Let's drive cross country
-Little Brother
Somehow my little brother has convinced me to drive cross country to help him move into his new place. I gotta say, it’s pretty awesome!
We have fought and argued but we have also had some heartfelt moments. I am so GLAD we have the ability and opportunity to do this. Still crazy to think that my baby bro is gonna be 26 this year. I still see him as the little dude that my mom force me to go to parties with. I still have that overprotective instinct but I know that it is not my place to try to defend or protect him from whatever comes. He is forging his own path and doing his own thing. He will make mistakes and have struggles but out of it is how he will grow. So I have to let go and this trip for me is part of the letting go process.
If you are reading this; Nebee, I love you, bro.
Welcome back to the Rambling Mind Newsletter. This is your Market Update.
Markets
Investors are acting like kids freed from the shackles of school for Summer Break. Everyone is just so excited to buy stocks again. The Top Finance Question once again is, “What Stock Should I buy?!”
As every parent knows, Summer is a dangerous time for kids. It can knock them totally off their routine. And too much idle time is dangerous for the kids. It is the same with investing, do not get distracted by the excitement you see. Just because everything is going up, does not mean it is time to deviate from your strategy.
Stick to your plan and ignore the noise. This is the only way to be successful in the long term.
Short week. Short Newsletter.
This newsletter is 1,074 words, a 5 min read
Tale of the Tape
Economy
Overall inflation has continued to decline. In May, overall inflation was 4%. The slowest rate we have seen in 2 years. But in certain areas, inflation continues to be a pain for consumers.
By The Numbers: Core inflation has stagnated between 5.3-5.5% for the last few months. (Core inflation removes energy and food from the calculation)
🤩Energy prices are down over 12% since the beginning of this year and more than 20% since last year
😖Food prices have remained strong raising 6% over the last year
😭Shelter remains a core driver of higher inflation, rising over 8% since last year and showing no signs of slowing.
Takeaway: Inflation is moving in a very great direction but depending on what your primary spend is right now it may be hurting you more than others. If you are renewing a lease or buying a house, it sucks to be you cause those prices are INSANE! If you are an eater of food, you do not believe the headlines at all. Cause you know what you paying for fruits, veggies, and meat, and IT AINT CHEAP!
However; If you drive a car and have to buy gas, you are celebrating prices coming down. As much as we may see the headline number, inflation does not affect us all the same way. It can lead some people to feel good about their personal situation but horrible about the economy as a whole
The Fed chose to keep interest rates unchanged for the time being in response to the meh inflation news
In Their Words: The FOMC statement said, "Holding the target range steady at this meeting allows the Committee to assess additional information and its implications for monetary policy."
Jerome Powell said, “We have raised our policy interest rate by five percentage points, and we’ve continued to reduce our security holdings at a brisk pace. We’ve covered a lot of ground and the full effects of our tightening have yet to be felt.”
Basically, the Fed is saying we are in a wait-and-see mode with a high likelihood they will raise more later in the year. For right now, they are taking a break.
As David Russell, vice president of market intelligence at TradeStation said, "People expected a hawkish pause and they got a very hawkish pause. Given the strong labor market, the Fed has room to crush inflation and they don’t want to miss their chance.”
Takeaway: The Fed does not want to go rush things and cause a bigger problem for the economy. However, they also do not want to waste their opportunity at killing inflation. A good analogy I heard of the Fed's fight with inflation, is you trying to take a shower. The process of adjusting the knobs to get the water to the right temperature is similar to what the Fed is doing with interest rates. However; we all know that sometimes, when you live in an apartment, other factors can affect the timing for the right temperature.
Earnings
Stats of the Week
🍎$3 Trillion
Can't Stop, Won't STOP! Apple is the first 3 Trillion Dollar Company in the history of life.
The stock has been on a tear this year and recently just hit a new all-time high. It seems impossible that a company this large can keep growing at this pace. Just before the pandemic in 2020, Apple crossed the $1 trillion mark. To think that it has tripled since then is INSANE.
Guess the Law of Large Numbers does not apply anymore. SHEESH
The time it took Max Park to solve a Rubik's Cube. It is the New World Record. It took this dude less time to solve than it takes me to begin.
Question: How many of y'all have solved a Rubik's Cube? Not fast just ever
Looking Ahead
Literally, nothing of interest to me is happening this week in the world of finance. The US Census Bureau will release building permits and housing starts numbers. This will tell us what we already know, NOT ENOUGH HOUSING IS BEING BUILT IN THE US.
Papa Powell will testify before Congress on Wednesday and say exactly the same thing he said last week. While Congress tries to find ways to blame him for every bad thing in the economy, even though Congress has fiscal spending power.
So yeah a pretty boring week ahead.
Sports I Love
NONE
The most painful time to be a sports fan 😢