What A World - Taylornomics and Barbenheimer

Staying with the lighter side this week.

A couple of things caught my attention this week: I kind of shook my head and said, “Wow, this is an interesting time to be alive. Both are semi-related to the economy and where we spend our money.

The first head shaker is that the Taylor Swifts concert tour is expected to gross over $1 billion. The economic impact is so great that the Wall Street Journal calls it Taylornomics. 

“Chicago and Minneapolis broke all-time records for the number of hotel rooms occupied while Swift performed there” and “In Cincinnati, spending related to Swift’s tour reached an estimated $48 million.”

I came upon this information in an article about the FED and how they continue to raise interest rates because of economic activity like this.

The other interesting news that caught my eye was the opening of two blockbuster movie premiers. Of course, I'm talking about Barbenheimer. Barbie ended up with $162 million in its first weekend of release, breaking a record, and Oppenheimer brought in $82.4 million.

Clearly, people are making and spending money, so I can see why the FED might be confused about what to do with this economy. It seems that strong employment in the US is not jiving with other inflation indicators that say we are either in a recession or one is still coming.

What will happen to markets if the FED raises rates another .25 points this week? Good question; like I said, these are interesting times that seem to defy history.

Anyway, keep your powder dry, folks, but make sure to enjoy the summer.

Until next time,

J. Scott