Mountain Brooke Wealth Management, LLC

03/06/2025

This is an interesting chart provided by Aptus Capital.

Intra-year drawdowns sometimes cause investors to abandon their investment strategies. "Flight to Safety"

No one knows how the market is going to react to information. The market is forward-looking and doesn't like uncertainty. Sometimes news cycles and other external forces cause the market to retract.

This chart historically shows how the End of Year Total Return differs from the Max Intra-Year Drawdown. Historically, if a client stayed the course, the market improved by the end of the year. (Except for 1984)

This is for informational purposes only and is not a solicitation for personal services offered.

03/06/2025

S&P 500. Date of peak: Feb. 19 at 6,144. Change from peak since: down 4.9% after Wednesday's close. On Tuesday, the loss was 6.7%. Year-to-date change as of Wednesday: -0.7%.

Nasdaq-100. Date of Peak: Feb. 19 at 22,176. Change from peak as of Wednesday close: about 7%. Change after Tuesday's trading: about 9.7%. That was quite close to a correction level. A market correction is popularly defined as a 10% decline from a recent peak. Year-to-date change as of Wednesday: -1.8%.

03/05/2025

New data show the number of workers who left their jobs last year hit the lowest level since 2020. Americans quit 39.6 million jobs in 2024, down 11% from the year before and down 22% from a recent peak in 2022, according to Labor Department data. Source: The Wall Street Journal

02/27/2025

Michael Wallin

02/27/2025

First Trust Portfolios - Brian Wesbury

Can Tariffs Replace the Income Tax? February 27, 2025 Donald Trump is back in the Oval Office, and tariffs have once again taken center stage in U.S. economic policy. With a renewed push to protect American industries, his administration is ramping up import tariffs, reigniting debate over their economic impact. Supporters see them as a catalyst for domestic manufacturing and a potential windfall for government revenue, while critics warn of rising costs, supply chain disruptions, and retaliation from key trading partners. As these policies take shape, the question remains: Will tariffs be the economic powerhouse Trump envisions, or will they introduce new uncertainties into an already fragile global market? In this “Three on Thursday,” we explore the historical role of tariffs as a revenue source and assess whether they could ever replace the U.S. income tax. See the three charts below for deeper insight.

Click here to read the full commentary.

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02/26/2025

First Trust Portfolios - Brian Wesbury, Chief Economist

chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.ftportfolios.com/Commentary/EconomicResearch/2025/2/26/new-single-family-home-sales-declined-10.5percent-in-january

New single-family home sales declined 10.5% in January to a 0.657 million annual rate, lagging the consensus expected 0.680 million. Sales are down 1.1% from a year ago.

Sales in January fell in the Northeast, Midwest, and South, but rose in the West.

The months’ supply of new homes (how long it would take to sell all the homes in inventory) increased to 9.0 in January. The gain was due to both a slower pace of sales and a 7,000 unit increase in inventories.

The median price of new homes sold was $446,300 in January, up 3.7% from a year ago. The average price of new homes sold was $510,000, down 3.4% versus last year.

Click the link to read the full analysis.

02/24/2025

Mitch on the Markets by Mitch Zacks

Gas Prices are Pressured Higher by Colder
Temperatures

If you’re reading this and it’s colder than usual
where you live, you’re not alone. In many regions
across the U.S., temperatures have plunged as
much as 50 degrees lower than averages for this
time of year. That means natural gas has been
withdrawn at a faster-than-normal rate from
underground storage, perhaps as much as three
times the amount from the same period a year
ago. As a result, the U.S.’s gas reserves are
projected to be 20% lower than they were on the
same date last year. The supply and demand
dynamics have been pushing prices higher—on
Wednesday, front-month natural gas futures
surged past the critical $4 per million British
thermal units mark, reaching their highest level
since 2022—an astonishing 170% increase over
the past year. Futures contracts for delivery in
January of next year have already climbed past
$5. Consumers may not have to worry about the
possibility of much higher prices this winter or
next, however. The Biden administration’s ban on
new export terminals has been lifted, and it
seems possible that sanctions on Russian gas
could be eased sometime this year. An influx of
Russian gas would add to global supply, which
would reduce price pressures even if demand is
higher-than-average.1

1 Oil Prices. February 21, 2025.

U.S. natural gas futures surged to $4.25/MMBtu in Wednesday’s session as Arctic cold boosts heating demand while potential freeze-offs threaten supply

08/05/2024

Monday, August 5th

Here's what to know about the current state of the stock market:

Tech stocks

Silicon Valley giants are pushing down U.S. stocks as of Monday morning, Bloomberg reported. Nvidia fell 12%, Apple lost 9.3%, Amazon dropped 7.4%, and Meta lost 7.6%, Bloomberg said. Google fell 5.4%, and Microsoft has lost 4.9%.

Most of the news outlets share the performance of the S&P based upon the capitilzation weighted average. When the behemoths are down, then it makes it seem like the sky is falling.

Be careful not to overreact and know which companies you are actually invested in.

Don't allow your emotions to cause you to inadvertently lock-in unnecessary losses.

04/28/2023

The stock market and a bar of soap are much the same. The more you touch it the smaller it gets.

On the podcast today, we discussed the theory of "Random Walk."

Here is a quick analysis of the S&P 500 (dividends reinvested) as of April 28, 2023:

1 M - March 29, 2023 Price - 4,009.30 April 28, 2023 Price - 4,169.48. S&P 500 is up 4%!

3 M - January 30, 2023 Price - 4,017.77 April 28, 2023 Price - 4,169.48. S&P 500 is up 3.78%!

6 M - October 31, 2022 Price - 3,871.98 April 28, 2023 Price - 4,169.48. S&P 500 is up 7.68%!

1 YR - April 29, 2022 Price - 4,131.93 April 28, 2023 Price - 4,169.48. S&P 500 is up .91%!

2 YR - April 29, 2021 Price - 4,211.47 April 28, 2023 Price - 4,169.48. S&P 500 is down -.99%.

5 YR - April 30, 2018 Price - 2,663.42 April 28, 2023 Price - 4,169.48. S&P 500 is up 56.55%!

10YR - April 29, 2013 Price - 1,614.42 April 28, 2023 Price - 4,169.48. S&P 500 is up 158.26%!

Historical results have shown those who remain invested for the long term tend to benefit the most from equity market investing.

Is this different from what the news is sharing?

If you have questions regarding your investment plan, please give us a call for a free evaluation. 615.850.6710

10/23/2022

Here is a great Haunted House idea.

Just dim the lights at the Walmart.

Characters are already there.

03/08/2022

If you don't know how to read this chart, or more importantly, you don't know how the information charted here is going to impact you, then you need to give me a call.

05/21/2021

I have been asked several times lately, "What is Biblically Responsible Investing?" The answer is simple, we screen out the companies that by product, service, or philanthropy violate Judeo-Christian beliefs and values.

What do we value?

Family, Marriage, Life, Liberty, Purity, Sobriety, Longevity, and Stewardship.

If these values are your core beliefs as well, then you may want to consider having your investment portfolio audited to see if you are invested in companies that are adversely aligned with your beliefs.

To get a free screening, click the link below...

https://www.christianinvestingtool.com/?ReferredBy=906

or give me a quick call at 888-302-5559.

May God's blessings be with you always.

FREE screening tool for Christian investors concerned with the impact their investments are having. Find cleaner BRI funds and stocks that complement Christian values.