Good morning.

Stocks moved into positive territory following a report showing a surprise improvement in existing home sales … even in the face of mortgage rates which are still around 6 ½% for a typical 30-year loan.

We all know the Fed is slated to be independent and not bow to political pressure.  That doesn’t seem to be stopping the White House from trying to get Chairman Powell to cut rates, as President Trump has gone on the offensive … publicly stating he is not in agreement with the Fed’s decision to keep rates steady for the time being.

And why does the president want rates to be cut?  According to his own postings, he feels this will help as “… U.S. Tariffs start to transition (ease!) their way into the economy.”  The problem here, of course, is two-fold … as tariffs are seen as inflationary … and so are lower rates.  Still, the Fed projects two cuts to take place by the end of this year … seemingly not quick enough for one individual in Washington.

It seems the Department of Education will start to be dismantled today and while some friends are cheering this (saying they have done a terrible job), I’m not sure how to feel about this.  The issue I question is leaving it up to individual states which may have agendas under the direction of highly politicized boards of educators.

While some might think I move too far away from the economy a bit too much in my writing, I’m not so sure. I feel it important to give our kids the best possible tools … as we prepare the next generation(s) of leaders. You might think I’m a bit “to the left” in my thinking … and writing … but I do agree we moved too far away from the basics in education in this “everybody gets an ‘A’” society we have morphed into. I just don’t know if having 50 states handling things 50 different ways is the best avenue to accomplish this.

Okay that wraps it up for me today as I hop down from my soapbox. Markets are still up so I’ll stop today wearing a nervous smile.

Meanwhile, I need to figure out how to better use my new cellphone.

While trying to set it up yesterday, I accidentally took a 10-minute video of my shoes.

Still, it was pretty good footage.

Have a great day,

Joseph G. Witthohn, CFA

Have any questions? Please contact info@teamemerald.com

A Look At The News | March 20, 2025 As of 11:23 AM today: The Fed is holding rates steady, much to the chagrin of the White House which feels cuts are necessary as the nation transitions due to the tariffs (CNBC) https://www.cnbc.com/2025/03/20/trump-says-the-fed-should-cut-rates-to-ease-the-economys-transition-to-his-tariffs.html … but while many of these don’t take effect until early April, small business owners find even the threat of tariffs make planning difficult … as who knows what the future holds? (FastCompany) https://www.fastcompany.com/91301335/how-trumps-tariffs-are-already-impacting-u-s-small-businesses The Department of Education may shortly be shut down … leaving education up to states and parents. I sense a lot of PTA battles ahead (APNews) https://apnews.com/article/trump-education-department-shutdown-b1d25a2e1bdcd24cfde8ad8b655b984 … but one hope is the school boards are not “microdosing” … as psychedelic mushrooms are now being reviewed as a way of controlling anxiety (CBSNews) https://www.cbsnews.com/news/colorado-psychedelic-mushrooms-healing-centers/ Some pretty big protests are being planned for next weekend and … sorry to say, Elon … this seems much more organized than most (TheVerge) https://www.theverge.com/news/633091/tesla-takedown-protesters-planning-biggest-day-of-action You are what you eat … and what you breathe, I guess.  Well, plastic has entered our bodies somehow and scientists only now are trying to assess the harm (MongaBay) https://news.mongabay.com/2025/03/microplastic-within-humans-now-a-health-crisis-interview-with-plastic-people-filmmakers/ The statements above are supplied for educational purposes only. The statements depict the viewpoints and opinion of the author and are not necessarily the views of Emerald Asset Management or its affiliates. The information described herein is taken from sources which are believed to be reliable, but the accuracy and completeness of such information is not guaranteed by us. Emerald Asset Management PA, LLC | 717-556-8900 | 3175 Oregon Pike, Leola, PA 17540 Want to change how you receive these emails? You can unsubscribe from this list.

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