2023 | June 20

The Market

Stocks Gain

A week after entering a bull market, the S&P 500 recorded its fifth positive weekly result in a row—its longest such streak since November 2021. The three major U.S. indexes posted weekly gains of around 1% to 3%, and the S&P 500 and the NASDAQ rose to their highest levels in 13 months.

A key measure of U.S. inflation fell to 4.0% in May to record the lowest annual rate in more than two years. However, excluding typically volatile costs such as energy and food, Tuesday’s reading on the Consumer Price Index rose at a steeper 5.3%, indicating continued inflationary pressures.

U.S. Federal Reserve officials signaled that they could lift interest rates again at their next meeting July 25–26 if the economy and inflation don’t cool further. The Fed on Wednesday kept its benchmark rate unchanged—breaking a string of 10 consecutive meetings in which it has lifted rates—and projections showed that 12 of 18 Fed officials expected to raise rates at least two more times this year.

The European Central Bank lifted its deposit rate by a quarter of a percentage point to the highest level in more than two decades. In contrast, the Bank of Japan kept its key rate unchanged at an ultralow level and Chinese policymakers cut key medium-term lending rates.

Despite inflationary pressures and fears of a recession, U.S. consumers ramped up their spending in May. Retail sales rose 0.3% relative to the prior month, extending the positive trend from April’s 0.4% month-over-month gain.

A Japanese stock index recorded its tenth consecutive weekly gain, pushing higher a week after climbing to its highest level since 1990. For the latest week, Japan’s market led strong overall results for most of the world’s largest developed-market stock indexes.

The U.S. dollar fell to its lowest level in four weeks against other major currencies as traders tracked a busy week of activity for the world’s major central banks. The dollar ended the week down about 8% from a recent high set in November 2022.

U.S. companies spent about 2% more to buy back their shares in this year’s first quarter compared with last year’s fourth quarter. Share repurchases by companies in the S&P 500 climbed to nearly $216 billion, according to S&P Dow Jones Indices. Despite the quarterly gain, last quarter’s figure was short of the record $281 billion recorded in the first quarter of 2022. 

Source: John Hancock Investment Management

Thank You for Taking the Client Survey

There's a Waiting List

More than a decade ago, a fledgling space flight company began selling tickets for future travel to the edge of space. Early on, tickets were priced at about $200,000 a pop. Today, they’re a bit pricier at $450,000 per seat, although packages for couples and opportunities to reserve entire flights are available. To-date, hundreds of tickets have been sold, reported Michael Sheetz of CNBC.

Some ticketholders may soon be feeling the rumble of powerful engines under their seats. At the end of June, the company’s first spaceplane will launch from Spaceport America in New Mexico, weather allowing. A second commercial light is planned for August, and monthly missions may follow, reported Loren Grush of Bloomberg.

There are other ways for space enthusiasts, who are hoping the price of space flight will fall in the future, to embrace their passion. These include:

• Experiencing weightlessness. Zero-gravity flights aboard a modified Boeing 727 don’t travel into space. The plane flies in parabolic arcs to create a gravity-free experience. For about $9,000 plus tax, participants have the chance to float and flip in lunar and zero gravity.

• Gaining an astronaut’s point-of-view. Next year, space lounges attached to space balloons will carry passengers closer to the cosmos. For $125,000, ticketholders can have drinks and dinner while admiring the curvature of the Earth. Plus, the World Economic Forum reported the flight is carbon neutral.

• Training to survive on Mars. For $175, NASA’s Kennedy Space Center offers guest-explorers, who are at least 10 years old, the chance to train for a trip to the red planet. “Practice your docking skills, navigate the unique Mars terrain and experience the sensation of performing a spacewalk in a microgravity environment.”

Space hotels are in the works, and they will have a hub-and-spoke design that allows the structure to create artificial gravity, reported Nick Mafi and Katherine McLaughlin of Architectural Digest. The first may be operational as soon as 2025.

Phone: (615) 709-8709

Fax: (615) 505-3306

eMoney

TD Ameritrade

Advyzon

Past performance does not guarantee future results. Different types of investments involve varying degrees of risk, and there can be no assurance that the future performance of any specific investment, strategy, or product (including those recommended or undertaken by AJ Advisors, LLC), or any non-investment related content, made reference to directly or indirectly in this communication will be profitable, equal any indicated historical performance level(s), be suitable for your portfolio or individual circumstances, or prove successful. Due to various factors, including changing market conditions and/or applicable laws, the content may no longer be reflective of current opinions or positions. You should not assume that any discussion or information contained in this communication serves as the receipt of, or as a substitute for, personalized investment advice. To the extent that a reader has any questions regarding the applicability of any specific issue discussed above to their individual situation, they are encouraged to consult with the professional adviser of their choosing. AJ Advisors, LLC is neither a law firm nor a certified public accounting firm and no portion of the content herein should be construed as legal or accounting advice. If you are an AJ Advisors, LLC client, please remember to contact the firm, in writing, if there are any changes in your financial situation or investment objectives or if you wish to impose, add, or modify any reasonable restrictions on our investment advisory services. Until so notified, AJ Advisors, LLC will continue to rely on the most recent information provided. A copy of our current written disclosure statement discussing our advisory services and fees continues to remain available upon request.