Good morning.

Two of the three major U.S. indexes (the S&P and Nasdaq) hit new intraday highs this morning as investors seem to be looking beyond the situation overseas, even amid the continuing uncertainty.

Even with all of which is going on, there is a bit of comfort in reports that appear to show recession not appearing as anyone’s “base case” and Atlanta Fed GDPNow (which is not an official forecast) calls for relatively strong 3.7% second quarter economic growth while Pantheon Macroeconomics sees deceleration … but still positive movement.

What is interesting is that these calls are being made even as warnings go out claiming the longer the Strait closing lasts, the more global economic damage will result … and this certainly does include the U.S.

I am actually in my own situation as, frankly, I am trying to better get my arms around all this AI stuff. Sure, I “get it” to a certain degree … and use parts on occasion … but there are so many different types out there … and different things to use … that I am going mad trying to figure it all out.

On the one hand we have had “traditional” AI … which snuck into our lives … which has items following simple instructions like Sir or Alexa … or even Netflix suddenly suggesting movies based on my past binge habits.

And now we are inundated with “Generative AI” which people use to create new content, replacing Google … for there are such things as ChatGPT (and all the variations) … and Gemini … and Claude …and Grok … and Perplexity … and who-knows-what-else.

Okay, I can (barely) work my way through these weeds as it is … but now I am introduced to something called “Agentic AI” … which operates on its own, makes choices independent of you and frankly, scares me to death.

I was with a group of people last week and when someone said he “had an agent” … and another said they did also … I thought they meant acting or something similar … but I was wrong.  They both told me they have set up “automated assistants” to help them with everyday tasks, inform them of important things, make appointments for them and … yes …even make independent decisions for them without asking.

I am mesmerized … and I am terrified.

But all I know is I don’t want to be seen as being behind the scenes … and I suddenly, desperately (and maybe jealously) really want an agent I can call my own.

If you can help in any way, please give me a call.  I’ll pay for lunch.

Just have your agent call my agent …

… and we’ll get it on the schedule.

Have a great day,

Joseph G. Witthohn, CFA

Have any questions? Please contact info@teamemerald.com

A Look At The News | May 1, 2026 As of 11:52 AM today … Investors are hoping the news being reported is true … as negotiators could be in serious discussions about bringing the Mideast hostilities to a conclusion (CNBC) https://www.cnbc.com/2026/05/01/oil-prices-today-brent-wti-us-iran-war-trump-war-powers-deadline.html   … and even with stocks hitting new highs, not everyone is sharing in the wealth. The litmus test for this? Pawn shop data … which indicates some American finances are stretched (MoneyWise) https://moneywise.com/news/economy/pawn-shops-us-economy-stock-market-disconnect   In business meetings you will no doubt see some glance at their phones rather than pay attention to the speaker.  This might soon end as CEOs are putting their foot down (Independent) https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/phone-bans-us-workplace-employee-distractions-b2968582.html   We all know that the social security system has issues but there has not been a concrete solution.  Have we passed the point of no return? (Investopedia) https://www.investopedia.com/are-we-past-the-point-of-fixing-social-security-what-experts-say-you-should-do-now-11948701   While it does not get enough press in the U.S. (sorry … just my opinion), clean energy continues to grow … and might be even more dominant in the years ahead (VisualCapitalist) https://www.visualcapitalist.com/how-much-clean-energy-have-countries-added-since-2015/   … and the Electric Vehicle story also continues to grow globally … with one entrant claiming the ability to go from zero-to-60 in under a second. Now that’s fast! (RobbReport) https://robbreport.com/motors/cars/dreame-nebula-next-01-jet-edition-rocket-ev-1238028429/ 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. Emerald Asset Management PA, LLC | 717-556-8900 | 3175 Oregon Pike, Leola, PA 17540 Want to change how you receive these emails? You can unsubscribe from this list. ———————————————————————————- 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.