Good morning.
Markets are still digesting the latest stimulus package. Costing about $2,700 per taxpayer, it gave each of them $600 back. Unemployment benefits are being raised, temporarily. That’s the good news. But a number of items sound more like handouts than something designed to stimulate the economy.
Billions of dollars are going to countries overseas. This stimulus wasn’t proposed as a global package, and taxpayers are right to be mad. Ditto for such projects as $80 million to redecorate Senate offices (if you can spend millions to get elected in the first place, you can afford your own furniture). Overall, the much-vaunted stimulus has come off like a worse-than-expected Christmas bonus. Although (and we’re grateful we only have a few more days left to say it), what did you expect from 2020?
Now here’s the rest of the news:
December 23, 2019
Good morning, FedEx, the global shipping company, reported such poor earnings that one analyst called them “breathtakingly bad.” As a firm closely watched for global growth, it goes to show that the economy continues to show signs of very slow growth, if it all. That concern isn’t being reflected in the stock market yet, which continued to edge to new highs even as FedEx prices dropped nearly 10%. There’s only one small consolation: While things look bad for FedEx globally, there’s still a relatively good economy in the United States compared to the rest of the world.
I always like it when Darren Hardy uses a sketch artist to present his message. Today is no exception: “Making Meaningful Memories”
Having a soft heart in a cruel world is courage, not weakness. Merry Christmas 😉
