Baltic
Dry Index. 778 -46 Brent
Crude 78.80
Spot
Gold 2771 U S 2 Year Yield 4.27 -0.02
US
Federal Debt. 36.394 trillion.
Show me someone without an ego, and I'll show you a loser -
having a healthy ego, or high opinion of yourself, is a real positive in life!
Donald Trump.
The end of week one of Trump 2.0. For Trump
mania, a busy, somewhat chaotic start.
Will the Fed respond next week to Trump’s order
request to cut US interest rates? Will the Powell Fed cave in to President
Trump?
What if the Powell Fed leave their key
interest rate unchanged?
We are about to find out next week.
S&P 500 slides on Friday as rally pauses,
but stocks notch back-to-back weekly gains
Updated Fri, Jan 24 2025 4:44 PM EST
The S&P 500 closed lower
after hitting new records on Friday, as investors took some profit to end a
solid week centered on President Donald Trump’s return to the
White House.
The benchmark index shed 0.3% to 6,101.24,
reversing course after hitting a fresh intraday record earlier in the session.
The Nasdaq Composite slipped
0.5% to 19,954.30. The Dow
Jones Industrial Average dropped 140.82 points, or 0.3%, to 44,424.25.
Friday’s losses snapped a four-day
winning streak for the three major indexes.
Some megacap tech stocks that helped drive
the market to all-time highs pulled
back in the session, putting downward pressure on equities. Nvidia slid more than 3%,
while Tesla fell more
than 1%.
Despite Friday’s retreat, excitement toward
Trump’s pro-business policies has largely pushed risk assets higher this week
as investors focused on his inauguration. Traders were also relieved that there
have only been threats on the tariff front from Trump — instead of formal
action — during his first few days in the White House.
All three major averages posted their second
straight positive week, signaling that the bull market is back in full force
after December’s pullback. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq each rose around 1.7%
this week, while the Dow climbed 2.2%. In addition to hitting fresh intraday
records this week, the S&P 500 also notched a new all-time closing high on
Thursday.
Notably, Trump said on
Thursday that he would “demand that interest rates drop immediately” when
addressing world leaders in Davos, Switzerland. The president also said he
would ask Saudi Arabia and other OPEC nations to lower the
price of oil.
“So far, markets have reacted to every
statement made by the President, even those that should not have any impact,”
said Mark Malek, chief investment officer at Siebert. “This shows that traders
have not yet settled into their pace.”
Beyond politics, market participants kept an
eye on corporate news and earnings reports. Novo Nordisk rallied more than
8% following positive
early-stage results for a weight loss drug. Texas Instruments, on the other
hand, slid more
than 7% on weak earnings guidance.
This action comes ahead of a busy
week, when attention will turn to big technology earnings and the Federal
Reserve meeting. Fed funds futures are pricing in a more than 99% chance that the central bank leaves
interest rates unchanged, according to CMEGroup’s FedWatch Tool.
Stock
market news for Jan. 24, 2025
Europe markets close slightly lower but notch
weekly gain; Burberry up 10% after quarterly report
Updated Fri, Jan 24 2025 12:04 PM EST
European equity markets slipped into the red
in late deals Friday despite a largely positive week for global stocks.
France’s CAC 40 index held onto gains
of 0.44%, but Germany’s DAX and
the U.K.’s FTSE 100 fell
0.08% and 0.73% respectively.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 index closed with
a 0.05% loss. However, the regional gauge still gained more than 1% this week,
buoyed by solid earnings and optimism around U.S. growth after President Donald
Trump was sworn-in to the White House.
Among the stocks in decline was
telecommunications equipment maker Ericsson,
which fell more than 12% after the company missed estimates on both the top and bottom lines for
the fourth quarter of 2024.
Among the biggest gainers on Friday was Burberry, which jumped 10%
on a shallower-than-expected
dip in sales in the fiscal third quarter. Other luxury stocks
including Moncler, Swatch and Christian Dior were also
trading higher.
