The spark? A report from the National Association of Retailers (NAR), which declared that existing home sales had risen like a frog in a thunderstorm. The numbers: 2% higher month-over-month, a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.01 million. It’s the sort of data that makes real estate brokers clap their hands and shout “Hallelujah!” while hedge funds scratch their heads, wondering if they’ve been outsmarted by a parrot in a suit.
Data from S&P Global Market Intelligence lays bare the cold truth: the metals stock has lost its footing, falling precipitously from last Friday’s closing bell through Thursday noon. One could almost hear the collective sigh of investors, as they stand witness to the fragile, sometimes cruel, nature of speculative investments.
The purchase nudged Hexcel to 1.3% of EARNEST’s 13F portfolio-a sliver of faith in a sector where aluminum dreams of flight. Among their holdings: CBRE Group ($496.38 million), Reinsurance Group of America ($476.32 million), and GATX Corp ($473.92 million), each a titan compared to Hexcel’s $61.57 share price, which lingers like a forgotten guest at a party.
Now, I am not one to slight the other twenty-seven, but there is something rather dashedly charming about these three. They are the sort of stocks one might invite to a weekend at the country estate-dependable, profitable, and, if one is lucky, inclined to leave a few extra shillings in the silver tray. Let us, with the enthusiasm of a man who has just discovered a forgotten bottle of port, examine their prospects for 2025 and beyond.
The alchemists of Wall Street had predicted SelectQuote’s per-share losses to mirror the fabled Library of Babel’s infinite corridors: $0.13, a sum that might have seemed inevitable to those who mistake forecasts for fate. Yet the company, with the cunning of a scholar-king in a forgotten empire, lost only $0.02 per share. Revenue, too, defied expectation, rising from the prophesied $334.1 million to $345.1 million-a deviation as subtle as the difference between a mirror and its reflection.
The transaction, valued at $98.75 million, brings their total holdings to 1,280,829 shares. To put this into perspective, if each share were a grain of rice, they could feed a small village-or possibly fund a very peculiar art installation involving pigeons and tiny hats. This move nudged Walmart up to 2.0% of the fund’s 13F assets under management (AUM), which means they’re now officially taking Walmart seriously enough to allocate significant resources toward it. And yes, dear reader, “significant” here is a term used with all the gravity typically reserved for discussions about black holes or misplaced tax forms.
CEO Julie Felss Masino, who took the helm like a sailor boarding a sinking ship, calls this $700 million overhaul “relevancy.” She told ABC News the public loves it. Meanwhile, Twitter users weep into their sweet tea. The new logo is “horrible,” they say. “Culture dying,” they moan. Who are we to trust? A CEO with a press release or a million strangers with smartphones? The market’s answer: sell the stock. Buy the grief.
Now, what of the remaining treasures in Slocum Gordon’s treasure chest? Let us peek:
Let me confess: I once believed the S&P 500 was my financial soulmate. We’ve shared 10% annual returns, candlelit spreadsheets, and those heady 2023-2024 trysts where we hit 20% gains. But now? It’s grown cold. Distant. This year’s 9.7% gain feels like small talk at a party. And its dividend yield – 1.2%! – might as well be a microwaved meal after a gourmet feast.
Warren Buffett’s name carries weight in financial circles. Under his leadership, Berkshire Hathaway has become a symbol of consistent market outperformance. Its latest 13F filing shows a new position in UnitedHealth Group (UNH), a company that has seen its stock decline 40% since August 18.