Stock market CRASH: What does Warren Buffett know that we don't??



Americans woke up on Monday morning to a stock market plunge after a bad day on Friday. The Dow plummeted hundreds of points, Warren Buffett is selling stocks like crazy, and to top it all off, Japan’s stock market had its worst day since 1987’s Black Monday.

Glenn Beck is understandably worried.

“Friday, we had a bad jobs report. We’re still not in a recession; indicators are showing that we’re headed towards one, but the indicators have been wrong before. We are headed towards one; we’re headed for a depression at some point,” Glenn Beck warns.

Glenn is concerned about what this might mean for ordinary Americans and the United States economy and consults financial expert Carol Roth for some advice.

Roth explains that while the Fed did not lower rates, it might be on the table in September.

“Normally, you would say, ‘Okay, the market wants the Fed to cut rates,’ but what happened is then we got a weak job report on Friday, and while sometimes the bad news can be good news for the market, in this case, they took it as bad news,” Roth tells Glenn.

“The Fed was behind the curve in terms of lowering rates,” Roth continues. “They felt like maybe this whole idea of a quote ‘soft landing,’ the idea that you can get the inflation down without wrecking the economy, is off the table.”

However, while it doesn’t look good, Roth says that “if there is any silver lining here,” it’s that the market did not open back up and continue to fall.

But there are still major indicators that something strange is going on, and one of them is Warren Buffett’s recent behavior.

“Another catalyst that we’ve seen is Warren Buffett,” Roth says. “He had lessened his position in Apple by about 49%.”

“That’s not lessening. That’s cutting it in half,” Glenn says. “He’s making some of the biggest sales he’s ever made. It’s almost as if he’s becoming bullish on America. What does he know that we don’t know?”

“Starting in 2019, he doubled down on Japan. So he has five really big companies and really big positions in Japan. So the day that we’re talking about Japan going down and at the same time the U.S. is going down,” Roth says. “It is interesting.”


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Chatter about possible recession in US grows as global markets tank, 'Bidenomics' apparently fails to deliver



Markets around the world, including in the U.S., tanked on Monday as investors began openly expressing concerns about a possible U.S. economic recession.

As they had on Friday, global markets were severely in the red on Monday. The Dow opened down more than 1,000 points and as of mid-morning hovers about -2.6% overall. The tech-heavy Nasdaq is down over 560 points or 3.36%.

'Four years ago today, Trump claimed the stock market would 'crash' if Joe Biden was elected.'

The Asian markets, many of which are about 12 hours ahead of the American markets, suffered even worse losses on Monday. The Nikkei 225 in Japan tumbled 12.4% — more than 4,450 points — its largest single-day loss in history. The second largest was "Black Monday" in 1987.

"That was a crash. It smelled like 1987," said Neil Newman, head of strategy at Astris Advisory in Tokyo, according to CNN.

On Monday, Taiwan's Taiex likewise fell 8.4% and South Korea’s Kospi 8.8%.

These catastrophic numbers have intensified talks about a looming recession in the U.S. Even leftwing outlets like the Daily Beast have acknowledged the possibility.

"To put it mildly, the spike in volatility-of-volatility is a spectacle that underlines just how jittery markets have become," said Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management, according to ABC News. "The real question now looms: Can the typical market reflex to sell volatility or buy the market dip prevail over the deep-seated anxiety brought on by this sudden and sharp recession scare?"

The Federal Reserve will now almost assuredly cut interest rates next month to stabilize the volatile markets.

For now, economists are blaming the global market turmoil on the dismal jobs report the U.S. Department of Labor released on Friday. So-called experts had anticipated a report showing that the policies that Biden and Harris have affectionally called "Bidenomics" had created 175,000 jobs last month, but the real number was much lower, just 114,000, causing the unemployment rate to jump to 4.3%, the highest rate since October 2021 and nearly a full point higher than it was at the beginning of the year.

As recently as May, an account touting the supposed accomplishments of Vice President Kamala Harris celebrated the soaring stock market and took aim at former President Donald Trump's skepticism about a Biden-Harris administration's ability to address economic issues.

"Four years ago today, Trump claimed the stock market would 'crash' if Joe Biden was elected (The stock market has reached the highest levels ever recorded in history under President Biden)," Kamala HQ tweeted on May 24.

Trump certainly has his doubts that Biden and Harris are up to the task, dubbing the market tumble on Monday the "KAMALA CRASH."

"Of course there is a massive market downturn. Kamala is even worse than Crooked Joe. Markets will NEVER accept the Radical Left Lunatic that DESTROYED San Francisco and California, as a whole. Next move, THE GREAT DEPRESSION OF 2024! You can’t play games with MARKETS. KAMALA CRASH!!!" Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Harris for President spokesperson James Singer, in turn, pointed the finger at Trump for the abysmal jobs report. "Donald Trump failed Americans as president, costing our economy millions of jobs, and bringing us to the brink of recession," Singer said.

"We’ve made significant progress, but Vice President Harris knows there’s more work to do to lower costs for families."

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Dow Jones closes above 37,000 for the first time



The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged more than 500 points on Wednesday, closing above 37,000 for the first time, according to reports.

The historically high close for stock index came on the same day that the Federal Reserve announced plans to maintain current interest rates. A Federal Open Market Committee statement notes that "the Committee decided to maintain the target range for the federal funds rate at 5-1/4 to 5-1/2 percent."

During a press conference, Federal Reserve board of governors chair Jerome Powell said "tight policy is putting downward pressure on economic activity and inflation, and the full effects of our tightening likely have not yet been felt."

He noted that "we believe that our policy rate is likely at or near its peak for this tightening cycle," but also said that officials are "prepared to tighten policy further, if appropriate."

