MidSouth Week in Review
September 6, 2024
Weekly Update from Fund Manager Buzz Heidtke, MidSouth Investment Fund
Sep. 9, 2024 | RedChip Companies
For the week the S&P was down 3.7% and is up 14.2% for the full year. Bitcoin closed down 6.5% for the week at $53,570. The US economy added 142,000 jobs in August, below expectations of 164,000. The unemployment rate was 4.2%, in-line with expectations Brent crude had the worst week since Oct 2023, down 9.1% for the week. Sources: Wall Street Journal and New York Times
BuzzBits
September – is historically the worst month of the year for stocks: The S&P 500 has fallen -2.3% on average in September over the last 10 years, making the only month with negative returns. Subsequently, in October and November, the S&P 500 has seen a +1.6% and +3.8% rally on average –
Diamonds – A 2,492 carat diamond, the second largest ever found was unearthed in a Canadian mine last week. A 1,119 carat diamond was sold in 2017 for $53 million – Bloomberg
Berkshire Hathaway – Warren Buffett’s company became the first non-tech company to attain a value of $1 trillion. The 94 year-old Buffett’s conglomerate joins Apple, Nvidia, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon and Meta in the 13 figure club – CNBC
Car Shopping – Now is the time to buy a new car, said Pete Grieve in Money. After a pandemic-related shortage, production is up more than 40% from last year, a shift that means “car shopping” is becoming normal again.
College Costs – The cost of going to some U.S. colleges has now passed $90,000 a year at the priciest. The amount families actually spent on education 2023-2024 was $28,419 on average – CNBC
Wedding Costs – As the wedding costs soar some couples are offsetting the expense by charging guests to attend. Groom-to-be Hassan Ahmed, is charging $450 a ticket to help pay for his $200,000 wedding next year in Houston – TikTok
China – is the world’s largest food importer and needs to feed almost one-sixth of the world’s population with less than one-tenth of the world’s arable land, which has shrunk and degraded with heavy fertilizer use and pollution – New York Times
San Francisco’s – office vacancy rate hit 33.7%, a record high, in the second quarter this year. That’s one of the bleakest office markets in the nation, which has an average vacancy rate of about 22% - The Lure of Free Rent
Invest For Next Generation – Invest $750 at birth · $500 each birthday · $250 each month. When they turn 18, they’ll have $144,041. If they keep adding $250/month they’ll have $1.2 million by age 43 - @welltowealth
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