Novo
Nordisk shares also rose by 7% after the company said a new clinical
trial result showed that one of its treatments led to a weight
loss of 22% among people living with obesity.
The S&P 500 hit
a fresh record high Friday following a record close in the previous
trading session, as President Trump called for lower interest rates and cheaper
oil prices.
Speaking via video to an assembly of global
leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, the new president in
a wide-ranging policy speech did not mention the Federal Reserve by name but
made clear he would seek lower rates.
“I’ll demand that interest rates drop
immediately,” Trump said. “And likewise, they should be dropping all over the
world. Interest rates should follow us all over.”
The Bank of Japan raised the policy rate by
25 basis points to 0.5% — the highest
since 2008 and in line with economists’ expectations. Following the
decision, the Japanese yen weakened
marginally to trade at 155.18 against the dollar.
Investors are also likely to be looking ahead
to the Fed’s FOMC meeting on Wednesday with no change expected to interest
rates. Elsewhere in China, equity markets will be closed from Tuesday for the
Lunar New Year holiday.
European
markets open to close: earnings, data and news
In other news.
Migrants in shackles led on to US military
plane - as Mexico refuses to accept deportation flight
24 January 2025
US military aircraft have started flying
detained migrants out of America on the orders of Donald Trump, as Mexico
refused a request from his administration to allow a deportation plane to land
in the country.
It comes as the White House released images
of men whose hands and ankles were shackled being led on to a plane.
Mr Trump's
press secretary Karoline Leavitt posted the photos on X and declared:
"Deportation flights have begun."
She said Mr Trump was "sending a strong
and clear message to the entire world: if you illegally enter the United States
of America, you will face severe consequences".
Two US military aircraft, each carrying
around 80 migrants, flew from America to Guatemala on
Friday.
One C-17 reportedly took off from Biggs Army
Air Field in Texas, while another C-17 departed from Tucson in Arizona.
But a plan to have another C-17 transport
aircraft land in Mexico foundered after the country denied permission.
It was unclear why permission to land was
denied.
Mexico's foreign ministry said the country
had a "very great relationship" with the US and cooperated on issues
such as immigration.
'Putting an end to illegal migration'
It was the first time in recent memory that
American military aircraft were being used to fly migrants out of the US,
according to an official.
Such planes have in the past been used to
relocate people from one country to another, including in 2021 during the US's
withdrawal from Afghanistan.
"Guatemala and the United States are
committed to putting an end to illegal migration and strengthening border
security. Starting with two flights today," the US State Department said.
On Instagram, Guatemalan vice president Karin
Herrera's office posted a video of a military plane landing in Guatemala.
A caption said: "The [Guatemalan
government] remains committed to protecting the integrity of migrants. The vice
presidency will continue to verify that the reception of the returnees is in a
dignified and safe manner."
Some 79 Guatemalans returned, all of whom
were adults, including 31 women and 48 men, the Guatemalan Migration Institute
wrote.
The Pentagon has said the US military would
provide flights for the deportations of more than 5,000 immigrants held by US
authorities in El Paso, Texas, and San Diego, California.
More
Migrants
in shackles led on to US military plane - as Mexico refuses to accept
deportation flight
Global Inflation/Stagflation/Recession
Watch.
Given our Magic Money
Tree central banksters and our spendthrift politicians, inflation/recession now needs an entire
section of its own.
Firms
slash jobs and hike prices as Reeves’ Budget fallout continues
Friday 24 January 2025 10:18
am | Updated: Friday 24 January 2025 10:28 am
UK businesses hiked prices and cut staff in January,
a new survey shows, as firms continued to struggle in the wake of October’s Budget.
The latest ‘flash’ purchasing managers’ index (PMI),
which reflects business activity in the private sector, showed employment
levels decreasing for the fourth month in a row.
