MidSouth Week in Review
March 15, 2024

Weekly Update from Fund Manager Buzz Heidtke, MidSouth Investment Fund

Buzz is on vacation with his daughter and her family at Ocean Reef in Florida.  For the week the S&P was down 0.2%. Bitcoin hit an all-time high this week at $73,696 and ended the week at $69,600 vs. $16k 15 months ago.  Wholesale gas price hit a six month high of $2.70. A report on consumer prices showed inflation remains stubborn, ticking up to 3.2% in February from 3.1% in January.  U.S. retail sales rose a seasonally adjusted 0.6% in February compared with a month earlier.  Sources:  Wall Street Journal and New York Times

Tax Filings – More than 125,000 high income Americans, including 25,000 who make over $1 million a year, did not file tax returns in at least one year from 2017 to 2022 – IRS

Illegal Immigration – 61% think it is a serious problem, including 41% of Democrats and 91% of Republicans and 58% of independents – Monmouth University

Fat – More than 1 billion of the world’s 8 billion people are obese, including 159 million children – Stat News

$850 – Price of the first Model T in 1908.  The car’s base price fell from $525 in 1913 to $440 in 1914, $390 in 1915 and $345 in 1916, thanks to the moving assembly line and other improvements in efficiency – By The Numbers

Bitcoin – touched a new record of $73,696 this week topping its previous peak set in November 2021.  Bitcoin is up 63% so far in 2024, lifting the overall market value to about $2.6 trillion – Bloomberg

Cincinnati – Nearly half of their school children come from impoverished families that can’t prioritize buying school supplies – Charity Navigator

$5 A Day – What Henry Ford raised workers’ pay to at the Highland Park plant in 1914, mainly to stop other factories from stealing its best workers – The Tennessean

Real Estate – A major settlement could spell an end to 6% real estate commissions https://www.npr.org/2024/03/15/1238792983/realtors-commission-real-estate-housing-buyer-seller-settlement

Dog -  https://www.instagram.com/reel/C3tZiaEq0Y6/?igsh=bTh1dGRxYTU3a294

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.