By Peter R. Wechsler
President & Co-Founder, Franklin Retirement Solutions
[email protected]
I’m writing this on Thursday morning after a few days off for Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year of 5786. For those wondering—no, I didn’t cook this holiday. Monday night, a few of the kids and I celebrated the new year in the Bronx with my dear friend Lisa. The brisket and chicken soup were phenomenal! To all my friends, clients, and family… L’Shana Tova! May it be a healthy, prosperous, and sweet new year for all.
It’s been a wild week in the news: U.N. General Assembly speeches, the answer to autism (or maybe not), the news on Tylenol, the media fallout from Charlie Kirk’s death, and, thanks to stalled budget talks, a real possibility of another government shutdown on October 1st. At least the Fed lowered interest rates by a quarter point, with more cuts likely ahead.
With all of the commotion—partisan bickering, global conflicts—what’s the stock market doing? Going up, of course. No doubt climbing the wall of worry. As of Wednesday night, the S&P 500 was up 3% this month, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq was up 5.2%. Go figure.
The year is flying by, and the quarter ends next Tuesday. By mid-October, we’ll start seeing quarterly earnings reports released. Big questions are on investors’ minds, wondering if profits and sales will beat estimates. And just as importantly, what will companies say about their outlook for the next three months? This should be interesting.
We continue to monitor your portfolios and tweak them as needed to improve returns. With some luck, the markets will finish strong on top of solid years in 2023 and 2024. Fingers crossed.
Enjoy the weekend, and go Phillies and Eagles!
Peter