MidSouth Week in Review:
October 11, 2019

The S & P was up 1.4% today and up 3.0% over the past three days on news that Trump would meet with a Chinese official for trade talks.  The 10-year Treasury yields rose from 1.54% to 1.75% on the news.  The number of individuals looking for jobs dropped to a record low.  Natural gas declined to near record lows of $2.22 from $4.80  a year ago due to warm weather causing reduced demand.  PG&E (PCG) declined 29% yesterday on the announcement that the utility company was shutting off power to some 700,000 households and businesses in an effort to prevent more deadly fires.  Also the court turned down the company’s efforts to reorganize (chapter 11), which means that the bondholders may become the new owners of PG&E.  Yesterday, Canadian pot company Hexo (HEXO) declined 24% after saying the black market continues to thrive, causing the company to reduce their revenue forecast.  Investment Cannabis Grow Fund (CANNX) declined 7.5% yesterday and is down 48% from its March high.  Tilray (TLRY) had a 14% decline yesterday to $20.65 and is down 93% from its Sept. 2018 high of $300.  - Buzz

BuzzBits

The Bull Market – is old but not dead – CitiCorp

Biblical Wit – An Ohio Church used a road sign to urge thieves who stole their new air-conditioner to keep it, since “it’s hot where you are going”. – The WEEK

10-Year Note Yields – dropped to 1.48% in August before climbing to 1.9% in early September.  Moody’s believes the yield on the notes could descend to between 0.5% to 1% in a recession from its current 1.74% level – Chief Investment Officer

Nashville – is flat broke, and city leaders have run up a debt of $4.5 billion ($20,000 per family) that is now more than twice that of the entire state of Tennessee - The Beacon Letter

S & P 500 High Dividend EFT (SPYD) – has been trading since 10-21-15, with a 15.87% annualized return since inception and a one-year return of 12.59%.  The fund is designed to measure the performance of 80 high-dividend yielding companies within the S & P Index.  The fund has a current yield of 4.8% - Fund_inquiry@SSGA.com

1938 Cost of Living Stats – Average income of $1,731 per year.  New house $3,900.  New Car $860.  Average Rent $27 a month.  Tuition at Harvard $420 per year.  Gasoline 10 cents per gallon

The Big Lick – Prior to the 1987 stock market crash, a customer at my friend Buddy West’s Brokers Securities firm purchased $3,000 of put index options, betting on a market decline.  On October 19, during the market crash, the client liquidated at $2,700 per option contract and made a cool million during the worst ever market drop (down 22.6%) – The Virginia Post ….. Thinking the next “Great Depression” was upon us, I caught myself attempting to eat cereal the next morning with a fork.  Two weeks prior to the crash, I had just moved to new quarters to expand my brokerage firm operation.  Ouch! - Buzz

Baseball Attendance – has been on a 12-year slide.  Attendance this season declined by about 1 million fans to about 68.5 million, about 14% lower than the 2007 season high.  Between 2010 and 2018, the cost for a family of four to attend a major league game rose by 23% - Team Marketing Report

Pancreatic Cancer – Three-fourths of people who develop the cancer will die within a year of diagnosis, and only about one in ten live five years or longer.  By the time the cancer produces symptoms, it has nearly always spread beyond the pancreas.  The cancer has thus far resisted screening and early detection tools – New York Times

Flu Shots – Only 45% of adults and 63% of children get flu shots each year.  Half the adults fail to get a shot because they believe the vaccines don’t work.  The effectiveness of the 2017 vaccine was only 40%, when 79,000 died that year – Centers for Disease Control

California – A recent poll found that slightly more than half of their residents have considered leaving the state.  For the younger set, the problem is the high cost of housing.  For republicans and conservative voters:  Taxes and the state’s liberal political climate – LA Times

Ouch! – Tuesday a Philadelphia court ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay $8 billion to a man who said his use of J & J’s antipsychotic Risperdal as a child, enlarged his breasts ($8 billion would be enough to pay $66,000 to every family in the state of Connecticut).  There have been 13,000 lawsuits to-date alleging that J & J was aware of the drug’s risk.  The award will be appealed – Dow Jones News

buzz@msifund.com

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