Brian Franke, Financial & Investment Advisor

05/26/2023

Would a U.S. default really be that bad? Yes — and here's why -

As the debt ceiling debate comes down to the wire, here is a look at some of the potential consequences if the U.S. defaults on its debt for the first time in history.

05/10/2023

https://www.linkedin.com/news/story/inflation-eases-for-10th-month-5283625/

The Consumer Price Index rose 4.9% from a year earlier, after rising 5% in March — the smallest annual increase since April 2021.

05/05/2023

While the overall job market remains tight, with unemployment matching a half-century low, there are signs of softening. Job openings declined nearly 15% between December and March, while layoffs rose 22% during that time.

In a surprise, the job market grew strongly in April - https://www.npr.org/2023/05/05/1174009910/jobs-labor-market-inflation-federal-reserve-economy-recession

The U.S. job market may be getting a second wind. Employers added 253,000 jobs in April, a modest uptick from the month before. The unemployment rate dipped to 3.4%.

05/04/2023

Still, Chair Jerome Powell was adamant that the banking crisis had not deterred policymakers in their fight against decades-high inflation and that they could continue to raise rates if the economy runs hot.

More: https://www.linkedin.com/news/story/fed-leaves-door-open-to-rate-pause-5272417/

05/03/2023

Broadly, markets are acting as if today's potential rate hike will be the final one of the Fed's lengthy, aggressive cycle that's brought so far nine consecutive raises, the last of which was a 25 basis-point move in February.

05/01/2023

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/debt-ceiling-cliff-dancing-david-kelly%3FtrackingId=kRtOj%252FjRccdZX58urWnoeA%253D%253D/?trackingId=kRtOj%2FjRccdZX58urWnoeA%3D%3D

Debt ceiling news.

04/26/2023

The US is in the midst of a "freight recession," meaning there's fewer trucks delivering goods around the country.

That slowdown, in turn, has dragged diesel prices down by almost half since last May, with the Wall Street Journal reporting wholesale diesel falling from $5.34 to $2.65.

Howdy, readers. Phil Rosen here, reporting from New York City.

04/25/2023

Very heartfelt and well researched article for women around their money and lives.

Welcome to with Suze, a weekly newsletter designed to inspire your financial life and give you actionable insights from the World’s Personal Finance Expert. Like what you’re reading? Subscribe and share with your friends.

04/25/2023

Always great getting together with my local Fluvanna Chamber of Commerce to start the day with some breakfast and sharing!

04/24/2023

"Fidelity recently crunched the numbers on how patience can pay off. It tracked a hypothetical $10,000 investment in the S&P 500 stock index made on Jan 1, 1980 through the end of 2022.
If the money was left untouched, the $10,000 invested in 1980 was worth $1.26 million at the end of 2022.
But if an investor had gotten nervous at any point and had moved out of stocks from time to time, and managed to miss just the 5 best days for the S&P 500 during that 42-year investing stretch, the $10,000 would have grown to just $782,000.
You read that right: the difference between the $1.26 million and the $782,000 was simply from missing out on the five best days to be invested in the S&P 500.
If the 10 best days were missed, the $10,000 would have grown to just $563,000. And if the 30 best days—the equivalent of one month of trading days across 264 months—the $10,000 would have grown to $204,000.
Clearly, patience paid off."

04/19/2023

In case you were wondering on the banking side of things:

Uninsured deposits in the U.S. total at least $7 trillion. We show the top 30 banks with the highest level of these deposits.