“Many firms suggested that the forthcoming hike in
employers’ National Insurance had resulted in cutbacks to recruitment plans,
while others cited the impact of a post-Budget slump in business
confidence,” the survey said.
Excluding the pandemic, the rate of job cutting in
the past two months has been the highest since the financial crisis, it noted.
Firms also battled a “sharp and accelerated
increase” in the cost burden, which increased at the fastest pace in
one-and-a-half years on the back of higher salary costs and energy prices.
This forced firms to pass on higher costs to
consumers, with output price inflation rising at its fastest pace since July
2023.
Chris Williamson, chief business economist at
S&P Global Market Intelligence, warned that inflationary pressures had
“reignited”, creating problems for the Bank of England.
Economists expect the headline rate of inflation to
pick up to over three per cent by the spring, but the survey also suggests that
services inflation could pick back up again later in the year.
Despite the problems facing businesses, output
growth picked up slightly compared to December thanks to “modest growth” in the
UK’s all-important services sector.
The overall index increased to 50.9, up from 50.4
the previous month and slightly ahead of economists’ expectations.
Nevertheless, the reading still only indicated a
slight expansion and was comfortably below the long-run average of 53.6. The 50
mark separates growth from contraction.
“The improvement does little to move the dial on a
speedometer which points to an economy that it broadly flatlining,” Williamson
said.
The economy has been broadly stagnant since the
general election last summer. Analysts at Capital Economics said the survey was
consistent with GDP stagnating at the start of 2025.
More
Firms slash jobs and hike prices as Budget fallout continues
UK economy: ‘Consumers see dark days ahead’
Friday 24
January 2025 6:00 am
Consumer confidence has fallen to its lowest level in over a year, a new survey shows,
fuelled by worsening expectations for the UK economy in 2025.
GfK’s overall
consumer confidence index fell to -22, which was down five points on December
and put confidence at its lowest level since the end of 2023.
The fall was
driven largely by consumers’ worsening outlook on the UK economy for the next
year, which fell by eight points to -34.
Household views
about their personal financial situation also deteriorated, falling three
points to -2.
“New Year is
traditionally a time for change, but looking at these figures, consumers don’t
think things are changing for the better,” said Neil Bellamy, consumer insights
director at GfK.
“These figures
underline that consumers are losing confidence in the UK’s economic prospects.”
The survey’s
savings index, which reflects the likelihood that consumers will save rather
than spend disposable income, climbed by nine points to hit 30.
Although it is
not included in the overall confidence index, Bellamy said it was “unwelcome”
because it suggests that “people see dark days ahead”.
The UK has seen
a relatively elevated savings rate since the pandemic and many economists
expect consumers to dip into their savings as the year progresses, which would
help fuel higher consumer spending.
But the survey
suggests there’s a danger consumers will continue squirrelling funds away,
which would weigh on growth.
GfK’s release comes just
a day after a similar report from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) showed
that nearly half of consumers expect the economy to deteriorate over the next quarter.
The surveys will
be a worrying sign for the government as it seeks to reinvigorate an economy
that has stuttered since last summer’s general election.
Growth
underwhelmed in November, expanding just 0.1 per cent having contracted
marginally in both of the previous two months.
Retail sales
contracted unexpectedly last month too, while the latest purchasing managers’ index (PMI) fell to its lowest level in over a year.
Many
commentators have argued that the Budget, which included tax hikes worth £40bn,
has depressed economic activity.
While consensus
among economists is for growth to accelerate to 1.2 per cent across this year,
this was a slight downgrade on the 1.3 per cent pencilled in by analysts in
December.
UK economy: 'Consumers see dark days ahead'
UK to soften tax rules for wealthy
foreigners after millionaire exodus, Rachel Reeves says
Published Fri, Jan 24 202 53:58 AM EST Updated
Fri, Jan 24 2025 8:02 AM EST
The U.K. will soften some planned changes
to its controversial non-dom tax rule following concerns of a millionaire
exodus, the Treasury has confirmed.
