Good morning. Stocks are in positive territory to start the week as the Dow hit a new intra-day high with other major indices (the S&P and Nasdaq) jealously trying – but so far unable – to make the same claim. While investors seem to be in a possible mood, not everyone has investments … and the view from Main Street appears mixed. Consumer sentiment … according to University of Michigan … rose to a six-month high regarding the current situation … possibly due to a more relaxed view on inflation … but future expectations showed a slight decline. The soft landing we hoped for might have arrived … but there certainly has been a lot of turbulence. Still, we might not be entirely out of the woods. An interesting article below looks at housing prices and came to the scary conclusion that “incomes would need to rise $50,000 to make houses as affordable as they were in 2019.” This is not a good sign for those just beginning their careers and hoping to start a family. Have we (households and the government) taken our eye off the ball when it comes to spending? Our nation’s debt to GDP is now on target to be higher than it was during World War II. But there is one point to be made …individuals can control their spending and should see the importance of budgeting and saving … for without much warning, this seems like it has become the economy your parents warned you about. Beating this dead horse … is the claim by Sherwood Action Network that the average ticket for Super Bowl LX was $6,800 … which equates to 4 month’s rent for the typical U.S. household! Meanwhile, the ad for Alexa+ certainly grabbed my attention and I plan on re-watching it today as I find myself battling with “want” vs. “need” along with many others as I consider its purchase. I share a remarkable comment from Daily Shot that “AI spending as a percentage of GDP is bigger than the railroad expansion of the 1850s, the Apollo space program in the 1960s, and the decades-long build-out of the interstate highway system.” I certainly don’t want to fall behind on understanding this and might sign up for a certificate program at a local university (Villanova) to … well … just grasp this beast before I feel devoured. On a final note, it was around 8 degrees here this morning and I am pleased …very pleased … to see higher temperatures in store for the next couple of weeks. Sure … 40 degrees might only be the high this week but compared to what we recently went through it will feel like summer. I’m just tired of this cold weather (and jealous of friends who headed south). I slipped on the ice the other day, hurt my leg and not being able to stand up without pain, I am now wearing a knee brace. I didn’t think it would help … … but I stand corrected. Have a great day, Joseph G. Witthohn, CFA Have any questions? Please contact info@teamemerald.com
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