First Half In The Books - Market Update June 24-28, 2024
Not Much to Talk About
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Welcome back to the Rambling Mind Newsletter. This is your Market Update.
Summary of Topics:
Stats of the Week
2.6% PCE Inflation
$4.6 Billion Fine Against The NFL
Looking Ahead
4th of July Holiday
Various job reports will be released
Sports I Love
LeBron sleeping with his teammates’ mom
Markets
This was an insanely boring week of news. The Presidential Debate sucked the air out of all other news stories. While no one was looking the S&P 500 finished another month by hitting a new all-time high.
Year-To-Date Returns
Tale of the Tape
Stats of the Week
🧊2.6%
According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, PCE inflation declined by 0.1% from April to May. From May of 2023, prices increased by 2.6%. Inflation continues falling closer to the Federal Reserve's target of 2% price increases.
Why It Matters: Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index, PCE, the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation measurement. It gives Jerome and the boys confidence that things continue moving positively. This increases the likelihood of interest rate cuts soon.
Takeaway: This is great news. The biggest portion that contributed to a small price increase was the decline in goods prices as people are much more cost-conscious.
My Takeaway: As much as I would love a rate cut, I keep asking, "If the economy is doing well, why would you want to cut interest rates? What exactly would you be trying to spur on within the economy?"
If you have ever had NFL Sunday Ticket before 2015, congratulations the NFL owes you some money. A Los Angeles jury found the NFL violated antitrust law by inflation the price of NFL Sunday Ticket and inhibiting customers from buying single-team packages. The league is being fined $4.7 Billion.
Looking Ahead
😴Rest
This week will be a pretty quiet news week similar to last week as everyone decides to take a break to celebrate the 4th of July aka, the second important day in US History. The first being the 3rd of July, the day I walked the face of the Earth.
👀 What to Watch: Jobs
On Friday, we get the nonfarm payrolls for June and revisions for previous months. I'm learning that the job revisions are much more important than the monthly announcements that make the headlines. So I'll be looking to see if jobs in May and April were revised up or down. That will give a better picture of where the labor market is and where it is headed.
Sports I Love
Lakers drafted Bronny James 55th overall in the NBA Draft on Thursday.
This indicates to me that LeBron is about to retire.