MidSouth Week in Review
March 1, 2024

Weekly Update from Fund Manager Buzz Heidtke, MidSouth Investment Fund

For the week the S&P was up 1.0%.  The NASDAQ, Dow and S&P all made new highs.  The S&P is now up 15 of the last 17 weeks.  Bitcoin jumped from $51k to $63k this week vs. $16k 15 months ago.  This week wholesale gas rose from $2.28 to $2.63.  Macy’s announced they are closing 30% of their stores.  Apple announced to cancel their self-driving cars.  The Bankrate for over 4,800 mortgages hit 7.62% this week.  Sources:  Wall Street Journal and New York Times

S&P 500 – After a record setting start of the year, it is likely to spike even higher in coming months.  Since 1950, the blue-chip index has gained an average of 14% in the 12 months after smashing a record – Financial Times

Lack of Money – Lawmakers must first fund the government or several agencies will shut down on March 1.  The rest will run out of money on March 8, unless Congress takes action – The Kiplinger Letter

Wealth – When I was 22 I applied for a job as a stockbroker through a branch manager Dick Eskind who died in November.  Dick asked me how many people I knew that could invest $10,000 in the stock market.  I told him my dad was the only one I knew of. I didn’t get the job but later found out that most branch managers were looking for brokers whose family and friends had money – Buzz

Bear Market – A 6 to 18 month period when the kids get no allowance, the wife gets no jewelry and the husband gets no sex – StockSplit

Price Increases – are slowing across much of the economy, but the cost of car ownership keeps accelerating.  Car insurance premiums increased 20.6% in January.  All in all, the average new car owner spent $12,182 in auto related expenses vs. $10,728 in 2022 – Wall Street Journal

The Dollar – Since 1924, over one hundred years, the U.S. dollar has lost nearly 18x its value.  In other words a dollar back then would have $17.82 worth of goods in today’s money – InNews

Airline Tickets – Purchasing your flight could cost you.  The best time to buy a domestic airline ticket is 47 days before you travel on average for 2024 – CheapAir.com

California – The Golden State is still experiencing population loss, as more people flee its high cost of living – The Kiplinger Letter

Manhattan Trump Condos – The price per square foot declined 23% from 2013 to 2023 with a notable decline right after Trump won the 2016 presidential election – New York Times

A Bad Year – for brokers was 1974.  The stock market was down 30% that year and 17% the previous year.  All of our investors were full invested and our secretaries were making more than most of us brokers – Buzz

Multifamily Housing Construction – is slowing down, seeing the largest drop since April 2020 when Covid halted construction.  Total housing starts, both multi and single family, plummeted 14.8% in January – The Kiplinger Letter

Baggage Fees – Airlines collected $33.3 billion in baggage fees last year, representing 4.1% of airline revenue.

Strikers – The number of American workers who went on strike last year increased 141% over 2022 to 539,000 – Huff Post

Student Loans – The Biden administration notified 153,000 student loan borrowers last week that their debts have been forgiven.  The move cleans a total of $1.2 billion in debt for enrollees – THE WEEK

Consumer Debt – Household debt rose again in the 4Q, growing at an annualized rate of 3.6% vs. 2022.  Credit card balances rose substantially in 2023 and are now 14.5% higher than 2020 – Federal Reserve

Dummer Boy - https://www.instagram.com/reel/C3gf265N_NY/?igsh=azBic3hwejdiZnB2

Crazy Dance - https://www.instagram.com/reel/C3sJ_katI4C/?igsh=Z292NHA0MXg1aWpj

Kids Dancing - https://www.instagram.com/reel/C2cuSlkup7T/?igsh=MWdvZXU5dXlhMTVzNw==

Romanian Got Talent - https://www.instagram.com/reel/C3V6aubqY5Z/?igsh=MW1kOGU1MjhwaHR0NQ==

Kids Singing Elvis Song - https://www.instagram.com/reel/C3yoIQttmVz/?igsh=dXBwOWowbmVocHd0

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.