The Lowry Letter®

At a recent meeting, the demographic and population shifts prompted by COVID-19 and everything that came with it were discussed. Florida is a leading state for growth, but not because of births. Texas leads the US in birth rates, while Florida has one of the lowest birth rates, owing to our older population.

Our office and the markets will be closed on Monday, June 19^th, in observance of Juneteenth National Independence Day. This will be the 3^rd year of its treatment as a federal holiday. 

Today’s letter covers a lot of ground, and we hope you enjoy it.

The passage of debt ceiling legislation removes a major political worry. Inflation returns to the fore as the dominant concern, as Brad McMillan explains in a helpful June Market Update.

Last week saw a stronger job report than expected, so we can expect caution from the Fed and possibly an additional increase in interest rates.

We hope that you enjoyed Memorial Day weekend. We enjoy the annual National Memorial Day concert, which can be viewed here. We are forever grateful for the sacrifices of many in the service of our country.

As Brad McMillan explains, there continue to be reasons for optimism in the debt ceiling impasse. There is enormous incentive for lawmakers to make a deal, especially as the consequences of a true default can have electoral consequences.

In other economic news, retail sales were better than expected in April.

We have a new face around the office. Anish Jha is a student at Emory University and will be interning with us this summer. We’re excited for this contribution!

Also- many of you use Investor360 to link outside accounts. The provider for that service changed earlier this month, meaning that you will need to re-link those accounts. Some helpful “How-to” videos are available here.

As we gear up for a summer of adventure, we've got some important travel tips to share with you: read on for more!

We like Star Wars, so in honor of May the 4^th (as in May the “Fourth” Be with You), a Star Wars-themed edition of The Lowry Letter®.

Many of you are aware that account aggregation, the tool that allows you to link outside financial accounts with Investor360, can be a very helpful tool. We are happy to announce that in early May, a new aggregation application will replace Plaid. We are confident this will be an upgrade over the current option.

We will provide more information and instructions soon.

Tax season is over, for some. For self-employed taxpayers who have filed an extension on their business return, some retirement account contributions remain available, such as SEP IRAs. Please let us know if you have any questions.