Friday,
December 16, 2022
Market recap
Dow Jones
33,202.22
-764.13 (-2.25%)
S&P 500
3,895.75
-99.57 (-2.49%)
Nasdaq
10,810.53
-360.36 (-3.23%)
Top Story
Most Americans agree that real estate is the best way to build wealth, yet more people are buying stocks instead.
Why are Americans saying one thing and doing another? Plus, how do you determine which asset class is best for you?
Read more >>
Stock selloff intensifies amid concern over interest rates, as well as renewed recessionary fears
• US stocks fell Thursday as investors attempt to predict where interest rates will be headed in 2023. While this week’s 50-basis-point hike from the Fed was expected, the central bank struck a more hawkish tone afterwards.
• Central banks from overseas echoed that sentiment. The Bank of England and the European Central Bank, as well as the central banks of Norway and Sweden, hiked rates yesterday. ECB officials warned the market shouldn’t expect rate hikes to stop anytime soon.
• Recessionary fears grew on Wall Street after November’s retail sales slid 0.6%, month-over-month. Surveys from the New York and Philadelphia Fed also showed this month’s manufacturing activity declined in each region.
• US jobless claims decreased 20,000. That’s the lowest they’ve been since September. The labor market remains robust despite concerns in other areas of the economy.
What to be on the lookout for today
• The S&P Global December Purchasing Managers’ Indexes for manufacturing and services are due. These aim to measure prevailing trends within each sector, as managers are asked whether current market conditions are expanding, contracting, or holding steady.
• IT company Accenture (ACN) is set to share its latest results. Executives may discuss the recently-launched Velocity, a service developed in tandem with Amazon Web Services that aims to optimize business outcomes.
• Olive Garden owner Darden Restaurants (DRI) and Winnebago (WGO) are also scheduled to report earnings. The PR team at Darden Restaurants faced challenges after an Olive Garden manager’s confrontational internal memo to staff members went viral. Meanwhile, Winnebago executives say they’re working to address concerns tied to employee safety following an investigative story published in October.
Should you refinance now? Only you can decide, but these are the factors worth considering.
With interest rates rising and the freeze on federal student loan payments set to expire next year, it might seem like a good time to refinance your federal student loans.
But maybe you’ve been in a holding pattern for so long (the payment pause will have lasted for over three years when it ends), you just can’t bring yourself to make a change.
Or maybe you’re thinking you might as well wait to see if Biden’s federal student loan forgiveness plan will go through, and want to wait until the $10,000 or $20,000 is potentially deducted from your balance.
Of course, only you can know if and when it seems right for you to refinance. But to help you screen out the noise so you can hear the signal, here are some key considerations to think about.
Today’s top stories
A government watchdog announced a resolution that will pay out a combined $19 million to 23,000 student loan borrowers. This will compensate victims of alleged student loan debt relief fraud. Plus, during this confusing time surrounding student loan forgiveness, here are a few things to watch out for. Read more >> Zappi uses artificial intelligence to predict what consumers want, before a product is even released. The consumer insights startup just raised $170 million and private equity investors are intrigued. Read more >> The fastest growing jobs in 2022 include a wide range of positions in sports, entertainment, data science, and healthcare. Here’s a look at the top 10 list, including salary ranges. Read more >>Not-so-breaking news
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American Airlines (AAL) bumped up the points required to earn frequent flier status next year. The major airline also removed the MileSAAver and AAnytime categories from its program.
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62% of Millennials plan to tip service workers more than usual this holiday season, compared to 54% of Gen Zers, 53% of Gen Xers, and 48% of Baby Boomers.
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Elon Musk’s Tesla (TSLA) sale continues as the billionaire raised $3.6 billion by selling 22 million shares. Musk did not disclose a motive, but some investors are concerned it has to do with subsidizing Twitter’s losses.
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The Senate passed new legislation banning TikTok on government devices. This decision stemmed from concern over the Chinese government’s influence on the video sharing app.
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During the World Cup match between France and Morocco, fuboTV (FUBO) was hit with a cyber attack. The live TV streaming service has launched an investigation into the incident.
Financial planner tip of the day
"With investing there is a relationship between risk and return. Investments with higher expected returns come with substantial volatility along the way. It is important to consider your ability to ride through the volatile times and not just focus on potential returns."
Brian Walsh, CFP® at SoFi