May’s consumer price index jumped the most since 2009. That follows a similar gain over the past three months that has brought the total increase to 6.9 percent on an
The Memorial Day weekend launched the unofficial beginning of the summer season. Movie theater owners are holding their breath in hopes that consumers, once vaccinated, may start to return to
One day, itâs all about technology, the next day, back to commodities, and on the third, defensive plays like health care shine. Next week, we could see a new player lead the markets higher.
The Russell 2000 Index, which is chock-full of small-cap stocks, has been trading back and forth, but basically going nowhere over the last month. I detected a stirring of upside momentum this week and will be watching that index closely after the Memorial Day weekend for additional follow-through.
The small-cap universe, (one of my picks to outperform this year) has done âOKâ so far this year, outperforming the S&P 500 Index by about 3 percent. But, I expected more. After all, small-cap stocks are the ultimate reopening trade. They are the lifeblood of the U.S. economy, and should do especially well when the broad economy is growing at a substantial clip. The macroeconomic data indicates that is happening right now.
COVID-19 effectively put a halt to most elective surgeries. As the nation gets vaccinated, however, medical authorities have given the all-clear to resume those surgeries. But, will patients come back?
The answer to that question is important to the nationâs hospitals, whose bottom line has suffered as much as, or even more than, most of their patients.
Last year, hospitals were forced to shut down surgery in order to create capacity for skyrocketing cases of the coronavirus. But, even after beds opened up again (as a result of the reduction in new, serious COVID-19 cases), most patients are still putting off surgery, concerned that they might catch the coronavirus during a hospital stay.