MidSouth Week in Review
September 10, 2021

Weekly Update from Fund Manager Buzz Heidtke, MidSouth Investment Fund

For the week the S&P declined 1.7% and failed to make a new weekly high for the first time in 14 weeks.  Goldman Sachs downgraded its U.S. growth forecast and sees a “harder path” ahead.  As of Monday, an estimated 7.5 million out-of-work Americans began no longer receiving federal unemployment insurance benefits.  Offices in 10 major U.S. cities were just 33% occupied as of August 25.  Bitcoin had a 17% decline on Tuesday after a 70% run-up since late July.  Treasury Secretary Yellen said that the U.S. could default on its debt in October if the debt ceiling is not lifted.  Jobless claims dropped to 310,000 vs. 345,000 the previous week to the lowest point since the start of the pandemic.  Sources:  Wall Street Journal and New York Times

BuzzBits

September – Since 1928, the average September return for the S&P was a 0.99% loss.  But whenever the S&P rose 13%+ over the first six months, the September gain averaged 1.4% - Barron’s

What – do a hurricane, a tornado, a flood, a fire and a divorce have in common?  They are five ways you can lose your house.

Big Gainer/Big Loser – Over the past 12 months: AMC was up 662% with a 77% revenue drop and a net loss of $2.76 billion.  Gamestop was up 2,523%, with a 10% revenue decline and a $116 million loss ….The sexiest, most popular stocks, have a speculative allure that’s hard to deny, grab the attention of day traders and often top the list of Wall Street’s big daily gainers and losers.  But high-profile stocks tend to have pricey valuations and short or inconsistent track records – Kiplinger Personal Finance Adviser

Flu – this season is similar to last year’s in that there are 99% fewer cases than the two seasons prior.  People should get vaccinated because it keeps their immune system response boosted.  The loss of taste and smell is pretty specific to Covid but other than that symptoms are very similar to flu – People

A Loss – never bothers me after I take it.  I forget it overnight.  But being wrong not taking a loss – that is what does damage to the pocketbook and to the soul – Jesse Livermore (1877-1940)

Wine – When you order a restaurant wine, buy the second cheapest.  Why?  Because the research of tightwad buyers show the cheapest want the least expensive wine therefore the mark-up on the second-cheapest bottle carries only a modest mark-up – American Association of Wine Economists

Sad Situation – Ex pro football player Keith McCants died last week at age 53.  After getting a 5-year $7.4 million contract, McCants suffered from decades of drug abuse, numerous arrests, dozens of surgeries and years of living on the streets.  A study a few years ago said that half of pro football players were penniless 3 years after leaving the game – New York Times

Ouch! – Social Security announced that the trust fund backing its retirement benefits will run out of money by 2033, a year earlier than 2020 estimates – USA TODAY ….. Once this occurs, benefit payouts will decline by 24% unless Congress intervenes – The Kiplinger Letter

COLA – The annual Social Security “cost-of-living adjustment” has been at 4%+ only twice in the last 30-years, a level likely to be surpassed when the 2022 is announced next month – Social Security

Life Expectancy – because of Covid has led to a big increase in deaths particularly among Blacks and Hispanics.  Life expectancy has remained stagnant since 2010.  Life expectancy is better in healthy, well-educated and areas with good health coverage.  In the high income area of Back Bay in Boston, the life expectancy is nearly 90 vs. only around 60 in the lower income Roxbury part of the city – The Boston Globe

College – It used to be that men made up the majority of college students because most women attended to get their Mrs.  Now its around 40% men and 60% women.  Men accounted for 71% of the decline in college students over the past five years – Wall Street Journal

Covid Cases – It looked like Covid was about over in late June as the state of Tennessee averaged only 50 cases daily over a 7-day period.  But I was wrong.  On Tuesday, the state had a record 13,721 cases and has averaged a Covid case for every six citizens – Buzz ….. Biden has ordered businesses with over 100 employees to require shots or weekly testing – HuffPost ….. unvaccinated people are 11x more likely to die from Covid-19 – CDC

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