A recent report from S&P Global predicts that the amount of copper we’ll need over the next 25 years will be more than the human race consumed in its entire history. –Wired, August 22, 2024
On 8/28/24, two days before Chair and CEO Warren Buffett’s 94th birthday, shares of Berkshire Hathaway crossed the trillion-dollar market-cap threshold. Berkshire is one of just seven US companies in the trillion-dollar club and is the only one from the financial sector. –CNBC, August 29, 2024
Swiss Re calculates that mortgages locked in at lower rates have provided a $600 billion boost to US consumer spending since 2022, accounting for almost 2% of all personal consumption spending. –Bloomberg, August 26, 2024
The NFL season kicks off on 9/5 when the Kansas City Chiefs and the Baltimore Ravens face off. Creating each year’s schedule is the responsibility of six NFL executives and “thousands of cloud-based computers” who consider “thousands of possible schedules” before picking the final version. –NFL.com
September has historically been the worst month of the year for the S&P 500. Since 1945, the index has averaged a decline of 0.78% in September with gains 43% of the time. During election years, September’s average decline has been 0.51% with gains 47% of the time. –MFS/Bespoke, September 3, 2024
The 2023 national median cost of a home health aide hired through an agency was $33 an hour, up from $20 an hour in 2015. Those needing round-the-clock in-home care can expect a median cost of about $290,000, more than double the annual median cost of a private room in a nursing home and four times the cost of a private room in an assisted living facility. –The Wall Street Journal, September 4, 2024
At last Wednesday’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting (9/18), Fed officials projected a median federal funds rate of 3.375% by the end of 2025, indicating six more 25 basis point (bp) cuts after the 50-bp cut on 9/18. Market pricing suggests the Fed will cut rates even more than that, down to 2.75% to 3% by the end of 2025.–Bloomberg, September 13,2024
Driven by lower long-term interest rates, applications to refinance mortgages surged 24% in the week ending 9/13, to the highest level since April 2022. Refinance applications accounted for 51.2% of all applications, representing the highest share since February 2022. –Mortgage Bankers Association, September 18, 2024
Americans spent $186 billion on pet products and services in 2023, which was more than they spent on childcare. Consumer spending growth on pets has outpaced the overall rate of spending growth in every year since 2011, the longest streak since at least 1960. –Economist and Bureau of Economic Analysis
