MidSouth Week in Review
March 17, 2023

Weekly Update from Fund Manager Buzz Heidtke, MidSouth Investment Fund

Mar. 20, 2023 | RedChip Companies


For the week the S&P was up 1.4%.  The yield on the 2-year Treasury had its largest two-day decline in over two decades.  The Federal Reserve is expected to hike rates next week, despite shaky banks.  The yield on the 5-year Treasury bonds declined from 4.4% to 3.6%.  The U.S. inflation rate rose 6% in February vs. 6.4% in January.  Bitcoin soared to $25k from $19k last week.  The turmoil in the banking sector started the biggest one-day rally in short-term government bonds since 1987.  One study said that Silicon Valley Bank failed because they were lending long-term and buying short term debt, which collapsed.  I am in Ocean Reef Florida and will be back on Monday.  Sources: Wall Street Journal and New York Times

 

BuzzBits

 

Forty-Nine Percent – of U.S. large-cap active equity funds outperformed the S&P 500 last year, up from 15 percent in 2021.  Over a 20-year period, however, 95 percent of the actively managed funds lagged the market – Bloomberg

 

Purgatory – As a fellow was walking around Hell one day, he saw a beautiful girl with a lawyer.  He asked the Devil what the lawyer was doing with her.  The Devil replied, “Who are you to question a woman’s punishment?”

 

SVB Financial (NASDAQ:SIVB) – Their President and CEO Gregory Becker got lucky and sold almost $3.6M of SIVB shares about two weeks before the company’s Silicon Valley Bank failed when it was unable to raise capital to shore up its liquidity – Seeking Alpha

 

A Successful Man – is one who makes more money than his wife spends.  A successful woman is one who can find such a man – Lana Turner

 

Personal Finances – Less than one-third of respondents to a monthly survey conducted by Fannie Mae said they expect their personal financial situation to get better over the next year, the lowest reading in a series that goes back more than a decade – Bloomberg

 

Poll Watch – A record 51% of Americans, including 72% of Republicans and 42% of Democrats believe the coronavirus leaked from a Chinese lab.  Just 18% believe the virus was transmitted from animals – Morning Consults

 

Paycheck to Paycheck – 38% of households earnings of $250,000+ a year use all their monthly income to pay expenses and save nothing – Pymts.com

 

Drink Water – Having too little leads to unhealthy blood levels of  sodium.  Adults with sodium levels above the normal range had a 50% higher rise of being biologically older than their chronological age – eBioMedicine

 

Delinquent Consumer Loans – Auto loan delinquencies are at a record high.  Credit card and consumer finance loans are at the highest level since 2009-2010 after the Great Recession – The Washington Post

 

LGBT – 7.2% of Americans identify as LGBT vs. 3.6% in 2012.  58% of LGBTs identify as bisexual, 34% as gay and 9% as transgender – Gallup

 

Social Security Checks – can be 76% bigger, adjusted for inflation, for those who start collecting at age 70 vs. 62.  The math isn’t the same for everyone, but researchers found holding off would be better for nearly 90% of people who are now 45 to 62 – Wall Street Journal

 

Covid – In the three years since Covid surfaced, most Americans have been infected and are back to their routines and workaday lives.  The U.S. has recorded roughly 1.1 million Covid deaths and was the nation’s third-leading cause of death behind heart disease and cancer – Wall Street Journal

 

CDs – High inflation, rising interest rates, and economic anxiety are making CDs cool again, with yields rising as high as 5.25% recently at some banks.  Balances in CDs rocketed from $36.5 billion in April 2022 to $418.4 billion in January – Federal Reserve

 

States With No Income Tax – Alaska · Florida · Nevada · South Dakota · Tennessee · Texas · Washington · Wyoming

 

Crypto Currency – After the massive market collapse and several huge scandals last year, a lot of experts are saying the crypto markets are just one more step away from going to zero – Wealth & Wisdom

 

Electricity – According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, consumers paid 14.3% more for electricity last year,  on average, than in 2021.  Incidentally, this is more than twice the overall 6.5% rise in prices, according to consumer price index data released in January.

 

U.S. Banks – were sitting on $620 billion in unrealized losses from securities that had dropped in price at the end of 2022, based on Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation data.

 

Elvis – https://www.instagram.com/reel/CoXTo56Oh5C/?igshid=MDJmNzVkMjY=

 

Elvis Impersonator - https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cl0A6xcKPvb/?igshid=MDJmNzVkMjY=

 

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 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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