We are moving our way through the summer and it is just one news story after another.
Military action has not taken a day off.
Whether it is Ukraine, Lebanon or Iran.
It is amazing to me how this market seems to move forward.
We have the S&P 500 moving above 7500 and some are proffering that we are here to stay.
I received my monthly brokerage account statements and could hardly believe the valuations.
While this will not last, it does raise the consumer confidence to see your retirement savings grow exponentially.
I am of the vintage that I am required to take a distribution each year from my retirement account.
Given that each year you live, you shorten the time that the actuarial predicts, your account should shrink toward zero and each year’s withdrawal would shrink.
So much for that assumption.
My account has grown so much that each year the withdrawal increases, but the balance continues to grow.
Is this a great country or what?
Again, so much for assumptions as they can get you in trouble.
We are now in the new term of the Federal Reserve chair and the speculation is that days of lower interest rates may be gone.
It is hard to ignore inflation and the possibility of continued strife in the Middle East leaves little comfort for reducing fuel prices.
Though the inflation rate has not risen significantly, it certainly is not going down any time soon.
Moreover, whether the Fed does anything or not, the amount of borrowing and the debt by the US is really putting pressure on interest rates to rise.
We are coming quickly to a point of saturation for the public’s interest in funding future indebtedness.
It would take little to tip the balance and have this insatiable need for money to hit a brick wall.
That may be a big part of the reason that some of the chip stocks and new IPOs have been taking a hair cut of late.
Then again, it just may be smart investors taking profits while they can.
I probably will take my RMD from my retirement account this month as the values are so high.
We have made it past the recent record-breaking IPOs from SpaceX and SK Hynix and the serious issues of debt by the likes of Amazon.
I am cognizant of the amount of cash on the sidelines that is looking for higher returns.
Sometimes the demand leads investors down the wrong path as greed takes over intellect.
It is easy to understand as the return on savings is below the inflation rate, so you are actually losing money if you discount cash flow.
I am in no way saying we are in a bubble, but it is getting a bit over the top for my taste.
Probably just an indication of my advancing age.
We are getting to a point in the year where there will be attention drawn away from the markets.
I am not sure that is a bad thing. Hype can get investors in trouble before they know it. By the time the small investor gets into the game, it is usually over already.
A pause with nothing happening would really give me some faith.
The upcoming elections should draw a significant amount of attention.
The buildout for AI will take a while to complete.
The military conflicts are not going to tend and may only multiply.
In truth, there are conflicts going on that just don’t capture the headlines.
Maybe the best medicine for this over-heated market is being distracted a bit.
I, for one, hopefully will hit the road and put some golf in my future.
That will come with a great deal of maintenance work on all my old possessions.
You can either contribute to the economy by buying new or just keep repairing what you already have in place.
There is no stopping.
You might take a pause, but that will cost you too.
We may detest the treadmill we are on but it does not stop.
If it does, you are out of the picture anyway.
