Lorrie Walker

07/06/2026

Last week's shortened holiday week still delivered a mild gain for the . It was up 1.39% for the week and remains up 8.92% year-to-date. Here's a roundup of other financial news from last week:

👑 Energy was down -1.51% and is up 17.67% YTD
👑 Oil dropped -1.14% and is up 19.19% YTD
👑 Natural gas dropped -1.15% and is down -13.35% YTD
👑 Gold was up .66% but remains down -4.71% YTD
👑 Silver was up 2.36% but remains down -15.51% YTD
👑 European stocks were up
👑 Asian equities were mostly lower
👑 Core bonds, as measured by the Bloomberg Aggregate Index, traded lower
👑Friday’s Bureau of Labor Statistics report showed that an additional 2.5 million have dropped out of the labor force since last year
👑Payrolls grew by 57,000 in June, supported by gains in business services and healthcare
👑The unemployment is 4.2%

Source:

07/02/2026

Did you know that parts of Florida played a role in the Revolutionary War? Revolution Road is an east/west route through northwest Florida that was used during our nation's fight for independence.

The Washington County Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon cutting ceremony this morning to dedicate Revolution Road's opening as a driving tour that is a journey through history in honor of America's 250th anniversary. Michael Walker and I were so happy to attend. It was hot, but it was a great time!

06/30/2026

Major stock indexes rose today to end their best quarter since 2020 on a high note.

The tech-focused Nasdaq Composite, benchmark S&P 500, and blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.5%, 0.8%, and 0.3%, respectively, on Tuesday. The S&P and Nasdaq climbed 15% and 21%, respectively, over the quarter, their best showing since the second quarter of 2020. The Dow's 13% gain fell short of its 15% return in the fourth quarter of 2022.

Source: Investopedia.com

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06/26/2026

We're ready to hear Tracy Byrd at the Panhandle Watermelon Festival tonight. Eat watermelon. Stay hydrated. ☺️🍉

06/22/2026

Stocks made modest gains over the short week last week, with the being up .81%. It is up 9.44% year-to-date. Here's a roundup of other financial news from last week:

🌳 European equities were modestly higher
🌳 Asian equities were mostly higher
🌳 Energy fell -6.57% but remains up 18.61% YTD
🌳 Oil fell -9.71% but remains up 33.47% YTD
🌳 Natural gas was up 3.59% but is down -12.32% YTD
🌳 Gold was almost unchanged and is down -2.27% YTD
🌳 Silver dropped -3.08% and is down -8% YTD
🌳Core bonds, as measured by the Bloomberg Aggregate Index, traded higher over the last four days after reversing post-Fed meeting losses
🌳At the Federal Open Market Committee press conference, Kevin Warsh announced 5task forces drawing on internal and external expertise to reassess key pillars of Fed policy: data collection/ usage, AI/productivity, communications (including revamping the Summary of Economic Projections), the inflation framework, and the balance sheet

Source:

06/21/2026

Happy Father's Day!

06/19/2026

Let's take a break from today and discuss !!

06/17/2026

All 12 members of the FOMC voted in favor of keeping the Fed’s key interest rate flat on Wednesday, the first time since last June that no one cast a dissenting vote for one reason or another.

The June FOMC meeting is the first for Chair Kevin Warsh, who through the statement and the dot plot is already making changes to the central bank's policy committee.

06/17/2026

💡Did you know?💡
There are 1.8 billion $2 bills in circulation- a record high volume.
I just got 2 of them in my change today!

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06/17/2026

I couldn't give two poots about soccer🤣, but I am intrigued by how the world's largest soccer tournament affects the economy.

"Expenditures on the tournament are set to add $45 billion to the global GDP," according to Federated Hermes.

The US will bank a fair amount of that through airfare, merchandise, tickets, etc.

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