Latest news with #TerribleTuesday
CNBC
17-06-2025
- Business
- CNBC
Jim Cramer's guide to investing: Looking back at how the Fed handles economic downturns
CNBC's Jim Cramer reviewed several significant market downturns he's witnessed throughout his career and looked at the Federal Reserve's action during those moments. "Whenever the market goes into a tailspin, whether it's a Fed-mandated decline or if it's caused by the White House, or by the real weakness in the economy, you should try to understand why it's happening," he said. "Because that has a huge impact on what happens next, and it's often the key to saving, or losing, a ton of money." During his more than 40 years on Wall Street, Cramer said he's recommended "selling everything" four times. Once in 1987 just before historic "Black Monday" and "Terrible Tuesday" declines, then in 1998 when hedge fund Long-Term Capital Management was in crisis. He also advised investors pull out of the market in 2000 before the dotcom bubble burst, and then in 2008 as the collapse of the U.S. housing market triggered a devastating crash. Of these moments, Cramer said he only regrets his judgement in 1998. At the time, Cramer's own hedge fund was underperforming and investors were pulling money out, he said, adding that he sensed "a total collapse." Cramer said he believed the Fed seemed "oblivious to the situation" even as the spillover from Long-Term Capital Management's predicament threatened other banks. But shortly after Cramer recommended pulling out the market, the Fed stepped in. The central bank issued an emergency rate cut and helped bail out Long-Term Capital Management, staving off disaster. His call at the time was "perhaps the worst professional mistake of my life," Cramer conceded. He said he learned an important lesson — even if the Fed seems to be "asleep at the wheel," it can still change course at any moment, especially when the market is doing poorly. However, the Fed acted too late in 2008, Cramer said. While he said the downturn stemmed from the economy itself, the Fed made it worse with rate hikes. The agency believed the economy was strong, he continued, and it "couldn't see the rot underneath." Cramer said some major firms had already collapsed by the time the Fed started to cut and offered up "the mother of all government bailouts." "When I told people to get into cash in October of 2008, when the Dow was around 10,200, I got a lot of hate — the conventional wisdom was that I was being insanely irresponsible," he said. "Of course, if you listened to me, you sidestepped a hideous decline. The financial crisis was caused by genuine systemic risk, even if the very real problems were made worse by a clueless Federal Reserve." Click here to download Jim Cramer's Guide to Investing at no cost to help you build long-term wealth and invest
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Yahoo
New electric company scam has Wichitans on their toes
WICHITA FALLS (KFDX/KJTL) —While Wichita Falls continues to deal with a flood advisory, some people are facing a new threat: an electricity scam. Suszette McKee's street is usually quiet. But recently, an electric company scam has broken the peace, soliciting McKee and some of her neighbors. The alleged company offered to lower her bill by removing ONCOR delivery charges, but McKee felt it was fishy after she asked for more information. 'He wouldn't tell me anything,' McKee said. 'He wouldn't give me any information. Do you know what company you work for? And then I asked him, do you have an ID? And he said yes, I do. And he's flipping around on his phone, and then he changed the subject and never showed me an ID or anything.' When she declined the offer, the scammer left, and McKee then called Reliant Energy about the attempted scam. They said they've received many calls about scams of that nature. Had McKee fallen for it, she discovered the consequences could have been significant. 'What they could do is if they get your account number, they can just change your electric company without you even knowing it,' McKee said. McKee said the scammers were wearing basic yellow safety vests and lanyards that said 'Simplicity' on them. Now that she's aware of the risks the scammer's plan posed, she wants her neighbors and others to be aware of them too. 'There are a couple of people on the neighborhood app that have said the same things happened to them,' McKee said. 'So, I just wanted people to be aware, you know, if somebody comes up and, especially if they ask to look at your electric bill, don't let them.' McKee lived through the Terrible Tuesday tornadoes in 1979 and has experienced her fair share of scams stemming from that incident. As experienced as she is, she'll be even more wary about who she trusts with her electric bill. 'I'll go on the website, or I'll call, you know, the electric company and see what deals are best for me or something,' McKee said. 'But I wouldn't trust anybody to come to my door and want to sell me electric or anything.' The Better Business Bureau is just one place with advice and resources available to prevent falling victims to scams. It's always important to do the proper research before hiring or making a financial decision involving another company. So, with Wichita Falls already in the height of storm season, electric company scammers are just one more thing for Wichitans to watch out for. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Bloomberg
01-04-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Ailbhe Rea: How Was Your Terrible Tuesday?
It's been dubbed 'Awful April' and 'Terrible Tuesday' — today is the day the UK is hit with a flood of household bill increases on everything from water, electricity and broadband bills to train fares and council tax. Bloomberg calculates that households face nearly £600 of extra costs on average with these combined hikes — spelled out in grim detail in the piece. That sharp 26% rise in water bills, in particular, will infuriate people who are already all too aware of sewage spills, systemic mismanagement and under-investment in British water infrastructure, and now find themselves footing the bill for it.
