The S&P is just barely positive at this moment, but if it does end the day higher it would be the 42nd record close of the index achieved this year. And even if it doesn’t close at another new high today, it has had quite a run during a year where pundits seemed to predict a lot of market doom and gloom.

But not everyone is happy at this moment.

Daily Shot commented today on something seen in the Conference Board numbers reporting: “households are increasingly losing confidence in their ability to find a job.” This seems strange with unemployment at a level that some economists consider “full employment” but the attitude is a nervous one … and people are getting the sense that something unpleasant may be on the way.

One concern, even as inflation seems to be getting under control, is the threatened October 1st longshoreman strike … which could, in effect, force a sizeable amount of our ports to close.  Yes … yes … yes … this might affect supply … or result in shipments finding more expensive ways to get here, which could cause prices to jump … just in time for Halloween.

Why strike?  Maybe workers are seeing what is happening with Boeing as a proposed 30% pay increase over 4 years … in addition to a $6,000 ratification bonus … and a company match on the first 8% of employee 401k contributions … is being turned down by the machinist’s union as “not good enough.”  More! More! More!

There is an interesting Bloomberg chart out this morning showing the “market cap” of global equities. Even though we tend to think the world revolves around the U.S., it is interesting to see that U.S. stocks are only 50% of what exists globally.  In this regard, looking at returns in US Dollars over the last 5 years (reported by LazyPortfolioETF), while the U.S. had a nice 15.12% annualized return through the end of August, it was bested by semiconductor-focused Taiwan and pharmaceutical-heavy Denmark, with the top return coming from … of all places … Argentina.  This is one of the reasons many diversify (though I will admit that investing too heavily in Argentina would keep awake some nights).

That wraps it up for today as I have a doctor’s appointment.

During a crazy moment this weekend, amid loud Bangles music … while completely forgetting my age … I did my best to “walk like an Egyptian”

… and now I need to see a Cairo practor.

Have a great day,

Joseph G. Witthohn, CFA

Have any questions? Please contact info@teamemerald.com