Good morning. Investors seemed enthused over news that a deal with Japan … regarding tariffs … will be taking place even though the administration’s claim that “it will create hundreds of thousands of jobs” … as reported on Fox … might be a bit of an overreach. What is most interesting … regarding tariffs and deals … is it is tough for the average person to really know what is going on behind the scenes … as just 3 weeks ago, a story on Reuters said a deal with Japan was impossible. But Japan might be only part of the story helping move the markets up today, for there is now improved hope that other countries will also clamor to make deals … for stated deadlines are fast approaching. Some numbers on home sales were out this morning and many found the result to be somewhat disappointing. The National Association of Realtors reported that existing home sales dropped in June … even as prices remain high … and the report claims one reason for the price boost is “many years of undersupply.’ Still, there is a comment from the White House with President Trump considering eliminating capital gains taxes on home sales to help increase turnover. But one question to consider is whether this unfairly helps those at higher income levels … while adding (again) to our nation’s debt … for those with the biggest home gains will benefit the most. One of things driving stocks today is action on what are called “meme” stocks. If you ever want to watch a very interesting movie on Netflix, I strongly suggest “Dumb Money” … based on the true story of Keith Gill … who posted online about Gamestop … leading to a sharp rise thanks to a legion of followers on a site called “Reddit.” The reason I bring this up today is a few “heavily shorted” stocks (Krispy Kreme and Go Pro, among others) jumped early this morning with Yahoo Finance classifying the move(s) as part of the “summer’s meme stock resurgence.” Sure, look and be tempted … but “caveat emptor” comes to mind … “let the buyer beware” … for a few stocks are going up only because … well … they’re going up. I’ll close out today with an interesting story related to Uber. With the company recognizing some female passengers are more comfortable jumping in a car with a female driver … you will soon be able to choose your driver based on their sex. Smart move, Uber … smart move. That about wraps it up for now. I actually had someone write and say they would like me to have more economic observations and fewer corny puns. I mean … fewer corny puns? What are they gonna do? … call the crops? Have a great day, Joseph G. Witthohn, CFA Have any questions? Please contact info@teamemerald.com
|
Call Us: +1 (800) 722-4123 
Back