May 2023 Monthly Recap

Talking Points

  • Inflation dropped slightly, from 5% to 4.9%, to the lowest level since April 2021, marking 10 consecutive monthly declines

  • The labor market remains a bright spot as the US economy added 253,000 jobs and unemployment fell from 3.5% to 3.4%

  • Consumer sentiment fell to its lowest level in six months, remaining new muli-decade lows amid economic worries

  • The 10-year Treasury yield jumped from 3.44% to 3.64% as markets raised expectations for a potential June rate hike

  • The Case-Shiller 20-ciy home price index fell 1.1% annually, the first decline since 2012, pulled lower by West Coast markets

Market Health Indicator*

Market Data
market health indicator monthly index performance

*The Market Health Indicator is a monthly indicator created in September 2021 that is designed to measure market health on a scale of 0 - 100, analyzing various market segments such as economics, technicals, and volatility using data back to January of 2000. Higher scores indicate healthier market conditions.

  

Fun Facts

Another One Bites the Dust
  • The Onion Futures Act bans the trading of onion futures in the US. It was enacted in 1958 after two traders manipulated the onion market. 
  • Focusing on something (i.e. reading, watching TV, or listening to a podcast) causes you to blink approximately 60% less than normal. 
  • While technopreneurs dominate the headlines, fewer than 10% of billionaires are under the age of 50. 
  • Don’t forget to book those tee times. June 18th is Father’s Day!

Another one bites the dust.

Regulators took possession of First Republic Bank and sold most of its assets to JPMorgan Chase. JPMorgan will also absorb all of the bank’s deposits.

This is the third American bank failure since March as specific regional banks became more susceptible to major withdrawals. 

First Republic wasn’t as ‘niche’ as failed Silicon Valley Bank or Signature Bank, but it did have a narrow exposure to wealthier clients. Two-thirds of accounts at the bank had balances above $250k (above the FDIC threshold).

Customers withdrew over $100 billion from First Republic in Q1, a 40% reduction in deposits.

While depositors have been protected from the recent banking jitters, the biggest banks are getting bigger while smaller banks are finding it more difficult to do business.
 

To view the rest of the Market Update, click here. 

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