Data released on Wednesday listed 4.6% as the median projection among Fed officials for the rate by the end of 2024.

While the rate of inflation has been on the decline, Americans' have still been experiencing the persistent erosion of the purchasing power of their hard-earned dollars over time.

"The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 0.1 percent in November on a seasonally adjusted basis, after being unchanged in October," according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. "Over the last 12 months, the all items index increased 3.1 percent before seasonal adjustment."

President Joe Biden, who aims to secure another four-year term during the 2024 presidential election, declared in a December 12 statement, "Today’s report demonstrates continued progress bringing inflation down and lowering costs for American families. Inflation is now at 3.1 percent — down by nearly two thirds from its peak."

"While Congressional Republicans fight for the wealthy and big corporations, leaving hardworking families to pay the price, I'll keep fighting to bring down costs and grow our economy with a strong middle class," Biden claimed in the statement.

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White House press secretary Jean-Pierre said the Biden administration is not monitoring the stock market amid Wall Street's longest losing streak in 99 years



White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre confirmed that the Biden administration is not monitoring the stock market on a regular basis as the Dow Jones Industrial Average suffered its longest losing streak in 99 years.

While speaking to reporters, Jean-Pierre said that “nothing has changed on how we see the stock market,” which is “not something we keep an eye on every day, so I’m not gonna comment on that from here,” the Epoch Times reported.

The Nasdaq Composite dropped nearly 5%, while the Dow Jones shrank by 4% last Wednesday. On Thursday, the Dow Jones dropped more than 440 points during the morning trading hours.

Earlier in 2022, former White House press secretary Jen Psaki said that President Joe Biden “does not look at the stock market as a means by which to judge the economy.”

The stock market’s historic plunge was triggered, in part, by selloffs of major corporate retailers like Target and Walmart. Target lost nearly 25% of its value after it reported earnings fell short of forecasts made by analysts largely due to shipping costs that high fuel prices and inflation have exacerbated. Other major retailers also saw significant losses in recent days.

Rising interest rates, spiraling inflation, the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, and a slowdown in China’s economy have reportedly caused investors to reconsider the prices they’re willing to pay for a wide range of stocks.

The rampant selloffs lasted for eight consecutive days marking the longest weekly losing streak on Wallstreet since 1923, CNN reported.

The S&P 500 — a much broader index than the Dow Jones — posted its seventh-straight weekly loss marking the index’s longest slump since March 2001. The S&P 500 briefly entered a bear market on Friday after recording a 20% loss from the all-time high that it reached this past January.

The last bear market occurred two years ago during the COVID-19 pandemic, but the recent market conditions will mark the first time since then that new investors could experience true economic shrinkage.

LPL Financial’s Ryan Detrick said, “From inflation to a hawkish Fed, to war, to supply chain issues, to China on lockdown, to a slowing economy, there are many reasons stocks have done as poorly as they have recently.”

Detrick suggested that a “bounce back” is likely, however.

He said, “If we get any good news, a big bounce-back rally is likely.”

As Inflation indicator hits 40-year high, Manchin mocks the idea that the government can fix the economy with more spending



The Biden economy continues to go above and beyond the expectations of economists, hitting milestones for inflation no one has seen in decades.

The consumer price index rose to an annual rate of 7.5%, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Thursday, the highest inflation rate reported in 40 years.

The agency said rising prices for food, electricity, and shelter were the largest contributors to a 0.6% seasonally adjusted increase in all prices in January. Food prices rose 0.9% last month, following a 0.5% increase in December. Energy prices also rose 0.9%, though the increase in electricity prices was partially offset by declines in gasoline and natural gas prices.

Excluding food and energy, the price index for all items rose 0.6% in January, the same as in December. This was the seventh time in the last 10 months those prices have increased at least 0.5%, according to BLS data.

The CPI increase of 7.5% over the last year is the largest 12-month increase recorded by the government since February 1982.

That number beat the Dow Jones estimate of 7.2%. And the 0.6% CPI increase for January was larger than the estimated 0.4% increase economists had expected, according to CNBC News.

Reacting to the news, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) claimed vindication for his staunch opposition to President Joe Biden's $1.75 trillion Build Back Better spending plan.

"For months, I have been ringing the alarm bell about inflation. Once again, we are witnessing that the threat of inflation is real. There is not a corner of this nation where hard-working families are able to escape the noticeable impact of this 'inflation tax,'" Manchin said in a statement.

"Inflation taxes are draining the hard-earned wages of every American, and it’s causing real and severe economic pain that can no longer be ignored. It’s beyond time for the Federal Reserve to tackle this issue head on, and Congress and the Administration must proceed with caution before adding more fuel to an economy already on fire. As inflation and our $30 trillion in national debt continue a historic climb, only in Washington, DC do people seem to think that spending trillions more of taxpayers’ money will cure our problems, let alone inflation," he added.

“We must get serious about the finances of our country. It’s time we start acting like stewards of our economy and the money the American people entrust their government with. Now, more than ever, we must remember it is not our money, it’s the American people’s money. It is not our economy, it’s their economy. We all have a responsibly to do all that is possible to roll back inflation and manage our debts because the longer we or the Federal Reserve waits to act, the more economic pain will be caused," Manchin said.

In December, Manchin said he could not support Biden's $1.75 trillion spending bill because of his concerns over mounting government debt and rising inflation. His opposition denied Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) the votes needed to pass the bill and infuriated Democrats.

Since then, the U.S. national debt has risen to more than $30 trillion dollars and inflation continues to rise each month.

The Federal Reserve has said it will begin to increase interest rates this year in an effort to combat rising prices, with the first rate hike expected in March.


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