Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway is bullish on homebuilders (from The Wall Street Journal on August 14)…

Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway made a fresh bet on U.S. homebuilders in the second quarter. The company unveiled new positions in D.R. Horton, NVR, and Lennar, together worth more than $800 million at the end of June. The changes in Berkshire’s stock portfolio were disclosed after the market closed Monday, when the company released its
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Two notable retailers issued significant warnings about consumer spending this month (from The Wall Street Journal on August 22)…

Dick’s Sporting Goods and Macy’s shares traded sharply lower Tuesday after the retailers posted weaker quarterly earnings and provided tepid forecasts for the remainder of the year, signals that the recent strength in consumer spending has its limits.  The sporting-goods chain slashed its profit targets for the year after missing Wall Street forecasts for the
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This month brought more “ominous” signs for the auto loan industry (from The Wall Street Journal on August 21)…

Five years ago, there were a dozen models of new cars that sold for less than $20,000. In 2023, there was only one: the spartan Mitsubishi Mirage hatchback, which accounted for about 5,300 of the 7.7 million new vehicles sold in the U.S. in the first half of the year. If you are willing to
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