Benzinga and Yahoo Finance LLC may earn commission or revenue on some items through the links below. Her dad's fridge was nearly empty. His toilet paper was gone. Rent had jumped to $750, and his only income was a $1,000 monthly disability check. In a post on Reddit, a woman shared how she tried to help without humiliating him. He never asked for anything. But he hadn't been eating. "He said he was humiliated and how this should be reversed — he should be helping me," she wrote. "How he has taken food fro ...

Core Viewpoint - Inflation remains the primary reason many households are experiencing financial pressure [1] Group 1 - The ongoing inflationary environment is significantly impacting household financial stability [1]

Core Viewpoint - Inflation pressure is increasing across the country as the year concludes, as indicated by the Federal Reserve's beige book report [1] Group 1: Economic Conditions - Cost pressures due to tariffs were consistently noted across all districts in the report [1]

Group 1 - The article celebrates the fifth anniversary of High Yield Investor by offering a 30-day money-back guarantee to attract new investors [1] - Current market conditions are characterized by persistent inflation, concerns about a weakening labor market, and rising geopolitical uncertainty, leading to high stock market valuations [1] - High Yield Investor focuses on balancing safety, growth, yield, and value in its investment strategies, offering various portfolios and educational content [1] Group 2 - Samuel Smith, a lead analyst with a diverse background, leads the High Yield Investor group alongside Jussi Askola and Paul R. Drake [1] - The service includes real-money core, retirement, and international portfolios, along with regular trade alerts and an active chat room for investors [1]

Group 1: Earnings Overview - The Q4 earnings season is expected to begin with major banks like JPMorgan Chase, BNY Mellon, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and Citigroup reporting results, with corporate earnings expectations strengthening over recent quarters [1] - Total S&P 500 earnings for Q4 2025 are projected to rise by 7.9% year over year, supported by an 8.2% increase in revenues, marking the 10th consecutive quarter of positive earnings growth for the index [2] Group 2: Sector Performance - Aerospace, tech, and finance sectors are anticipated to perform well in Q4, while seven of the 16 Zacks sectors are expected to underperform, notably Autos with a projected earnings decline of 24%, Transportation with an 8.5% decline, and Consumer Staples with a 4.1% decline [3] - The Auto sector is expected to see a 24% decline in earnings due to a 7.3% decrease in revenues, following a 20.7% earnings loss in Q3 2025 despite 4% revenue growth [4] - The Transportation sector is projected to lose 8.5% in earnings with only 1.2% revenue growth, following a minimal earnings gain of 0.3% in Q3 [7] - The Consumer Staples sector is expected to post a 4% earnings decline despite 2.4% revenue growth, following a 0.9% earnings drop in Q3 [8] Group 3: Sector Challenges - The Auto sector faces challenges from increased costs due to tariffs and softening demand, with lower-income buyers likely to pull back on purchases [6] - The Transportation sector is experiencing earnings pressure from subdued freight demand, attributed to earlier inventory buildup from trade policy uncertainty [7] - Consumer Staples companies are under pressure from inflation, a soft labor market, and falling affordability, impacting their pricing power [8]

Economic Indicators - The November Producer Price Index (PPI) showed a month-over-month increase of +0.2%, up from a revised +0.1% in October, but below the consensus estimate of +0.3% [2] - The core PPI, excluding food and energy, remained unchanged at 0.0% for November, down from a revised +0.3% in October [3] - Year-over-year PPI increased to +3.0% from a revised +2.8%, marking the first time it has reached a "3-handle" since September [4] - The core PPI year-over-year also reached +3.0%, 10 basis points higher than the unchanged +2.9% from October [4] - Excluding food, energy, and trade, the year-over-year PPI rose to +3.5%, the highest since March of the previous year [4][5] Retail Sales - U.S. Retail Sales for November reported a headline increase of +0.6%, surpassing the estimated +0.4% and a significant rise from the revised -0.1% in the prior month [6] - Excluding autos, Retail Sales still showed a strong increase of +0.5%, more than double the revised +0.2% from October [6] - Core Retail Sales, excluding autos and gasoline, were +0.4% for the month, down from +0.6% in the previous report, indicating continued consumer spending [7] Bank Earnings - Major banks reported Q4 earnings, with Citigroup, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo all exceeding bottom-line estimates: Citigroup at +$1.81 per share, Bank of America at $0.98, and Wells Fargo at $1.76 [8] - Citigroup benefited from reduced provisions for troubled loans, while Wells Fargo experienced a revenue miss due to higher-than-expected severance costs [9] - Bank of America reported an increase in Net Interest Income for the quarter, with both BofA and Citi having only missed bottom-line estimates once in the past five years [9]

