Weekly Market Commentary November 29, 2022

Housekeeping

Required Minimum Distribution
Just a reminder to all clients who are over the age of 72 and have an IRA, you must take a Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) by December 31, 2022.  If you have questions or believe you may not have taken your required minimum distribution please contact our office at 425-453-6353.

Review Meetings
It’s not too late to schedule a year end review or too early to get on the calendar for a first of the year check-up. This is an opportunity for us to review your portfolio and touch base regarding your overall financial strategy. Please contact our office by phone or email: (425) 453-6353 or christian@klevenscapital.com

Tax Loss Harvesting
In an effort to minimize tax consequences we review portfolios looking for opportunities to sell positions with losses and offset the loss by selling a position with a gain. Sometimes it’s possible, sometimes it’s not but if you see activity in your account at this time of year more than likely we’re tax loss harvesting. Feel free to contact us for additional explanation of how this may impact your portfolio.

Fast Facts

Question: What is the busiest day of the year for plumbers?
Answer: Black Friday

Thanks to all that food we gobble up on Thanksgiving (see these leftover turkey recipes) and houseguests stressing out the plumbing system, Roto-Rooter reports that kitchen drains, garbage disposals and yes, toilets, require more attention the day after Thanksgiving than any other day. Before you have to join the legions paying a hefty holiday bill, you may want to remind your kitchen clean-up crew to scrape the plates before washing.

Question: How many people go shopping on Black Friday?
Answer: Over 32 million people

Even though many consumers think stores shouldn’t be open on Thanksgiving, a good chunk of us still shop on the holiday, according to the National Retail Federation. But not everyone heads to the mall before their meal settles.

Black Friday still draws the biggest crowd of the entire holiday weekend, with 115 million people. A total of 69% of Americans chase those deals like a retail-driven Olympic sport.

Question: What day is honored every last Thursday in November?
Answer: National Day of Mourning

Thanksgiving’s history isn’t all sunny. Before you tuck into your turkey and stuffing, take a moment to remember that Thanksgiving didn’t come about entirely peacefully. After the pilgrims arrived, years of conflict took place between European settlers and the Wampanoag people, which resulted in the deaths of millions of Native people. The only reason the pilgrims could even settle in Plymouth was because the Wampanoag population had been devastated by disease, virtually wiped out by a plague European settlers brought with them years before.

Since 1970, people have gathered on the last Thursday in November at the top of Cole’s Hill, which overlooks Plymouth Rock, to commemorate a “National Day of Mourning.” Similar events take place in other parts of the country to remember that, even as European settlers fled to North America to escape persecution in their own country, their arrival heralded unspeakable loss for Native people that still continues today.

Weekly Focus – Think About It

“Never be limited by other people’s limited imaginations. If you adopt their attitudes, then the possibility won’t exist because you’ll have already shut it out…You can hear other people’s wisdom, but you’ve got to re-evaluate the world for yourself.”
—Mae C. Jemison, astronaut

The Markets

There was a shift in the winds of monetary policy.

Last week, it became clear the Federal Reserve (Fed) had softened its hawkish stance. The minutes of the central bank’s November policy meeting indicated the Fed was likely to slow the pace of rate hikes soon. There was a caveat, though. The minutes noted:

“…with inflation showing little sign thus far of abating, and with supply and demand imbalances in the economy persisting…the ultimate level of the federal funds rate that would be necessary to achieve the Committee’s goals was somewhat higher than [Fed officials] had previously expected.”

In other words, rate hikes are likely to be smaller in the future, but the federal funds rate will probably move higher than previously expected. Last week, the CME FedWatch Tool suggested that the federal funds target range will:

• Increase 0.50% in December to 4.25 to 4.50%.
• Rise to 5.0% to 5.25% during 2023.
• Fall to 4.5% to 4.75% by the end of next year.

Weaker economic data seemed to support the Fed’s pivot. Molly Smith of Bloomberg reported, “Fresh evidence Wednesday pointed to a slowing U.S. economy and a cooling labor market that suggests steep interest-rate hikes by the Federal Reserve are starting to have a broader impact. Business activity contracted for a fifth month in November and applications for unemployment benefits rose last week to a three-month high. While consumer sentiment and new-home sales improved, both remain depressed and indicate a weaker spending appetite and subdued housing demand.”

Investors celebrated the Fed’s stance adjustment, and major U.S. stock indices pushed higher last week. Yields on U.S. Treasuries with maturities of one year or less moved higher last week, while yields on longer maturities moved lower.

Short Takes. The Federal Reserve’s pivot wasn’t the only interesting event last week. Here are some other occurrences that may prove to be of interest to investors.

A cure for the “Royal disease”. In the 1800s and early 1900s, royalty in Britain, Germany, Russia and Spain suffered from hemophilia, a genetic disorder that prevents blood from clotting. Last week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the first gene therapy treatment for hemophilia. The treatment, which is administered once, has a price tag of $3.5 million. Cell and gene therapies are expected to change the way disease is treated, but the price begs the question: Could Royals even have afforded it?

