In a case of good news is bad news, the S&P 500 initially was rattled by that strong jobs report. By midday, however, it had clawed back most of its losses.

The macroeconomic storm is playing out as a tale of two consumers, if recent earnings reports are any indication. 

While various consumer-oriented companies have indicated pressures on lower-end buyers that have weighed on results, some businesses catering to the higher end of the income stream have pointed to a “premium” focus as the key reason for their resilience. 

Investing in a beaten-down stock market is no fun. But here’s the good news: Some of the best stock purchases you’ll ever make in your life will happen during down markets.

True, the S&P 500 SPX,

Investing in a beaten-down stock market is no fun. But here’s the good news: Some of the best stock purchases you’ll ever make in your life will happen during down markets.

True, the S&P 500 SPX,

Dear MarketWatch, 

My wife and I are 64 and 65 years old, respectively. I plan on retiring in two years when I’ll be fully vested with my current employer, avoiding early stock withdrawal penalties, and be closer to tapping into Social Security benefits. Currently we have $1.5 million in 401(k) investments, in moderate to aggressive funds, and a few small IRAs. We also have about $600,000 in various dividend earning stocks, including the mentioned company stock, as well as annuities. We have no debts of any kind and are currently living in a two-family property that we own, mortgage free. Our net income from the rented unit is approximately $1,500/month.  

Dear MarketWatch, 

My wife and I are 64 and 65 years old, respectively. I plan on retiring in two years when I’ll be fully vested with my current employer, avoiding early stock withdrawal penalties, and be closer to tapping into Social Security benefits. Currently we have $1.5 million in 401(k) investments, in moderate to aggressive funds, and a few small IRAs. We also have about $600,000 in various dividend earning stocks, including the mentioned company stock, as well as annuities. We have no debts of any kind and are currently living in a two-family property that we own, mortgage free. Our net income from the rented unit is approximately $1,500/month.  

I went to brunch last weekend and, when the server handed us the bill, she said a 20% service fee was added to cover her benefits and health insurance, but that it was not a tip. 

I am absolutely supportive of paying restaurant and waitstaff a living wage and they deserve to have benefits. But I wish that the restaurant would have just baked it into their prices. 

I went to brunch last weekend and, when the server handed us the bill, she said a 20% service fee was added to cover her benefits and health insurance, but that it was not a tip. 

I am absolutely supportive of paying restaurant and waitstaff a living wage and they deserve to have benefits. But I wish that the restaurant would have just baked it into their prices. 

According to a longstanding theory in corporate finance, companies with cash hoards underperform those with smaller savings accounts, on average. This theory was laid out several decades ago by Michael Jensen, an emeritus professor of business administration at Harvard Business School. In a now-famous 1986 article in the American Economic Review, Jensen argued that companies would be less efficient to the degree they hoarded cash above and beyond what was needed for current operations.

Why would too much cash be a bad thing? Jensen theorized that it encourages corporate managers to engage in foolish behaviors. Jensen argued that shareholders should try to “motivate managers to disgorge the cash rather than investing it at below the cost of capital or wasting it on organization inefficiencies.”

That’s the theory. But does it hold up in practice? To get insight, I reached out to Rob Arnott, founder of Research Affiliates. Arnott was co-author in 2003 (with Cliff...

America is going electric. Automakers are pumping out new electric vehicles as fast as they can design them. Some of the biggest automakers have committed to going all-electric, or mostly-electric, by public target dates.

Many Americans are buying in. More than 5% of the new cars Americans bought last quarter had a battery instead of a gas tank.

Incredibly,...

I went to brunch last weekend and, when the server handed us the bill, she said a 20% service fee was added to cover her benefits and health insurance, but that it was not a tip. 

I am absolutely supportive of paying restaurant and waitstaff a living wage and they deserve to have benefits. But I wish that the restaurant would have just baked it into their prices. 

But the company revealed in a letter to shareholders that accompanied its Q2 earnings this week that it’s aiming to “de-risk” the business by looking for partnerships to help run the betting arm, rather than FuboTV going it alone.

“We continue to believe that an integrated wagering platform, offering both live video and a sportsbook, will result in the best viewing and gaming experience for customers,” the company said in the shareholder letter on Thursday. “However, as we have evaluated how best to scale these capabilities in today’s market, we have concluded that we will no longer pursue this opportunity on our own.”

