Yahoo Finance

Based in Pontiac, Michigan, UWM Holdings Corp. is a wholesale mortgage originator that focuses on broker services rather than direct-to-consumer loans. It generates revenue from three segments: loan production, loan servicing, and interest income. UWMC is the leading wholesale mortgage lender in the U.S., with a 44% share of the wholesale market and acts as a conduit for mortgage brokers in all 50 states. The company has approximately 8,000 employees.

Bread Financial is a financial services company offering personalized payment, lending, and saving solutions. The company was formerly known as Alliance Data Systems and is based in Columbus, Ohio. The shares are a component of the S&P 600 index. The company has 7,000 employees.

It's possible that we'll see a little excitement in the financial markets this week from inflation data. November's CPI comes out at 8:30 today, November PPI is out on Thursday morning, and the Import Price Index drops on Friday. These will be the last inflation data reports that the Federal Reserve will get before the FOMC meeting on December 18. The current target range is 4.50% to 4.75%, and there is an 86% chance that we get a 25-basis-point interest-rate cut. Expectations for rate cuts have diminished in recent months as inflation remains sticky and the economy keeps chugging along. The CME FedWatch tool is looking for only a couple of cuts in 2025 -- and that's about where the two-year Treasury yield (at 4.1%) is sitting. But we all know how quickly things can change, one way or another. Investors during 2024 knew that Fed easing and interest-rate cuts are always good for the stock market. Now, the economy is doing well and EPS growth should be strong again -- so we don't need as many rate cuts, which is also bullish for stocks. That is why so many market studies are bullish, as stocks can move higher in both a rising and a falling rate environment as well as in a slow/moderately growing economy. Stocks have an upside bias as they advance about 75% of the time from the lower left of the chart to the upper right of the chart. Just try to survive the mega bear markets of 30% or more, when many panic at just the wrong time. (Mark Arbeter, CMT)

Equity investors don't seem to have a lot to worry about as we move toward 2025. Still, there is always something to worry about. As we see it, the big technical issues are the multiple weekly momentum divergences on the S&P 500 (SPX) and the futures positions of the smart money commercial hedgers in the major indices. As well, as of this writing, the Nasdaq and the Nasdaq 100 (QQQ) are working on only their first weekly momentum divergence. And yes, market participants are pretty bulled up -- especially in the options market. For the SPX, the Chande Trend Meter is a strong 88% and 70% of stocks in the index are above their 200-day average (bullish, yet down from 85% in September and October). As well, the index is at an all-time high; daily and weekly charts are approaching (but are not yet at) overbought momentum territory; the Bullish Percent Index (the percentage of stocks in the index on point-and-figure buy signals) is bullish at 71% (but lower than the 81% from September); the daily and weekly Vortex Indicator are bullish; the slope of the advance is not too steep (as calls for a possible year-end melt-up have not yet materialized); and the advance-decline line and advancing volume-declining volume line on the index are at or near all-time high territory. So if all those technical indicators are positive, is there only one direction for them to go? Well, they can always get even more bullish -- but yes, the above is a legitimate question. Bull markets tend to last longer than many expect and often go further than the fundamental news sometimes suggests is reasonable. December is the trickiest month to trade. Should one sell big winners and pay capital-gains tax or wait until early in the next year? Or sell some losers to offset capital gains? If a portfolio is behind, what can be done to catch up? These questions are asked every December. One option is to fade break-outs (some are working, like AAPL) and buy break-downs. That is basically the opposite of what is usually done during the other 11 months of a bull-market year. At the end of a good year, portfolio managers and RIAs 'can't' sell a certain stock if it's up 100% and subject to large capital-gains taxes. While these big gains can be offset a bit by tax-loss harvesting, many just hold big winners until the next year. Others recognize that the purpose of the investment game is to make big money -- and if that means taxes must be paid, then the job was well done.