What did I tell you? Inflation has settled substantially from a 40-year high reached last year. In what was clearly a shock to the bears, the latest US inflation data essentially wiped out the chance of another rate hike. It will also end the discussion about rates staying higher for longer. Traders pulled forward bets of when the Fed will first cut rates into the first half of next year.
The so-called core consumer price index, which excludes food and energy costs, increased 0.2% from September, according to government figures. Economists favor the core gauge as a better indicator of underlying inflation than the overall CPI.

The temporary rebound in energy prices, which was fueled by the late-summer surge in oil, has reversed course, Retail gasoline prices are now down 7.2% over the past year as of the latest report from the EIA. Though rents continued to rise last month, the pace of the increase slowed considerably from September.


I have spoken with some partners from the investment world I have known throughout the years who manage both stock and bond funds. Nobody had expected 2022 to be such a difficult investing year. Few anticipated the carnage of 2022. Well, there are no guarantees when investing in the markets. Bad things can happen.
With lots of pessimism out there, the stock market is making it more uncomfortable by the day for those with a lot of cash who are betting for another sharp correction or crash. Experience counts a lot. You can read anything about the financial markets but you cannot fully grasp them unless you have invested your own money or gone through one of the most difficult times in history.