Group 1: Cryptocurrency Market Trends - Metaplanet has completed a bearish-to-bullish reversal after an 82% drawdown from its June highs, contrasting with MicroStrategy, which continues to struggle near lows [1] - Monero has formed a decade-long ascending triangle and is poised for higher prices, especially as the privacy-coin narrative gains traction [1] - The cryptocurrency market is currently experiencing a phase of institutional adoption, with major financial institutions laying the groundwork for continued involvement [10] Group 2: Economic Indicators and Federal Reserve Actions - President Trump's upcoming replacement for Fed Chair Jerome Powell is expected to initiate a rate-cutting cycle starting in the second quarter, with total Fed assets rising again after the end of quantitative tightening [3] - Following a stronger-than-expected unemployment report, market-implied rate odds for the January FOMC meeting have shifted towards a "no cut" stance, aligning with the Fed's focus on labor data [4] Group 3: Bitcoin Technical Analysis - Bitcoin is showing signs of a potential bullish reversal, forming a double bottom pattern that could target the $100k+ region [7] - Despite a bearish cross in hash ribbons indicating potential weakness, both hashrate and hash ribbons are stabilizing, suggesting a possible inflection point [9] - Bitcoin ETF flows remain negative, with approximately $700 million in outflows reported in the past week [7] Group 4: Blockchain Ecosystem Developments - The 2025 crypto market is characterized by a widening gap between activity and price performance, with total value locked (TVL) increasing in seven of eight ecosystems covered [11][12] - Ethereum's fundamentals have strengthened despite underperformance in price, with increased TVL and stablecoin supply, while Layer 1 revenue has fallen sharply [13] - Solana has seen elevated on-chain usage and a significant expansion in stablecoin market capitalization, although price volatility continues [14] Group 5: Market Dynamics and Investor Behavior - The ratio of Solana ecosystem token volumes over SOL volumes on centralized exchanges has increased over 40%, indicating a return of risk appetite among investors [18] - Application-level monetization and institutional utility are becoming more significant in determining performance across crypto markets [18]

Economic Indicators - US November retail sales increased by +0.6% month-over-month, surpassing expectations of +0.5% [1] - US November PPI final demand rose by +3.0% year-over-year, exceeding expectations of +2.7% [1] - US December existing home sales rose by +5.1% month-over-month to a 2.75-year high of 4.35 million, stronger than the expected 4.22 million [4] Stock Market Performance - The S&P 500 Index decreased by -0.96%, the Dow Jones Industrials Index fell by -0.57%, and the Nasdaq 100 Index dropped by -1.53% [4] - Weakness in chip makers and the Magnificent Seven technology stocks is negatively impacting the broader market [3][15][16] - Energy producers are experiencing gains, with WTI crude oil reaching a 2.5-month high [17] Federal Reserve Commentary - Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari indicated that the US economy shows "resilience" and does not see the need for an interest rate cut this month [5] - Philadelphia Fed President Anna Paulson mentioned potential for modest rate adjustments later in the year if inflation moderates and growth stabilizes [6] International Trade - Better-than-expected trade news from China, with December exports rising by +6.6% year-over-year and imports increasing by +5.7% year-over-year, supporting global growth prospects [7] Earnings Season - Q4 earnings season is beginning, with S&P earnings growth expected to rise by +8.4%, and +4.6% excluding the Magnificent Seven technology stocks [10]

Group 1 - Philadelphia Federal Reserve President Anna Paulson indicated that interest rates may decrease later this year if inflation continues to decline and the labor market stabilizes [2] - Economic growth remains solid, suggesting a potential for interest rate cuts without jeopardizing economic stability [2] - The comments reflect a cautious optimism regarding the economic outlook and the Federal Reserve's monetary policy direction [2]

Economic Outlook - The dollar is experiencing underlying weakness as the FOMC is expected to cut interest rates by approximately -50 basis points in 2026, while the BOJ is anticipated to raise rates by +25 basis points in the same year, and the ECB is expected to maintain current rates [1] - Philadelphia Fed President Anna Paulson forecasts inflation moderation, a stabilizing labor market, and growth around 2% for the year, suggesting modest adjustments to the funds rate may be appropriate later in the year [2] - Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari indicates resilience in the US economy and sees no impetus for immediate Fed rate cuts [2] Dollar Performance - The dollar index (DXY) is down by -0.12%, pressured by a rally in the yen and concerns over Fed independence following comments from Fed Chair Powell regarding potential criminal charges against the Federal Reserve [3] - The dollar is further pressured as the Fed increases liquidity in the financial system, having started to purchase $40 billion a month in T-bills [4] Euro and Yen Movements - The euro is slightly higher, up by +0.09%, due to dollar weakness, although gains are limited by comments from ECB Vice President Luis de Guindos about global uncertainty affecting the Eurozone economy [5] - The yen has rebounded from a 1.5-year low against the dollar, driven by hawkish comments from Japanese officials, with BOJ Governor Ueda noting rising inflation and wages [6] Precious Metals Market - Gold and silver prices are rising, with February COMEX gold up +31.50 (+0.68%) and March COMEX silver up +5.152 (+5.97%), supported by geopolitical tensions and strong demand for safe-haven assets [10][11] - Concerns about the Fed's independence and potential easier monetary policy in 2026 are boosting demand for precious metals as a store of value [13] - Central bank demand for gold remains strong, with China's PBOC increasing its reserves by +30,000 ounces to 74.15 million troy ounces in December, marking the fourteenth consecutive month of increases [14]