Restaurants increase convenience and give many people a place to unwind. But it’s not all sunshine and rainbows as they’re notoriously hard to run thanks to perishable ingredients, labor shortages, or volatile consumer spending. Unfortunately, these factors have spelled trouble for the industry as it has shed 4% over the past six months. This performance was worse than the S&P 500’s 1.6% decline.
Consumer staples stocks are solid insurance policies in frothy markets ripe for corrections. Unfortunately, the sector hasn’t provided much protection lately as it pulled back by 10% over the past six months. This drop was worse than the S&P 500’s 1.6% fall.
Industrials businesses quietly power the physical things we depend on, from cars and homes to e-commerce infrastructure. Still, their generally high capital requirements expose them to the ups and downs of economic cycles, and the market seems to be baking in a prolonged downturn as the industry has shed 8.6% over the past six months. This drop was worse than the S&P 500’s 1.6% loss.
Healthcare companies are pushing the status quo by innovating in areas like drug development and digital health. But financial performance has lagged recently as players offloaded surplus COVID inventories in 2023 and 2024, a headwind for overall demand. The result? Over the past six months, the industry has tumbled by 9.8%. This performance was worse than the S&P 500’s 1.6% decline.
Whether you see them or not, industrials businesses play a crucial part in our daily activities. Unfortunately, this role also comes with a demand profile tethered to the ebbs and flows of the broader economy, and investors seem to be forecasting a downturn - over the past six months, the industry has pulled back by 8.6%. This drop was worse than the S&P 500’s 1.6% loss.
Large-cap stocks are known for their staying power and ability to weather market storms better than smaller competitors. However, their sheer size makes it more challenging to maintain high growth rates as they’ve already captured significant portions of their markets.
South Carolina introduces a bill to create a Bitcoin reserve, allowing up to 10% of state funds to be invested in digital assets with strict oversight.
Inflation picked up last month and consumers barely raised their spending, signs that the economy was already cooling even before most tariffs were imposed. Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, core prices rose 2.8% compared with a year ago, higher than January’s figure of 2.7%. Economists watch core prices because they are typically a better guide of where inflation is headed.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. consumer spending rebounded in February amid rising prices for goods and services, which could amplify fears that the economy was facing a period of tepid growth and high inflation amid an escalation in trade tensions. The report from the Commerce Department on Friday showed a measure of underlying price pressures increasing by the most in 13 months. Economists say President Donald Trump's protectionist trade agenda, marked by a rush of tariff action announcements since taking office in January, will boost prices of imported goods and drive inflation higher in the months ahead.
Americans increased their spending last month after taking a breather in January, while inflation was a mixed bag, new Commerce Department data showed Friday.