Britain’s 200-year-old non-dom regime
permits people living in the U.K., but who are domiciled elsewhere for tax
purposes, to avoid paying levies on income and capital gains earnings overseas
for up to 15 years. The regime has long courted controversy, leading U.K.
Finance Minister Rachel Reeves in her October
budget to confirm that it would be abolished from April 2025, and that
all long-term residents would be subject to inheritance tax (IHT) on their
worldwide assets, including those held in trust.
Speaking at a fringe event at the World
Economic Forum in Davos, Reeves said the government would soon put forward an
amendment to the country’s Finance Bill, increasing the generosity of a rule
which allows non-doms to bring money to the UK without paying significant
taxes.
“We have been listening to the concerns
that have been raised by the non-dom community,” Reeves told The Wall Street
Journal’s Emma Tucker when asked about recent departures of the ultra-wealthy.
“In the finance bill, we will be tabling
an amendment which makes more generous the temporary repatriation facility,
which enables non-doms to bring money into the UK without paying significant
taxes,” she added.
Reeves on Thursday also sought to reassure
wealthy overseas investors that the changes would not affect double-taxation
agreements held between the U.K. and other countries.
“There’s been some concerns from countries
that have double taxation conventions with the U.K., including India, that they
would be drawn in to be paying inheritance tax. That’s not the case. We’re not
going to be changing those double taxation conventions,” she said.
In a statement to CNBC confirming the
plans, a Treasury spokesperson said the tweaks were designed to motivate
non-doms “to bring their funds to the U.K., encouraging them to spend and
invest this money here.”
“While we do not expect these changes to
impact the £33.8 billion of tax revenue that the OBR forecast to raise over
five years, they reflect our continued engagement with stakeholders to make
sure the reforms announced at Budget operate as intended,” the statement added.
More
UK
to soften tax rules for wealthy foreigners after millionaire exodus, Rachel
Reeves says
Covid-19
Corner
This section will
continue until it becomes unneeded.
Some of 19 deaths during COVID outbreak at aged
care centre were avoidable: inquest
24 January 2025
Poor leadership, insufficient communication and
staff shortages all bubbled to the surface as a deadly wave of COVID-19 swept
through an aged-care home, a coroner has found.
Inquest findings, delivered today, declared some of
the 19 deaths during the 2020 outbreak at Sydney's Newmarch House could have
been avoided had proper testing for the virus been implemented.
A decision not to transfer some residents to
hospital could have improved the level of care they received, including their
access to enough oxygen and fluids, Magistrate Derek Lee found.
Instead, the Anglicare-run facility opted to treat
sick residents on-site under the Hospital in the Home program.
Nicole Fahey said family members like her did not
want to see what occurred swept under the rug.
This program was not viable and was inconsistent
with infectious diseases such as COVID-19, Lee said.
More personalised assessments should have been made
with individual residents to determine where they were treated, he found.
Staff shortages compounded problems including a
confused leadership structure and insufficient communications with family
members who wanted to know what was happening in the facility, he said.
However, the coroner did not make any
recommendations, noting Anglicare had already made improvements to its policies
and procedures after the outbreak.
Less than two months after Newmarch entered
lockdown in late March 2020, 37 residents had contracted the virus.
Speaking to Australian Associated Press before the
findings were delivered, Nicole Fahey - whose grandmother Ann died in the
outbreak - said family members like her did not want to see what occurred
simply swept under the rug.
"I'm hoping the findings that are handed down
are of substance enough for the families to feel like, moving forward, what
occurred won't happen again," she said.
At the outset of the inquest, which began in 2022,
counsel assisting Simon Buchen SC said one question to be answered was whether
residents and their relatives had consented to be part of the Hospital in the
Home program.
Buchen also described preparations by the
Anglicare-run home before the outbreak as insufficient for what ultimately
occurred.
