Wednesday Reading List

This is the most consequential technology in America by The Washington Post

It’s the most popular social app (even with teens) and music service provider, one of the country’s largest cable providers, and its content is rocket fuel for AI chatbots amongst other things.

Defying the Pessimistic Inflation Narratives by Jeremy Siegel

Market pessimism has picked up given stubborn inflation and the potential for higher rates for longer which could hurt the economy. Professor Siegel isn’t buying it. He’s more hopeful on inflation given issues he sees with the shelter data and better days ahead for auto insurance costs, plus a good PPI number. He also thinks June rate cuts aren’t off the table yet.

Speaking of auto insurance (and if you missed it, it’s up 22% year over year) – here are two pieces that share that we got here through a combination of worse driving, higher vehicle prices, more expensive replacement parts, and climate change and what to do about it.

Why car insurance rates are so high by Vox

Is Auto Insurance Becoming a Crisis? by A Wealth of Common Sense

What the Perma-bears Get Wrong About the Stock Market by The Atlantic

There are reasons to be nervous now and the bears are all to tell you all about them. This article tries to “separate the signal from the noise” by sharing that the rally is being driven mainly by good economic news and strong corporate earnings, the market concentration isn’t a lot to worry about and it’s been broadening, and other typical bubble signs aren’t present.

The Real Deal Economy Q1 2024 by Heritage Financial

In our “Real Deal Economy” quarterly video series Michael Waldron, Heritage Financial’s Director of Portfolio Management, digs into the most recent economic news making headlines and breaks down which data points matter for your investments, and which ones are noise that you can largely ignore.

ICYMI: April’s Book, Streaming, and Podcast Recs – Sharing the best of what I read, watched, and listened to last month.