Now that the debt ceiling negotiations are behind us and President Biden has signed the measure, what will Wall Street's wandering eye focus on next?
Inflation? Interest rates? Recession? Artificial intelligence?
More than likely, headlines will quickly turn to the Federal Reserve's next meeting, which ends on June 14.
As you can see from the accompanying chart, there are conflicting opinions about what's next for short-term rates this summer. Some see rates ticking higher, while others believe the Fed will pause rate hikes. The Fed's current target for short-term rates is 5% to 5.25%. Two-thirds of speculators expect the Fed to hold steady in June.
It's also possible that the conversation will shift to artificial intelligence and how companies use this new technology frontier. The chart below shows that 110 of the S&P 500 companies mentioned AI in Q1 quarterly reports, a 40% increase from Q4 2022. This trend is expected to continue to trend higher in the coming quarters.
While Wall Street's attention will shift from topic to topic, expect our conversations to stay consistent -- diversification, patience, and discipline.
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As part of the Taxpayer Bill of Rights, you have the right to retain an authorized representative to represent you when dealing with the IRS. If you can’t afford representation, seek help from a Low Income Taxpayer Clinic (LITC).
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Tip adapted from IRS.gov
An eccentric farmer requests that you build four pens for his nine sheep but only allow an odd number of sheep in each pen. How do you accomplish this?
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Last Month's Riddle: Two fathers and two sons shopped for computers at their local big box retailer. Eash bought a PC, yet they purchased only three PCs in total. How could this be?
Answer: There was a grandfather, a father, and a son.