December 2023

You don’t have to blessed (cursed?) with the gift of prophecy to know that 2024 will be a chaotic election year. But what other opportunities do we see in the year ahead?

As we close out 2023, this is a good time to take stock of the year that was. Of course, everyone’s doing that this week, so we’re adding our unique Freeport Society take.

There’s a great show on Neflix that you should watch. It gives us a glimpse of everything both right and wrong with American capitalism today. The question is, how do we invest in this mess. Let’s find out.

Because it’s the day before Christmas, I’ve recorded a video for you. It contains a fun Christmas Classic, which I’ve adapted for the Fed. 

It’s like the man doesn’t want to win a second term next November… even though he’s running. President Joe Biden continues to pursue policies that most American voters adamantly oppose and which are guaranteed to hurt him at the ballot box. Student loan forgiveness in particular is a scorcher…

The market seems to have misunderstood the Fed’s intended message recently. But investors aren’t the only ones “misunderstanding” the inflation situation.

There’s an anonymous masked man running for president in Ghana. No-one knows anything about him, what he stands for, or the policies he intends to enact. But if given the choice between him and any of the contenders in the 2024 U.S. presidential election, the former would get my vote.

Inflation is under control. Nothing to see here! The Fed will go back to lowering rates again by March. Sometimes I feel like I’m living in a parallel universe. And by “sometimes,” I mean every time I hear the monthly inflation report mentioned in the media. But is inflation really under control? Not quite. Can the Fed ever bring it under control?

So many things in life depend on the context. Is it wrong to lie? Is it wrong to punch someone? Is it wrong to end someone’s life? How about advocating genocide?

The housing market has had a tough year, not because prices have collapsed but because they’ve move steadily higher, despite high interest rates. Now, mortgage rates seem to be cooling, but don’t be fooled. The housing market is in dire straits.