MidSouth Week in Review
July 5, 2024

Weekly Update from Fund Manager Buzz Heidtke, MidSouth Investment Fund

For the week the S&P was up 2.0% and made a new high today.  The S&P and the NASDAQ both noticed records as the inflation gauge declined to mostly bets that the Federal Reserve will cut rates this year.  The increased likelihood of a second Trump administration has marked a selloff in U.S. government bonds, with investors betting policies including tax cuts could bring up deficits and inflation.  Sources:  Wall Street Journal and New York Times

Stocks And Bonds – Many of todays young investors aren’t jazzed by stocks and bonds.  A recent survey found that 94% of Gen-Z and Millennial investors are pursuing alternative assets such as watches, rare cars and sneakers - Bloomberg

Student Loans – The interest rates for Federal undergraduates student loans has risen to the highest level since 2008 (6.53%) vs. 2.75% in 2020 vs. 6.80% in 2006 – Department of Education

New Cars – High prices are weighing on sales … Consumers are tapped out and holding off.  Many expect prices to come down, or are waiting for the Fed to start cutting interest rates – The Kiplinger Letter

Downtown Office Buildings – After years in the shade, humble suburban offices are faring better than glamorous city-center towers.  Downtown office valuations have halved from their peak in early 2022, based on MSCI Real Assets data.

Ouch! – At the end of March, six months after a three-year timeout on federal student loan payments ended, nearly 20 million borrowers were making their payments as scheduled.  But almost 19 million were not – New York Times

State Pension Plans – No state has a fully funded pension plan now, though most have improved on their funding ratios in recent years, thanks to higher interest rates and the rally in the stock market.  Those for state employees in Illinois and Kentucky are less than 50% funded – The Kiplinger Letter

Being In Politics – is like being a football coach.  You have to be smart enough to understand the game and stupid enough to think it’s important – Eugene McCarthy

Clinton – said that his granddaddy used to  hide his whiskey in the toilet tank.  Asked where he hid his personal items from Hillary he replied, “The oven, it’s very secure place” – LOH

Math – One way to teach children modern math is to short them in their allowance.  It’s amazing how much even a slow one can learn in a short period of time - Buzz

Ouch! – A spending loss in 2022 for 44 items was $176 vs. $414 in 2024 – Kirk

EVs – are now cheaper than their traditional gas counterparts.  Last year used EVs cost 25% more on average than used gas cars.  In June AAA survey only 18% of consumers indicated they would likely purchase an EV – Business Insider

U.S. Homes – The median price of an existing U.S home climbed for the 11^th consecutive month in May, up 5.8% from last year, to $419,300, the highest ever recorded – CNN

Chipotle – executed a 50-to-1 stock split last week bringing its share price from $3,200 to $63 – Yahoo Finance

Solar Panels – this year will provide the world with about 6% of its electricity which is three times as much electrical energy as America consumed in 1951 – Economists

Cargo Containers – The cost of shipping was more than tripled than a year ago.  The Panama Canal has been limiting ship movements because of a drought – Wall Street Journal

Bossa Nova Baby - https://www.instagram.com/reel/C8uQGsWMtRk/?igsh=Nm93bzZxNW9mZ3A0

Baby Lock The Doors - https://www.instagram.com/reel/C8rx-jFJ7OT/?igsh=aGt5OXB6cm44MWJl

Baskins-Robbins - https://www.instagram.com/p/C8lC2EoNw3g/?igsh=ODJpaXkxYjRtM2s4

Friends Can Change Lives - https://www.instagram.com/p/C7R_i0UPW4s/?igsh=MWw5ZXM4bDJqZHEzZA==

Back in 1893 - https://www.instagram.com/reel/C6MhmGrNdxz/?igsh=MWZra3Bjd3NxZzJxeQ==

The material was prepared by MidSouth Investment Management LLC, and does not necessarily represent the views of the presenting party, nor their affiliates.  This information has been derived from sources believed to be accurate.  Please note – investing involves risk, and past performance is no guarantee of future results.  The publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting or other professional services.  If assistance is needed, the reader is advised to engage the services of a competent professional.  This information should not be construed as investment, tax or legal advice and may not be relied on for the purpose of avoiding any Federal tax penalty.  This is neither a solicitation nor recommendation to puthrough a regular rchase or sell any investment or insurance product or service, and should not be relied upon as such.  This material represents an assessment of the market environment at a specific point in time and is not intended to be a forecast of future events, or a guarantee of future results.  Investments will fluctuate and when redeemed may be worth more or less than when originally invested.  All economic and performance data is historical and not indicative of future results.  Market indices discussed are unmanaged.  Investors cannot invest in unmanaged indices.