Ready, set, shop! About two-thirds of American holiday shoppers – and the National Retail Federation (NRF) anticipate that number will be more than 166 million this year – planned to shop in brick-and-mortar to stores over Thanksgiving weekend. More than a third were planning to go online on Cyber Monday. The NRF estimates sales will be up 6% to 8% over November and December. It remains to be seen how holiday deals will affect companies’ profits.

Pandemic redux. The number of daily COVID-19 cases in China reached a record high last week, affecting the cities of Beijing, Chongqing and Guangzhou. “Cities are once again expanding their testing efforts and building makeshift hospitals to quarantine the growing number of people who are infected. Though no city-wide lockdowns have been announced, the widespread restrictions are increasingly paralyzing economic activities, even as authorities pledge to make their responses more targeted and less disruptive,” reported Bloomberg News.

We hope you stay healthy and achieve all your shopping goals during the holidays!

Best regards,
John Klevens, CFP®

P.S. Please feel free to forward this commentary to family, friends, or colleagues. If you would like us to add them to the list, please reply to this email with their email address and we will ask for their permission to be added.

Securities offered through Securities America, Inc., Member FINRA/SIPC. Financial Advice & Investment Advisory Services offered through PFG Advisors LLC, a Registered Investment Advisor (RIA). Klevens Capital Management, PFG Advisors LLC, and Securities America, Inc. are separate entities.
. Portions of this newsletter have been prepared by Peak Advisor
* These views are those of Carson Coaching, and not the presenting Representative, the Representative’s Broker/Dealer, or Registered Investment Advisor, and should not be construed as investment advice.
* This newsletter was prepared by Carson Coaching. Carson Coaching is not affiliated with the named firm or broker/dealer.
* Government bonds and Treasury Bills are guaranteed by the U.S. government as to the timely payment of principal and interest and, if held to maturity, offer a fixed rate of return and fixed principal value. However, the value of fund shares is not guaranteed and will fluctuate.
* Corporate bonds are considered higher risk than government bonds but normally offer a higher yield and are subject to market, interest rate and credit risk as well as additional risks based on the quality of issuer coupon rate, price, yield, maturity, and redemption features.
* The Standard & Poor’s 500 (S&P 500) is an unmanaged group of securities considered to be representative of the stock market in general. You cannot invest directly in this index.
* All indexes referenced are unmanaged. The volatility of indexes could be materially different from that of a client’s portfolio. Unmanaged index returns do not reflect fees, expenses, or sales charges. Index performance is not indicative of the performance of any investment. You cannot invest directly in an index.
* The Dow Jones Global ex-U.S. Index covers approximately 95% of the market capitalization of the 45 developed and emerging countries included in the Index.
* The 10-year Treasury Note represents debt owed by the United States Treasury to the public. Since the U.S. Government is seen as a risk-free borrower, investors use the 10-year Treasury Note as a benchmark for the long-term bond market.
* Gold represents the afternoon gold price as reported by the London Bullion Market Association. The gold price is set twice daily by the London Gold Fixing Company at 10:30 and 15:00 and is expressed in U.S. dollars per fine troy ounce.
* The Bloomberg Commodity Index is designed to be a highly liquid and diversified benchmark for the commodity futures market. The Index is composed of futures contracts on 19 physical commodities and was launched on July 14, 1998.
* The DJ Equity All REIT Total Return Index measures the total return performance of the equity subcategory of the Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) industry as calculated by Dow Jones.
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), commonly known as “The Dow,” is an index representing 30 stock of companies maintained and reviewed by the editors of The Wall Street Journal.
* The NASDAQ Composite is an unmanaged index of securities traded on the NASDAQ system.
* International investing involves special risks such as currency fluctuation and political instability and may not be suitable for all investors. These risks are often heightened for investments in emerging markets.
* Yahoo! Finance is the source for any reference to the performance of an index between two specific periods.
* The risk of loss in trading commodities and futures can be substantial. You should therefore carefully consider whether such trading is suitable for you in light of your financial condition. The high degree of leverage is often obtainable in commodity trading and can work against you as well as for you. The use of leverage can lead to large losses as well as gains.
* Opinions expressed are subject to change without notice and are not intended as investment advice or to predict future performance.
* Economic forecasts set forth may not develop as predicted and there can be no guarantee that strategies promoted will be successful.
* Past performance does not guarantee future results. Investing involves risk, including loss of principal.
* The foregoing information has been obtained from sources considered to be reliable, but we do not guarantee it is accurate or complete.
* There is no guarantee a diversified portfolio will enhance overall returns or outperform a non-diversified portfolio. Diversification does not protect against market risk.
* Asset allocation does not ensure a profit or protect against a loss.
* Consult your financial professional before making any investment decision.

Sources:
https://investinganswers.com/articles/99-surprising-financial-facts-most-investors-dont-know
Carson Consulting