More
Some of 19 deaths during COVID outbreak at aged care centre were
avoidable: inquest
Technology Update.
With events happening
fast in the development of solar power and graphene, I’ve added this section.
How Long Will A Home Battery Last? Should You Even Buy One?
A home
battery backup system can keep your devices powered during an outage. But how
long does one last and is it worth the investment? Find out here.
Article updated on January 23, 2025 at 11:00 PM PST
Batteries are a convenient tool to store
energy and power your home during an outage, but unfortunately they do have a
limited life span. You'll have noticed that with your smartphone, the battery's charge diminishes over time and you have worse battery life over time,
which means plugging in your phone more often.
This behavior isn't exclusive to just
your smartphone battery. Pretty much all systems will see their battery
capacity reduce over time, and eventually need replacement. The same goes
for home batteries, which are giant lithium-ion batteries that act as a backup power source
for your home. They also have a limited lifespan, and aren't immune to the
inevitable demise their smaller counterparts face.
---- So how long will your home
battery last? What can you do to extend its lifespan? Here's some expert advice
on how to get the most out of your home battery.
How long does a home battery last?
The most common types of home batteries,
typically made of some sort of lithium-ion chemistry, degrade over time just like any other battery.
Each time you charge and discharge your battery, it loses some of its capacity
to hold a charge. It's so inconsequential that you won't notice it at first.
After a few years, you might start to notice that your battery can't hold a
charge quite like it used to.
Your home battery is not going to live
forever, but it might last longer than you think. "Anticipate it to last
about 15 years," McDonald said.
Look closely at the warranty
Almost all home batteries on the market
come with a 10-year warranty. That doesn't necessarily mean your battery will
be totally dead in 10 years. The thing you really want to pay attention to on
your battery's warranty is its cycle life or expected energy throughput. Both of these give
you a good indicator of how long your battery will really last, according to
the manufacturer.
Every time you drain and recharge your
battery it completes a "cycle." On your warranty, the manufacturer
guarantees your battery will be able to deliver up to a certain amount of
cycles while under warranty. The expected life for home batteries is usually
between 6,000 to 8,000 cycles.
Similarly, you might see an expected
energy "throughput" listed somewhere on your warranty. This is
another way the manufacturer estimates your battery's lifespan. Your battery's
throughput, usually measured in megawatt-hours, is the total amount of energy
that your battery should deliver to your home during its lifetime while still
under warranty.
Since your battery's maximum energy
storage capacity decreases over time, most manufacturers will also include some
form of end-of-warranty capacity guarantee, promising that your battery will
still be able to retain up to a certain amount of its original maximum capacity
by the time your warranty expires. Most manufacturers will guarantee up to at
least a 70% capacity retention rate. You can still use your battery after your
warranty period is up -- possibly for another five years, even. Just don't expect
the battery's performance to be as good as it was when you first had it
installed.
More
How Long Will A Home Battery Last? Should You Even Buy One? - CNET
Next, the
world global debt clock. Nations debts to GDP compared.
World Debt Clocks (usdebtclock.org)
This
weekend’s music diversion. Another largely forgotten maestro, Franz von Suppé. Approx.
10 minutes. Chicago’s Youth Philharmonic Orchestra having fun.
SUPPE:
Poet and Peasant Overture | CYSO's Philharmonic Orchestra
SUPPE: Poet and
Peasant Overture | CYSO's Philharmonic Orchestra - YouTube
This
weekend’s chess diversion Approx 13
minutes.
Welcome
To The Big League || Abdusattorov vs Mendonca || Tata Steel (2025)
Welcome To The Big
League || Abdusattorov vs Mendonca || Tata Steel (2025) - YouTube
This
weekend’s final diversion Approx 5 minutes.
Jeep
4xe Battery Fires: Are Dealerships Ready?
Jeep 4xe Battery
Fires: Are Dealerships Ready?
I'm not a big believer in man-made climate change.
Donald Trump.
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