MidSouth Week in Review:
February 01, 2019

Weekly Update from Fund Manager Buzz Heidtke, MidSouth Investment Fund

The S & P was up 1.4% for the week and 7.9% for the month of January.  The January gain was the 4^th best since 1950.  This week’s gain was helped by the Fed saying the case for rising interest rates has lessened, so there is no need to raise rates now.  Apple reported flat profits and revenues that were due to a slowdown in China and a 15% iPhone sales decline.  November new home sales rose 16.9% vs. October but declined 7.7% from 2017.  Legendary investor Bill Miller said that whenever his fund had a decline of 15%+ over any period, his fund has averaged a 40%+ return over the following 12-month period.  The S & P declined 19.8% for the 3-month period ending December 24. 

BuzzBits

So Goes January – so goes the year.  The S & P was up 7.9% for the month, its best performance for the first month of the year since 1987.  A gain in January has foretold an annual gain 87% of the time with only 9 declines going back to 1950 – Stock Trader’s Almanac

Super Bowl Footballs – Wilson sends 780 balls to each team every season.  For the Super Bowl, each team gets 108 footballs that are made specifically for the game; from that haul they’ll select and present 24 balls to the officials before kickoff.  Each approved ball will be initialed with a Sharpie.  The equipment staff has 2 hours and 15 minutes before kickoff to prep the balls.  Additionally the officials get game approved balls that are the kicking balls or “K balls” – Sports Illustrated

Low Debt – Stocks with strong balance sheets have outperformed those with high debt over the past quarter century and with less volatility.  Since June 2015, companies with more debt have outperformed their more conservative peers by about 10% - Barron’s

Loneliness – One out of two Americans fall into this category.  A Brigham Young survey found that it shortened a person’s life by 15 years.  The group are more likely to suffer from insomnia, depression and drug use.  Gen Z members and Millennials scored the highest for loneliness.  Why are so many lonely?  Americans are getting married and having children later in life; there are now the most singles in the U.S. than ever.  Not being part of a regular workplace also plays a part – CIGNA ….. A recent study by JAMA Psychiatry found that physical activity plays an important role in reducing risk of depression.

2020 Presidential Election – It looks as if we will see lots of candidates for the election-run against Trump.  However it may be tough to beat the record 1,777 candidates that filed to run in 2016.  To be eligible to run, a candidate needs to raise or spend at least $5,000 of contributions and expenditures – FEC

School Closings – Remember back when we were kids and every time it was below zero they closed school?  Yeah, me neither.

Got Him! – Last week, 29 FBI agents, carrying high-powered weapons and wearing bullet-proof vests, raided the home of Roger Stone and chained him and carted him off.  Stone was accused of trying to obtain the 2016 Democratic emails from a Russian hacker – Washington Gazette

Median Home Prices – declined to $253k in December from $274k in June 2018 vs. the 2008-2012 low point of $155k in January 2012 – National Association of Realtors ….. Home sales declined in 2018, as the combination of higher mortgage rates, low inventories, and price gains consistently outpaced wage growth – New York Times

Jackie Robinson – Yesterday would have been his 100^th birthday.  Robinson was the first black to play pro baseball.  In 1949, he lead the league in batting (.342) and steals (37).  At UCLA he was a four-sport athlete.  His older brother Mack won a silver in the 1936 Olympics in the 200 meter, finishing second to Jessie Owens – Wall Street Journal

The World’s 500 Richest – ended 2018 with a combined net worth of $4.7 trillion, down $511 billion or 10% from 2017.  Amazon founder, Jeff Bezos saw his net worth decline 27% to a mere $123 billion – Bloomberg ….. Bernie Sanders has proposed a 77% estate tax on billionaires.

UConn – generated $40 million from sports over its last FY, yet spent $80 million.  To balance the athletic budget the school would need to raise tuition by $2,000 for each of its 20,000+ students.  It’s in-state tuition is $12,845 annually.  The school won’t rule out eliminations of some sports to close the budget gap.  A state tax increase of about $33 per family would also work – NCAA ….. Connecticut is facing a $1.9 billion deficit for FY 2020 – Yankee Institute

The National Debt – has surged 10% to $21.95 trillion during Trump’s first two years in office.  During George W. Bush’s eight years, the national debt rose 86% to $9.06 trillion.  During Obama’s 8-year-term the debt rose 88% to $19.95 trillion – Treasury Department

Model T Production -  https://safeshare.tv/x/ShbgvwazCZ

buzz@msifund.com

This 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 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 in unmanaged indices. 

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