See also: NFL player Calvin Ridley bets $1,500 on NFL games — is suspended and may lose $11 million in salary

“In light of a rapidly-evolving macro-economic environment, we believe it is important to be even more capital efficient than originally scoped,” the letter continued. “We are taking steps to de-risk our business and...

By many measures of teen employment this summer, the July jobs report shows the kids are alright.

Actually, better than that.

“Arguably, it is the best time ever to be a teen in search of summer work,” Julia Pollak, chief economist at ZipRecruiter, told MarketWatch.

By many measures of teen employment this summer, the July jobs report shows the kids are alright.

Actually, better than that.

“Arguably, it is the best time ever to be a teen in search of summer work,” Julia Pollak, chief economist at ZipRecruiter, told MarketWatch.

Your new neighbor might be an out-of-towner with a fat wallet.

Outsiders moving to Philadelphia, New York City, Atlanta, Dallas, Portland and other cities tend to have higher budgets compared to local buyers, according to an analysis of the average maximum list-price for saved home searches on Redfin RDFN, an online real-estate brokerage.

The...

More than 80% of the S&P 500 index’s companies have reported second-quarter results so far, and at least five key takeaways have emerged — including that Wall Street was far more worried about the coming earnings season than it needed to be.

That doesn’t mean investors were wrong; the numbers and management commentary have confirmed that inflation, the supply chain and weakening demand have continued to act as headwinds, and may continue to do so for the foreseeable future. So while investors may have been too pessimistic heading into earnings, it’s still too soon to suggest they could start being optimistic.

My wife and I currently make $250,000 a year, which will climb north of $500,000 in the next few years. I have a currently unemployed sister and a brother who makes $40,000 annually with three kids. We are all in our early to mid-30s.

“That one is a headscratcher,” said chief economist Richard Moody of Regions Financial. “I don’t know what to make of that.”

With so much work available and jobs easy to get, the rate of participation in the labor market normally would be expected to rise. A strong jobs market typically draws a greater percentage of the population into the workforce.

The opposite is happening.

The labor-force participation rate fell a tick to 62.1% in July, down from a pandemic high of 62.4% in March. It had grown steadily from 2021 through the spring of 2022 before hitting a wall.

Put another way, 62.1 of every 100 able-bodied people 16 or older are working or looking for work.

Before the pandemic, the rate stood at 63.4%.

What does it mean? Several million people who normally would be working are missing from the labor force. That helps explain the most acute labor shortage in decades.

What’s worse, the participation rate has leveled off even...

China says it is canceling or suspending dialogue with the U.S. on climate change, military relations and other topics in a retaliatory strike after a controversial visit to Taiwan by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

The measures announced Friday are the latest in a promised set of steps intended to punish Washington for allowing the visit to the island that mainland China claims as its own territory. The trip defied the U.S.’s public backing of a “One China” policy, Beijing said. China has said Taiwan could be annexed by force if necessary and it opposes the self-ruling leadership engaging with foreign governments.

I work for the government. I will retire in nine years with a full government pension, which will be about $100,000 a year, and will have about $1 million in savings. 

My girlfriend makes twice what I make and runs her mom’s company. Her mom has stated in her will that her daughter will inherit her company, money and assets when she dies. That, at a minimum, will be worth a few million dollars.

The Federal Reserve doesn’t love the employment report released Friday, which showed that 528,000 more jobs were created in July while the unemployment rate fell to 3.5%, matching the lowest rate in more than 50 years.

They ought to love the strong market. After all, one of the Fed’s official duties is to foster “maximum employment” and this report shows we are close to that goal. Yay!!

I recently bought an ice cream cone at a nearby parlor. It’s a big-name joint and I won’t name it here, but suffice it to say you can pay up to $8 for a carryout cone or a cup. The line is out the door, especially in the evening. 

India Wayman, 40, a stay-at-home mom in North Syracuse, N.Y. says she’s never felt this much stress buying back-to-school clothes for her daughter.

“I have to go through too many avenues to find affordable clothes, way too many avenues,” she said. 

In prior years, Wayman shopped off-season and in the clearance section. But this year, she said, even the clearance section was out of reach.

As recession worries loom over America, a debt crisis already bearing down on wage workers in northwest Arkansas could foreshadow bigger problem for a nation on high alert for a flood of car repossessions.

Springdale, Ark., a town of almost 90,000 residents in the Ozark Mountains, has been facing the aftershocks of some of the pandemic’s darkest days: lenders who come knocking to collect leftover debt on repossessed automobiles.

MarketWatch...