2024 | March 25

The Markets

Stocks Gain



For the first time in 2024, the S&P 500, the NASDAQ, and the Dow each posted a weekly total return of 2% or more. That uniform progress pushed each index to a record high and marked a shift from the modest declines recorded in the previous two weeks.

Despite recently mixed progress in curbing inflation, a majority of U.S. Federal Reserve policymakers stuck with their earlier expectations to approve three interest-rate cuts by year end. Chair Jerome Powell said the first potential cut isn’t likely to occur until the Fed gains greater confidence that inflation is sustainably declining toward its 2% target.

Amid a slight pullback in historically high mortgage rates, U.S. sales of existing homes in February posted the biggest monthly gain in a year. Sales jumped 9.5% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.38 million, according to the National Association of Realtors.

An index that tracks investors’ expectations of short-term U.S. stock market volatility fell to its lowest level in more than six weeks. The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) fell about 9% for the week; relative to a recent intraday high on March 11, the VIX was down 18%.

U.S. companies bought back shares at a much faster pace in 2023’s fourth quarter than they did in the third quarter. Share repurchases by companies in the S&P 500 totaled about $219 billion, up 18% from the prior quarter’s $186 billion, according to S&P Dow Jones Indices. However, for full-year 2023, buybacks were down nearly 14% from 2022’s total.

A report scheduled to be released on Friday could clear up some of the recent uncertainty over inflation’s trajectory. The Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index is the U.S. Federal Reserve’s preferred gauge for tracking inflation. Although that measure increased in January at the slowest pace since March 2021, two more recent inflation-related reports produced figures that were slightly higher than expected.

Source: John Hancock Investment Management

2023 Retirement Contribution Deadlines

How Do You Measure Happiness?

The 2024 World Happiness Report relies on data obtained through a Gallup World Poll (GWP) that has been conducted since 2005. The GWP asks participants in various countries this question: 

“Please imagine a ladder, with steps numbered from 0 at the bottom to 10 at the top. The top of the ladder represents the best possible life for you and the bottom of the ladder represents the worst possible life for you. On which step of the ladder would you say you personally feel you stand at this time?”⁷

The happiness rankings reflect the three-year average (2021-2023) of the answers received. While the number of participants varies from country to country (and there are no responses for some countries in some years), the usual number appears to be around 1,000 participants per country.

Next, the researchers try to figure out why people in one country are happier than those in another country. The researchers reported that six variables – economic prosperity, healthy life expectancy, having someone to count on, freedom to make life choices, generosity, and freedom from corruption – explained more than three-fourths of the variation in scores.

In 2023, Finland was the happiest country in the world for the seventh consecutive year. The happiest countries included:

1. Finland

2. Denmark

3. Iceland

4. Sweden

The least happy countries included: 

140. Sierra Leone

141. Lesotho

142. Lebanon

143. Afghanistan

The United States was not among the top 20 for the first time since the report was introduced in 2012. The U.S. ranked 23rd, down from 15th last year.

“For the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, happiness has decreased in all age groups, but especially for the young, so much so that the young are now, in 2021-2023, the least happy age group. This is a big change from 2006-2010, when the young were happier than those in the midlife groups, and about as happy as those aged 60 and over. For the young, the happiness drop was about three-quarters of a point, and greater for females than males.”

The difference in reported happiness between older and younger Americans was quite large. Americans who are age 60 and older ranked 10th for happiness, while Americans who are age 30 and younger ranked 62nd.

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eMoney

Charles Schwab

Advyzon

Emily Triano

Operations Manager

emily@ajadvice.com

Maya Laws

Operations Associate

maya@ajadvice.com

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