To the Editor: In " The Stock Market's New Year Is Off to a Tough Start. What Lies Ahead, According to Our Roundtable Pros" (Jan. 10), Sonal Desai agrees with Henry Ellenbogen that "if we can get the tax cuts funded, plus deregulation, it would be fantastic for the country." But which part of the country will it be fantastic for? The elite 10% who own 93% of all equities, or the less fortunate 50% who own just 1%? Scott Black makes this point by noting, "The bottom one-third of U.S. households has zero savings, and more than two-thirds of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck." I think we all know that the spoils will go to the rich, but others cast their votes expecting a piece of the pie, as well.

James S. Vickers San Jose, Calif.

Humble Pie

To the Editor: Excluding Sonal Desai and her bond picks, there are 10 stock experts listed along with their results for 2024 (" 2024 Barron's Roundtable Report Card," Jan. 10). Giving equal weight to their picks for last year, I came up with an average performance of 11.2%, versus the S&P 500 index's total return of 26.8% during the listed period. Only Henry Ellenbogen, Rajiv Jain, and Meryl Witmer outperformed the S&P 500, while two experts had negative returns. It should make investment pros both humble and skeptical of the ability of most "experts" to consistently outperform the averages over any length of time.

Arthur C. Hodges Boston

A 10-Foot Pole

To the Editor: How will insurance companies protect against 200,000-plus people living in tents that need to cook a warm meal at night, so they don't freeze to death? (" California Fires Have Caused Billions of Dollars in Losses. Why Insurance Stocks Have a Brighter Future," Jan. 9.)

Campfires cause hundreds of brush fires every year in California. Insurance companies are liable for that risk. Sure, they can stiff the policyholders as they have been doing for years, but eventually the people will catch on and stop paying, or worse.

I wouldn't touch an insurance stock with a 10-foot pole, but it's your money, and that's what makes investing interesting.

Dan Laramie On Barrons.com

Toil and Trouble

To the Editor: It's ridiculous to say the Federal Reserve is "data dependent" when in fact it's eye-of-newt and tail-of-salamander dependent (" Rate Cuts Recede as a Strong Jobs Report Bolsters Fed Uncertainties," The Economy, Jan. 10).

There was zero reason for the first 0.5% interest-rate cut and no reason for the next cut, either. The Fed and its Ph.D. economists are living in some alternate universe.

Robert Ray On Barrons.com

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January 17, 2025 22:44 ET (03:44 GMT)

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