{"id":5376,"date":"2024-04-02T11:51:15","date_gmt":"2024-04-02T15:51:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bushwealthmanagement.com\/?p=5376"},"modified":"2024-04-02T11:51:32","modified_gmt":"2024-04-02T15:51:32","slug":"market-commentary-04-02-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bushwealthmanagement.com\/market-commentary-04-02-2024\/","title":{"rendered":"Market Commentary 04\/02\/2024"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Markets<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What do dieters have in common with the Federal Reserve?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019ve ever dieted, you may be familiar with the weight-loss plateau. Many people experience steady progress. The bathroom scale moves lower week by week \u2013 until it doesn\u2019t \u2013 and that can be discouraging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Federal Reserve has been trying to reduce inflation, and it has had significant success. Its actions are credited with bringing headline inflation from a peak of 9.1 percent in June 2022 to 3.2 percent in February 2024, as measured by the Consumer Price Index.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looking back over the last few months, it seems as though inflation hit a plateau (and, perhaps, indulged in a bit of holiday excess).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

September 2023:        3.7 percent<\/p>\n\n\n\n

October 2023:             3.2 percent<\/p>\n\n\n\n

November 2023:         3.1 percent<\/p>\n\n\n\n

December 2023:         3.4 percent<\/p>\n\n\n\n

January 2024:             3.1 percent<\/p>\n\n\n\n

February 2024:           3.2 percent<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the Fed is not discouraged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After inflation data was released last week, Chair Jerome Powell to comment, \u201cThe report that came out this morning is pretty much in-line with our expectations. Our hand is a steady hand in this. We\u2019ve been saying all through last year and this year, we\u2019re making progress\u2026The economy is strong. We see very strong growth\u2026That means we that don\u2019t need to be in a hurry to cut [rates]. It means we can wait and become more confident that, in fact, inflation is coming down to two percent on a sustainable basis.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

United States stock markets were unfazed by the inflation news and delivered a stellar performance for the first quarter. The Standard & Poor\u2019s 500 Index experienced 22 record closes during the first three months of the year, reported Teresa Rivas of Barron\u2019s<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Major U.S. stock indices finished the week higher,and U.S. Treasury yields were mixed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Data as of 3\/28\/24<\/strong><\/td>		1-Week<\/strong><\/td>Y-T-D<\/strong><\/td>1-Year<\/strong><\/td>3-Year<\/strong><\/td>5-Year<\/strong><\/td>10-Year<\/strong><\/td><\/tr>
Standard & Poor’s 500 Index<\/td>0.4%<\/td>10.2%<\/td>32.3%<\/td>9.8%<\/td>13.3%<\/td>11.0%<\/td><\/tr>
Dow Jones Global ex-U.S. Index<\/td>0.1<\/td>3.9<\/td>13.1<\/td>-0.9<\/td>3.6<\/td>2.0<\/td><\/tr>
10-year Treasury Note (yield only)<\/td>4.2<\/td>NA<\/td>3.6<\/td>1.7<\/td>2.4<\/td>2.7<\/td><\/tr>
Gold (per ounce)<\/td>2.0<\/td>6.5<\/td>12.8<\/td>9.1<\/td>11.3<\/td>5.5<\/td><\/tr>
Bloomberg Commodity Index<\/td>0.8<\/td>0.9<\/td>-4.7<\/td>5.8<\/td>4.2<\/td>-3.0<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

S&P 500, Dow Jones Global ex-US, Gold, Bloomberg Commodity Index returns exclude reinvested dividends (gold does not pay a dividend) and the three-, five-, and 10-year returns are annualized; and the 10-year Treasury Note is simply the yield at the close of the day on each of the historical time periods. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sources: Yahoo! Finance; MarketWatch; djindexes.com; U.S. Treasury; London Bullion Market Association.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Indices are unmanaged and cannot be invested into directly. N\/A means not applicable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3 REASONS TAXPAYERS GET NOTICES FROM THE IRS.<\/strong> Receiving a notice from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) can be daunting. While some notices are resolved fairly easily, others require an audit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, how does the IRS determine who gets a notice? Michelle Singletary of the Washington Post<\/em> reported, \u201cThe IRS examines returns to ensure that income, expenses, deductions, and credits are reported accurately. When an inconsistency is found, a taxpayer may undergo an audit or be notified that adjustments were made that could result in a refund or a required tax payment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are three issues that can bring a tax notice to your mailbox:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. Math mistakes<\/strong>. Taxes are a great example of the importance of math in real life. In 2022, the IRS issued more than 9 million notices because of math errors. The top triggers were calculations related to the Recovery Rebate Credit and the Child Tax Credit. Most notices simply adjusted taxpayers\u2019 returns and indicated whether additional amounts were owed, or higher refunds were due.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n