Stocks were on pins and needles heading into this morning’s inflation report, but boy did they take off like a rocket after the data came in cooler than expected! Treasuries had a field day, too, while gold, silver, and crude oil rose modestly. The dollar tanked.
What did the data show? The Consumer Price Index (CPI) was unchanged in October, down from +0.4% in September and below the +0.1% economists expected. The “core” CPI that excludes food and energy also rose just 0.2%, below the 0.3% rise last month and the 0.3% gain that was forecast.
Retailers are gearing up for their busiest time of year. But they’re also taking some time out to report results to Wall Street. Home Depot (HD) kicked this week’s earnings extravaganza off by saying it made $3.8 billion, or $3.81 per share, in the fiscal third quarter. While that was down 12% year-over-year, it did top analyst estimates.
Home Depot (HD)
Spending on renovations and remodeling has weakened in the post-pandemic period, crimping HD’s results. Its shares have slipped 9% this year, significantly underperforming the S&P 500. You can hear about which other retailers are reporting in the “Monday Mornings with MoneyShow” update I recorded yesterday (and yes, as the name suggests, they’re posted every Monday in the a.m.!)
Do you know you might be “making” a killing on your low-rate mortgage? No, we don’t typically think of ultra-low-rate loans we have to pay off as “assets” that have appreciated dramatically in value. But this Wall Street Journal story explains why you may be sitting on a hidden goldmine if you refinanced your loan at 3%, 3.5%, etc. now that 30-year mortgage rates are averaging 7.5%.
