Last week was the best week for the indexes and averages in over a month.
Monday through Thursday, the S&P 500 was able to erase half of the monthly loss.
Friday the Dow added 100 points.
The reality is that we had a bit of setback that was not that significant.
Most of the talking heads keep their attention attuned to the Fed rate hikes.
There will be a meeting of the Fed board this month, but it seems unlikely that there will be a rate increase.
The Fed’s target of 2% inflation has not been met, but we are settling in.
It actually has helped retirees get above 5% on their savings.
That does not offset higher costs completely, but it is far better than .25% that they had been getting for decades.
There is a significant portion of our population that should not being taking risks with what they have saved.
I would say that September is not a particularly good month for equities but that this market hasn’t followed much of any trend.
The only thing that is predictable about this market is that it is unpredictable.
It does seem however that we are not as close to recession as some had predicted.
I would say however that the looming bill that will to have to be paid on the national debt will be a real problem. It will not be addressed, as the only two options are less spending and more taxes.
Not exactly a political plank that any politician would want to promote, especially in an election year cycle. The only other alternative is for the economy to strengthen raising the amount of tax dollars collected.
We have been through that before and politicians just see that as a reason to spend more than is coming in the door.
The concerns over retailers from shoplifting will have to be addressed.
It seems that the public feels entitled to take whatever they want. The logic is that the corporations make so much money that they won’t miss the loss.
We as consumers are not better as most of this merchandise is resold via the Internet.
The one thing that can kill free enterprise is the lack of ethics. Moreover, it will raise prices for the rest of the honest consumers.
I would say that at least we have moved through the hot summer and now we have football to distract us from the reality.
That only works if your team is winning and mine lost.
As such, I am still focused on the markets with no distraction.
While I am far from foolishly optimistic, it is hard to forecast a serious setback.
This has been a great year and I just don’t see the Black Swan that will ruin it before the end of the year.
To Focus On Besides The Heat
