Morning Market Download from Invincible Money 

Personal finance + economics + markets 

Staying on top of the markets, economics and the global issues that affect your money takes a lot of time and effort. We distill it down to a quick 5 minute read to help you make better money decisions.

EconomyBrits are now poorer thanks to inflation, according to the chief economist at the Bank of England. This is also true for Americans as real wages have been negative for the past year (real wages are wages adjusted for inflation, meaning inflation is rising higher than wages.)

Regional Fed survey indicates a slower economy.

The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index dropped to its lowest since June with inflation expectation for the next 12 months unchanged at 6.2%.

U.S. home prices up 0.2% in February. The first increase in 8 months, while home sales were up 9.6% in March as buyers took advantage of small drops in mortgage rates.

NewsSen. Manchin (D-WV) agreed to vote for the Inflation Reduction Act as long as he got commitments to develop new oil and gas projects. He says the Biden Admin hasn't followed through on that and is threatening to repeal the act he helped pass. The bill included $384 billion for energy production. He pointed out that the U.S. has enough natural resources to be energy independent (we were a few years ago), but nothing is being done to get us back there.

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about how Tesla has reduced the price of its cars in anticipation of the EV tax credits going away thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act. Now only 10 EVs qualify for the full $7,500 tax break.

The IEA predicts 20% of cars sold in 2023 will be electric.

Also, the Inflation Reduction Act has nothing to do with reducing inflation, according to NPR, Forbes and many other sources.

StocksInvestors still buying U.S. Treasuries at record pace, setting new records every month since last September.

First Republic Bank stock tanked 49% Tuesday and then trading was halted Wednesday from fallout from it's terrible earnings report and a report by CNBC that the U.S. government is unwilling to rescue the bank. The bank was valued at $40B in 2021 and dipped below $1B. 

Bank of America reported that investors started buying stocks again for the first time in several weeks with $2.3B in inflows. However, Goldman Sachs says they've bought as much as they plan to in the short time with $170B invested in the past month, which could indicate institutions could be selling if the market turns down.

Google beat earnings ($1.17 EPS vs $1.07 expected), as did Microsoft ($2.45 EPS vs $2.23 expected).

UPS stock fell 9.9% yesterday as it reported slowing delivery demand.

Meta up nearly 12% after hours as it clobbered earnings ($2.20 EPS vs $2.01 expected)

CryptoU.S regulators are cracking down on anonymous crypto transactions stating that legally compliant firms should not be using software to make users anonymous because it helps criminals.

"It's essential for governments and particularly the industry to address that which makes crypto so attractive to illicit finance, and that is the allure of anonymity," a commissioner at the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission said.

Be a Better Investor

Get Smarter

One of the best things you can do for your finances is to set up automatic investments into your 401k, IRA and brokerage account so every time you get paid, a set amount goes into your investments every month, rain or shine.

Pay yourself first. You'll be so glad you did down the road.

If you haven't set this up, go do it now!

Legal StuffNothing in this newsletter is financial advice. Always do your own research and think for yourself.