Thinking Out Loud -- November 16, 2020

October 1, 2020:

• BRK-B: 212
• DFS: 58.91

Today, November 16, 2020:

• BRK-B: 231
• DFS: 78.55

Appreciation since October 1, 2020:

• BRK-B: 9%
• DFS: 33%

I'm getting tired of reports that Warren Buffett can't find anything better than his own stock to buy. 

Disclaimer: this is not an investment site.  Do not make any investment, financial, job, career, travel, or relationship decisions based on what you read here or think you may have read here. 

And, yes, I bought DFS. I had too much BRK-B. Had to diversify. LOL.

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For The Archives
Dow Sets Record

Updates

November 24, 2020: all-time high; breaks through 30,000. New number, around 30,100.

Original Post

"Dow" soars to a record high. Yahoo!Finance link here. It looks like "29,934" is the number to beat going forward -- not the close, but an intraday high.

The Dow rose more than 450 points, or 1.5%, topping its previous record intraday high of 29,933.83 from Nov. 9. The S&P 500 also increased, while the Nasdaq hugged the flat line. Shares of airlines, cruise lines, hotels, and restaurant companies surged anew as the latest vaccine data suggested consumers might return more enthusiastically to these businesses. 

Moderna’s stock jumped more than 9% to a record high shortly after market open. 

Moderna became the latest major drug-maker to announce upbeat data for its COVID-19 vaccine candidate, building on hopes that an effective inoculation will soon be available.

Later in the day, the New York manufacturing index came in a bit lower than expected, but it didn't phase the market a whole lot. 

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Flush With Cash

From Bloomberg at Yahoo!Finance:

Eight months into the pandemic, Americans’ household finances are in the best shape in decades.It’s a seemingly incongruous thought, what with the widespread business lockdowns earlier in the year and coinciding surge in unemployment -- and it certainly doesn’t apply to all families equally. But it points to just how strong the U.S. economy was going into the virus outbreak, and how powerful the combined monetary and fiscal response was from the Federal Reserve, Congress and the Trump administration.

Record-low mortgage rates, reflecting the ultra-easy Fed policy, have prompted a steady wave of refinancing and allowed homeowners to reduce monthly payments or tap equity. Americans are also holding more cash, helped in part by stimulus from the government. [And huge amounts of money not spent on vacations, traveling, dining out, car maintenance, unnecessary doctor appointments and elective surgery, and Starbucks.]

Households’ debt service burdens have eased considerably, too, a complete departure from the 2007-2009 financial crisis that required years to mend. That in turn bodes well for consumer spending and its ability to power the economic recovery through a period marred by a violent spike in virus cases.

The only question? How fast can Biden and the squad screw this up? Maybe we need another 4 - 6 month lockdown. LOL. Just imagine how flush with cash we would all be. 

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From Last Summer
Getting The Charcoals "Going"

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Love Hearing From Readers! LOL!