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Listen to the latest episode of the Emerald Wit & Wisdom Podcast (06/12/24)

Good morning.

“Buy, buy, Miss American Pie” … seems to be the song consumers continue to sing as moods appear to be brightening and … well … there are things to buy and so many wonderful ever-improving ways to make quick impulse purchases.

When you think about it, it is pretty amazing that here we are at around 11 o’clock in the morning … and I can buy a “Black Friday special” Breville Espresso Machine … and have it delivered to me by 6 PM … in plenty of time for tomorrow’s meal.

Truth be told … I know this … because I just bought one.

Investors also already seem to be starting to celebrate the holiday, as trading is slowing, and major indexes are little changed … but there is still Fed news to report today as one inflation item … which many point out as the “Fed’s preferred inflation gauge” … came in exactly as expected, giving some comfort to those worried that the inflation monster will rise again.

The rest of the week should be a bit light on economic news … or at least major reaction to economic news … but you can be sure things will pick up again next week as investors celebrate what might be considered as the comeback story of the year … U.S. equities … while worries begin anew over what next year will bring us.

And yes, we are about to have forecast after forecast for 2025 … even though most of them (if history is any guide) will end the year as being ridiculously wrong.

On a final note … and the last one included below … is an interesting story of how the American mall must re-invent itself or face complete obsolescence … as has happened in many communities.  And some are making what promises to be a successful adjustment.

No more will we have cookie-cutter shopping centers … where it is difficult to see the difference in these monstrous (now nearly empty) shopping meccas.

Nope.  They will be very different from each other and will completely destroy the old phrase:

“… if you’ve seen one … you’ve seen a mall.”

Have a great day and a terrific holiday ahead,

Joseph G. Witthohn, CFA

Have any questions? Please contact info@teamemerald.com

A Look At The News | November 27, 2024

As of 11:13 AM today:
Even with rising prices, there does not seem to be a slowdown in consumer spending … which is good for the economy but not favorable as far as inflation is concerned (Reuters)

https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/us-consumer-spending-increases-solidly-october-inflation-stays-elevated-2024-11-27/

 

… and a question coming up is what effect tariffs will have on prices. Some historians point at a tariff move long ago … telling us the result was … um … not so nice (Alternet)

https://www.alternet.org/robert-reich-trump-tariff/

 

Where are Americans spending their money?  On homes … as a drop in mortgage rates (which might not last) are leading to a rise in demand (CNBC)

https://www.cnbc.com/2024/11/27/homebuyer-demand-for-mortgages-jumps-12percent-after-first-interest-rate-drop-in-over-2-months.html

 

… even so, the desire for homes in Florida declined … as storms and sharp increases in insurance has buyers considering other areas (Newsweek)

https://www.newsweek.com/florida-home-sales-plunge-1991806

 

If you have gone online for a flight anytime in the last few years, you have seen that for more than a few dollars more, you can buy a more comfortable seat. Congress is not happy (CNBC)

https://www.cnbc.com/2024/11/26/senate-report-slams-airlines-for-raking-in-billions-in-seat-fees.html

 

With the increase in online shopping, we can more easily buy things with the press of a button. Malls need to adapt or else they will turn into ghost towns (WHYY)

https://whyy.org/articles/malls-king-of-prussia-cherry-hill/

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The statements above are supplied for educational purposes only. The statements depict the viewpoints and opinion of the author and are not necessarily the views of Emerald Asset Management or its affiliates. The information described herein is taken from sources which are believed to be reliable, but the accuracy and completeness of such information is not guaranteed by us.