Thursday,
February 22, 2024
Market recap
Dow Jones
38,612.24
+48.44 (+0.13%)
S&P 500
4,981.80
+6.29 (+0.13%)
Nasdaq
15,580.87
-49.91 (-0.32%)
Top Story
Meet the research project that could save America’s housing market
The National Zoning Atlas wants to compile all of America’s zoning rules into one database. Why does this matter? Zoning rules are at the heart of the nation’s housing affordability problem, and getting more transparency might help provide a solution.
US stocks were mixed on Wednesday as investors digested the Fed’s January meeting minutes
• The minutes suggested optimism about the progress made on inflation, but members of the Federal Open Market Committee remained cautious about cutting interest rates too soon.
• In earnings, shares of cybersecurity platform Palo Alto Networks plummeted 28.4% despite beating expectations, after issuing lower-than-expected guidance for the upcoming quarter. Virtual healthcare provider Teladoc Health saw its shares tumble 23.7% after missing revenue expectations and forecasting first-quarter earnings and sales below estimates. SolarEdge stock fell 12.2% after missing top- and bottom-line estimates and issuing weak guidance due to lower demand and stress from higher interest rates.
• Shares of luxury homebuilder Toll Brothers climbed nearly 4% after it beat estimates while projecting strong demand in 2024.
• After the market close, chipmaker NVIDIA posted record revenues, up 265% year-over-year, thanks to strong demand for AI.
• Walgreens Boots Alliance slid 2.5% after losing its spot in the Dow Jones Index to Amazon. The change will take effect next week. Amazon stock rose 0.9% Wednesday.
• The 30-year mortgage increased nearly 20 basis points from the previous week to 7.06%, its first time above 7% since early December. Mortgage and refinancing applications both fell about 11%.
What to be on the lookout for today
• It will be a busy day for economic data, with the January Chicago Fed national activity index, existing home sales for January, February PMIs, and weekly jobless claims due.
• In earnings, Block Inc, Dominion Energy, TurboTax-owner Intuit, Keurig Dr Pepper, Live Nation Entertainment, and Moderna will report.
Making sense of layoffs in the strong US labor market
The post-pandemic recovery of the U.S. labor market has by and large been a story of strength. Case in point: The unemployment rate is at a historically low level (3.7% in January), and the economy is adding jobs every month (353,000 last month).
Sounds great, right? Not so fast. There’s also a lot of news of layoffs. Job cuts are common, and often follow the business cycle. But is there more at play?
As so often when it comes to the economy, the devil’s in the details. With a working-age population of more than 200 million people, not all parts of the U.S. labor market are doing equally well. SoFi Head of Investment Strategy Liz Young explores what’s going on.
Today’s top stories
Food hasn’t taken this big of a bite out of your budget in decades Groceries, eating out, even snacks, haven’t taken up this much of your discretionary spending since 1991. Read more >> Another kind of return to office — converting them to apartments We’re looking into what’s going on with the push to convert vacant office space into apartments, and the issues the movement is running into. Read more >> Get ready for your first home with these tips Are you planning to put down roots this year? Here are 12 tips for first-time homebuyers. Read more >>Other news that caught our eye
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The Biden Administration announced the automatic cancellation of the federal student loan owed by nearly 153,000 borrowers who are enrolled in the government's SAVE program. Those eligible for the debt cancellation borrowed $12,000 or less for college expenses and have made payments for at least ten years.
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Beyond Meat will launch a new plant-based burger this spring, hoping to appeal to more health-conscious consumers with less sodium and saturated fat.
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FuboTV is suing to block the joint venture between Fox, Warner Bros. Discovery, and ESPN-parent Disney to create a new sports streaming platform.
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Apple launched a new sports app for users to check scores, stats, and betting odds across several major sports leagues.
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Delta Airlines’ special flight to view the total solar eclipse has sold out already.
Financial planner tip of the day
"The 70-20-10 rule is a way to allocate your monthly income into three categories — living expenses, saving and investing, and debt repayment and donations. Using these categories can help organize the way you think about your income — how it comes in, and importantly, how it goes out. It’s a simple and often very successful way to get a personal budget in place."
Brian Walsh, CFP® at SoFi