The Daily Editor

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On the day interest rates fell, stocks plunged. At the morning close on October 15, the Nikkei Stock Average was down 3,255 yen to 64,489 yen, a 4.81% decline, marking the sixth consecutive day of losses. The TOPIX also fell 103 points to 3,993 at the morning close, a 2.52% drop, and it was the first time since September 11 that it had fallen below 4,000 during trading hours.

 » Read more about: Stocks Plunged on a Day When Interest Rates Fell  »

With Social Security barreling toward insolvency, the government is increasing benefits in January.

On Wednesday, the Social Security Administration (SSA) announced that retirees will receive a 3.6 percent increase in Social Security benefits next year. The raise, which was unveiled shortly after the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported consumer prices rose 3.7 percent year over year in September,

 » Read more about: Social Security Is Running Out of Money. Benefits Are Rising 3.6% Next Year Anyway.  »

It’s not unreasonable to be jittery about the stock market these days. The S&P 500 has posted double-digit gains in six out of the past seven full years — and it was recently up 15% year to date — so a pullback this year or next is very possible. Given that, how should you invest?

 » Read more about: Nervous About the Stock Market? History Says Owning These Stocks Can Help You Sleep Peacefully at Night.  »

Chicago Federal Reserve president Austan Goolsbee said US consumer spending is being fueled by solid, broad-based strength across income levels, rather than being artificially propped up by a surging stock market.

“It’s very hard to have as strong consumer spending with numbers as we’ve been getting and not have it be broad-based,”

 » Read more about: Fed's Goolsbee says the stock market isn't propping up consumer spending — it's strong on its own  »

Defensive sectors are dominating early trading, as chip stocks drag down tech.

Large-cap health care (XLV) gapped up on the open to an intraday record high — its first since mid-August. Pharmaceutical companies like Lilly (LLY), JNJ (JNJ),

 » Read more about: Stock market today: Dow, S&P 500 rise, Nasdaq trims losses as Treasury yields sink  »

You likely know him best as a brilliant stock picker, and the key reason Berkshire Hathaway (BRKA +0.31%) (BRKB +0.35%) shares typically outperformed the S&P 500 during the 55 years he served as CEO of the conglomerate.

 » Read more about: The Vanguard ETF Warren Buffett Endorses That Young Investors Should Buy and Hold Forever  »

This article first appeared on GuruFocus.

Energy stocks have quietly produced one of the fastest sector rallies in more than three decades.

The energy sector reached a 50% year-to-date gain after just 196 trading days, making the move the fifth-fastest 50% rally by any S&P 500 sector since 1990,

 » Read more about: Energy Stocks Just Hit a Milestone Seen Only Twice Before  »

Chipmaker stocks sold off sharply Thursday, sending investors in search of safety elsewhere, as a growing list of worries including rising borrowing costs and competition from China caused traders to sour on some AI investments.

A closely watched index of semiconductor chip stocks sank 2.5%,

 » Read more about: Global chipmaker sell-off deepens as enthusiasm for AI stocks wobbles  »

Tech stocks could crash any day now — but they also might not be overpriced.

 » Read more about: Is It Really “Safe” to Invest in Tech ETFs Right Now? Here's What History Suggests.  »