The Lowry Letter®

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.

Today’s Letter is devoted to the dollar. We are often asked about the implications of debt, inflation, gold, the rise of cryptocurrency, and how all of these relate to the US Dollar and more broadly to our economy and markets.

We’re going to look at a few perspectives that reflect our opinion (just so our bias is clear) that the dollar will remain the dominant currency for the foreseeable future.

Spring has sprung…for some. While warm temperatures cover Florida, many western states expect even more snow in what has been a record season. Regardless of the weather, we hope that you and your families are well.

Also, the markets and our office will be closed on Friday, April 7^th in observance of Good Friday. To those who observe them, we wish a Happy Easter and Joyous Passover!

We once learned a helpful definition of wisdom: the correct application of knowledge. What do we know? We know that our personal goals and needs should continue to be the overriding factor for our investment choices. Difficult periods, like this one, are nothing new and we believe will continue to be temporary and necessary parts of a functioning market.