that the correlation between energy prices and the core reading of the consumer-price…

Be careful before acting on rumors about Nvidia or any other stock

Be careful before acting on rumors about Nvidia or any other stock

Let’s begin with a 10-year price chart for Nvidia Corp. NVDA, -1.45% : FactSet Nvidia’s stock has more than tripled this year, closing at $462.41 on Thursday, after rising from $146.14 at the end of 2022. This movement has been driven by a dramatic increase in the company’s revenue as it has little competition for…

You may be a stock-market contrarian — and you don’t even know it

You may be a stock-market contrarian — and you don’t even know it

Retirees and near-retirees probably don’t know it, but target-date funds are turning them into contrarians. Target-date funds (TDFs), of course, are mutual funds whose sponsors believe them to be “buy them and forget them” solutions to investing for retirement. Their equity allocations algorithmically decline as retirement age gets closer, while their bond allocations simultaneously increase….

I’m retiring with $2 million and won’t leave an inheritance. Should I follow the 4% rule?

I’m retiring with $2 million and won’t leave an inheritance. Should I follow the 4% rule?

The various retirement forums on Reddit are so full of people bragging about their money to a bunch of strangers that I’m never sure who to take seriously. But this post caught my eye because it raised so many intriguing questions: “I plan to retire at 65, and should have about $2 million in retirement…

Intel likely ‘domestic winner’ for semiconductor fabs amid U.S.-China trade war

Intel likely ‘domestic winner’ for semiconductor fabs amid U.S.-China trade war

Intel Corp. shares finished lower Friday, snapping their longest winning streak in nearly three years, but at least one analyst wondered why more investors aren’t bullish on the stock given the chance a trade war between the U.S. and China could disrupt semiconductor “fab” operations in Asia, leaving Intel in a plum production position domestically….

Why U.S. dollar is at no ‘meaningful risk’ of losing status as the world’s reserve currency, despite challenges from China, says Wells Fargo

Why U.S. dollar is at no ‘meaningful risk’ of losing status as the world’s reserve currency, despite challenges from China, says Wells Fargo

The U.S. dollar isn’t about to lose its global leadership position despite challenges such as China’s increasing importance to the world economy, according to Wells Fargo Investment Institute.  “We do not foresee a meaningful risk of the greenback losing its status as the world’s primary reserve currency,” strategists at Wells Fargo Investment Institute said in…

Stock market’s 2023 run may hit roadblock after August’s energy-led boost to U.S. CPI

Stock market’s 2023 run may hit roadblock after August’s energy-led boost to U.S. CPI

August was a hot month and it wasn’t just about the weather. Financial markets are now bracing for what’s likely to be a rebound in headline U.S. inflation next week, fueled by higher energy prices. Barclays BARC, +0.18%, BofA Securities BAC, +0.44%, and TD Securities expect August’s consumer price index to reflect a 0.6% monthly…

My wife and I have $2.5 million. We’re in our 40s. Can we retire to Latin America?

My wife and I have $2.5 million. We’re in our 40s. Can we retire to Latin America?

Dear Quentin, I grew up poor and in an unstable environment as a result of my parents’ serial divorces. I started saving at 16 as a direct result of the financial instability of my youth, and my wife and I have been able to build what most of the world would describe as a small…

Chicago Fed’s Goolsbee suggests central bank is almost done raising rates

Chicago Fed’s Goolsbee suggests central bank is almost done raising rates

Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee on Thursday suggested the Fed is almost done raising interest rates. “We are very rapidly approaching the time when our argument is not going to be about how high should the rates go,” Goolsbee said, in an interview on NPR’s Marketplace radio program. “It’s going to be an argument of…