STOCKS CLIMB: Here's what you need to know
First up, the scoreboard:
- Dow: 21,454.61, +143.95, (+0.68%)
- S&P 500: 2,440.69, +21.31, (+0.88%)
- Nasdaq: 6,234.41, +87.79, (+1.43%)
- US 10-year yield: 2.224%, +0.026
- WTI crude: $44.78, +0.54, +1.22%
1. WARREN BUFFETT: The Republican healthcare bill should be called the "Relief for the Rich Act." During an interview with "PBS NewsHour" on Tuesday, Buffett said he thinks the healthcare bill has one goal: to help rich people like him.
2. TRUMP: We're going to have a "big surprise" on healthcare. "Healthcare is working along very well. We're gonna have a big surprise," Trump said during an event in the White House with the Chicago Cubs. "We have a great healthcare package." When asked for clarification, Trump replied, "We're going to have a great, great surprise."
3. Meanwhile, Rand Paul released a list of demands for the Senate healthcare bill, and it shows why it might be impossible to pass. Soon after it was released, Paul announced that he would not support the current Senate bill, the Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA), because it did not go far enough in its repeal of Obamacare.
4. The stock market is sending Janet Yellen a crucial message. If the equity market truly believed the Federal Reserve's assertion that the economy is strong enough to withstand higher interest rates, it would be fleeing from stocks offering high yields. But it's doing the opposite.
5. Ethereum explodes above $300. It touched a high of $308 earlier in the session Wednesday. The gains came less than a week after a flash crash on the Global Digital Asset Exchange pushed the crypto-currency's price down to as low as $0.10.
ADDITIONALLY:
The housing market has become "lopsided" - and it's bad news for first-time buyers.
ETFs are being unfairly blamed for one of the market's biggest problems.
The tech stock Illuminati are getting too much credit.
Trump appears to be losing influence on healthcare.
There are "cracks emerging" in the calmest market in years.