This Wealth Training Academy Market Report is going to go off script today as we remember those lost to Hurricane Helene in the last few days. Our hearts and prayers are with the people of the Mountains and the Upstate particularly as many are still searching for their loved ones and many more trying to overcome the absolute shock of having lost everything in the span of a few hours.
There are lives and landscapes that will be forever changed by the storm and we are standing by to give support to them in whatever way we can. One very passionate company, “Happy Helicopter Tours,” is flying water and other non-perishables out of the Greenville Downtown Airport into the disaster zones in Western NC. For those so inclined you can donate bottled water and non-perishables like protein bars at their drop-off point outside of Runway Park at 21 Airport Road Ext. in Greenville. Donating this way will help keep vehicles off the roads in the areas that need to be clear for emergency vehicles. The owner posted online that people have run out of food and water and are resorting to drinking the water from muddy creeks and there are many elderly residents and families with infants that are stranded that need our help. So, whether you donate to your church or community organization or a cause such as this, we encourage all those with the means to do so to help your brothers and sisters who are really needing our help just 70 miles north of here.
The Wealth Training Academy will be dropping off some supplies to the donation point at Runway Park soon, so if it’s easier for you to bring water and non-perishable goods by here we’re happy to load that up in our vehicles to take over to the airport. We will likely be running multiple loads over there so if your power comes back on and this message is a week old or more, please don’t hesitate to bring the supplies by our office. The need for emergency relief in Western NC isn’t going away soon. The main water lines in Asheville according to WLOS are just gone, so it will be weeks at least before the clean water is flowing there once more1.
Another world event is nearly as breathtaking as the catastrophe here in the South. Iran fired 180 plus missiles into Israel after Israel’s reported incursion into Lebanon. This is scary for the catalytic effect it may have on rising tensions in the Middle East. There’s no denying that this is an escalation of the violence there and has already affected the price of oil which is up $3 a barrel this week. We’ll be keeping an eye on that story. As you know, as the price of oil rises, so does the price of everything else. Adding to that is the International Longshoremen’s Association’s strike of more than 45,000 workers on the East and Gulf Coasts whose pay is below that of their West Coast brethren. They are demanding a 77% wage increase over six years2. If the price of oil rises due to the Middle East conflict and the strike causes a scarcity of grocery and other goods, you’ve got a potentially powerful combination of forces that will raise the prices we pay at stores and restaurants everywhere. To say that we are all very weary of inflation is perhaps the biggest understatement of the year!
(For clients only) This is a great time to remember that we’ve positioned your portfolios into different baskets that have different roles to play in your overall investment strategy. We also have portfolio models you can invest in through us that are diversified in a way to try to take advantage of all the seasons in economic markets, so that some investments are hopefully rising while others may be falling. These diversification principles are important as we don’t want all of your investments going in the same direction at the same time (because we don’t want that direction for all your investments to be down). If you are interested in this type of portfolio – we call it our low volatility strategy – please give us a call.
We stand by to serve you through a tumultuous time for our region and our country. Please call us to share with us your hopes and concerns.
Sincerely,
The WTA Investment Committee
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