MidSouth Week in Review
October 27, 2023

Weekly Update from Fund Manager Buzz Heidtke, MidSouth Investment Fund

For the week the S&P was down 2.6%.  The 30-year government bond yield hit 5%+, which was the highest level since 2007.  Bitcoin surged to $31k from $26k in early October.  Gold hit $2000 from $1830 early in the month.  Mortgage rates soared to 8.28%.  Goldman Sachs reported a 33% decline in profit in the 3Q, hurt by losses from selling off pieces of its consumer-lending business and a big drop in revenue from its asset and wealth-management division.  The economy grew 4.9% as consumers spent with gusto, the biggest gain since the 4Q of 2021, but the pace will be hard to sustain.  Sources:  Wall Street Journal and New York Times

Cheap, Cheap, Cheap – there have been times when my portfolio had no stocks selling below 10x earnings.  Today 43% are selling below 10x earnings – Buzz

A Fool – and his money are all quickly accepted into the highest social circles – Donelson Diary

Treasury Bonds – lost some 25% of their value from mid-2020 to late 2022.  That was the deepest rout in the history of the U.S. bond market – MarketWatch

The Average Price of a Used Tesla – Sept. 2019 $56k, March 2021 $47k, July 2022 $68k, September 2023 $39,493 – Creative Planning

High Schoolers’ Scores – on the ACT college admissions test have dropped to their lowest since 1991.  Scores have been dipping for the past six years, but the fall accelerated sharply during the pandemic.  Only one-fifth of the class of 2023 met all college-readiness benchmarks in English, math, reading and science – Associated Press

Americans Median Net Worth – increased during the pandemic at the highest rate on record, rising 37 percent from 2019 to 2022 to $192,900.  For the top 10 percent of households, the median wealth climbed 26 percent to $3.8 million – USA TODAY

Ouch! – The total debt in the United States is $33 trillion.  Divide that by the U.S. population and it comes out to $94,288 of debt per person – Jay Kumar

Mark Zuckerberg – who is 39 is the eighth richest person in the U.S. with a net worth of $106 billion, down from $125 billion in 2021.  Zuckerberg was the founder of Facebook – Forbes

In Managing Our Funds – we stay away from stocks, industry groups or foreign countries that have a good outlook.  For the reason that if they have a good outlook, its already reflected in the price and the investment is probably overpriced.  We buy stocks that are the most unpopular – John Templeton

Electric Vehicles – GM’s abandoning a self-imposed target to build 400,000 electric vehicles by mid-2024, the latest sign the automakers are concerned about the viability of the market for battery powered cars – Wall Street Journal ….. A recent study found that only 20% are in favor of buying an electric vehicle – Buzz

Cancer Tests – Doctors have just found a blood test that can detect cancer early.  The $949 Galleri liquid biopsy can screen more than 50 types of cancers.  It works by looking for a shared cancer signal in DNA shed by tumors in the blood stream – Wall Street Journal

Home Sales – Goldman Sachs just dropped a housing market forecast for 2024 and feels high home prices, high mortgage rates and the lowest number of existing home sales since the early 90s – Fortune

Auto Borrowers – A record 6.1% are past due on their loans.  The highest delinquency rates were 6.0% in 1994 and 5.0% in 2008.  The average new car payment is $740 a month – Post

The Highest Mortgage Rates – in more than two decades are dragging down home sales to the lowest level since the sub-prime crisis.  Redfin estimates that by the end of the year U.S. home sales would amount to $4.1 trillion, the lowest level since 2008 – New York Times ….. The 30-year Bankrate mortgage rates just hit 8.28% - Wall Street Journal

Obesity Drugs – How can the nation afford lifelong treatments with sticker prices for each patient managing from $900 to $1,300 every four weeks – New York Times

Tricks and Flips - https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cx578cAxwDo/?igshid=NjZiM2M3MzIxNA==

Feeling Alive - https://www.instagram.com/reel/CyRzarCR8NB/?igshid=NjZiM2M3MzIxNA==

Mr. Clooney - https://www.instagram.com/reel/CyEdx5WKZz1/?igshid=NjZiM2M3MzIxNA==

Being Latino - https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cvvq9J8OQbe/?igshid=NjZiM2M3MzIxNA==

Big Mama 11 - https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cws9nqrApeF/?igshid=NjZiM2M3MzIxNA==

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.