MidSouth Week in Review
October 11, 2024

Weekly Update from Fund Manager Buzz Heidtke, MidSouth Investment Fund

For the week, the S&P was up 1.4% and for the year it is up 22.6%, marking the best year to date performance in 24 years. Wholesale gas is up 13% in the last month closing at $2.15 from the low of $1.90.  Poor inflation rises to 2.8%, above expectations of 2.7%.

Refinancing – The average 30–year fixed mortgage rate is down to 6.08%, from 7% back in the spring.  That’s the lowest level since September 2022.  There are about 2.5 million homeowners who would benefit from refinancing now.  About 1 million homeowners who have credits scores above 720 and have equity in their homes of at least 20% could save at least 75 basis points by refinancing – The Kiplinger Letter

U. S. Consumer – U.S. credit card interest rates hit 23.4% in August.  Over the last 2 years, rates have soared by 7 %. U.S. consumers now have a record $1.36 trillion in credit card debt.  Meanwhile credit card delinquency rates are at 7%, the highest level since 2011 -The Kobeissi Letter

QQQ Vs BRK - NASDAQ 100 (QQQ),beat the best money manager in the world, Warren Buffett over 20 years turning $1m into $10.5m. Vs $6.2m. QQQ outperformed BRK by approximately 69% over this 20 year period.

Baseball - Aaron Judge, the New York Yankees center fielder, is the only fifth player to produce two or more seasons of at least 56 home runs, joining Babe Ruth, Ken Griffey Jr.,  Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa – New York Times

Election - Senator J D Vance of Ohio, Donald J Trump’s bearded running mate, is the first major party nominee with facial hair in 75 years – New York Times

Homes - Americans are spending more time at home in the recent time, American Time Use Survey, shows that time spent at home increased by 1 hour 39 minutes a day or 10 percent from 2003 through 2023.

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 put through a regular purchase 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.