Today's Scoop:

Hey friends, it's🐪day. Here's what you need to know today...

1. Mortgage rates are falling.

2. Corporations aren't optimistic about the next few months.

3. Employment is still very high.

S&P 500: 4,016.221Mo: +5% | 1Yr: -8% | 5Yr: +40%

The market hasn't moved much in the last few days as we move through mixed updates from the biggest companies.

Corporations aren't super optimistic about the next few months. We're about a fifth of the way through fourth-quarter corporate financial updates, and a larger-than-normal percentage of companies have delivered lower profits than projected.

Employment is still high. Payroll processing company ADP said it hasn't seen much of a rise in unemployment, despite the headline layoff announcements from big tech companies.

Mortgage rates are coming down, encouraging more homebuying. The Mortgage Bankers Association reported a 3% rise in new home applications last week. Home buyers are trickling in now that the average 30-year mortgage is down to 6.2% from its peak over 7% last year.

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Monopolies & Antitrust Laws

Federal antitrust laws are designed to increase economic competition by limiting the market power of any one company or small group of companies (aka a trust).

The Federal Trade Commission, and sometimes the Justice Department, are tasked with monitoring pricing practices and collusion between major corporations to break up monopolies and other anti-competitive power structures.

Regulators review all corporate mergers and acquisitions to ensure newly-formed companies won't limit competition in a way that harms consumers with less choice or higher prices.