Did You Know? Is half of the US in recession already? The two areas that appear in recession are housing and the consumer spending sector amongst lower and middle income sectors that have depleted Covid era savings. The wealthier sector is not in recession as most own their homes, have investments in the soaring equity markets, have cash earning higher interest, and are paying lower tax rates, many even lower in low-tax states. (Rosenberg Research, CNBC) Did You Know? High interest rates have had an unexpected impact on U.S. housing. Instead of triggering a fall in home prices, as happened with commercial real estate, costlier mortgages have pushed residential values higher. The value of the median existing home rose to a record $419,300 in May: Before the pandemic, it was $270,000, a 55% jump in 5 years. Did You Know? There is over $6.5 trillion sitting in money market accounts waiting to be deployed.....lower rates could trigger this transition. Did You Know? "Old Power"? Over 17% of the US population is 65 years old and older. Our presidential candidates are both well over the age of 75. Almost 60% of US senators are 65 or older. The median age of a billionaire is 67 years old (40% above the age of 70!). 2 million Americans 70 years and older still work. As of the fourth quarter of 2023, over 65% of the total wealth in the US was owned by those over the age of 60.... Now THAT's power! Did You Know? Waymo - the driverless robotaxi company that operates for all users in Phoenix and is available in limited capacity in Los Angeles and Austin, Texas - has driven about 20 million fully autonomous miles and nearly 2 million paid ride-hail trips. It has already logged 3.8 million rider-only miles in San Francisco as of the end of March. (CNBC) Did You Know? Private Equity titan KKR paid $2.1 billion for more than 5,200 apartment units across the US....Blackstone paid $10 billion for the landlord Apartment Income REIT, and last month Brookfield bought a portfolio of 7,000 apartments for $1.55 billion.....all are betting rents and home prices will rise as construction starts decline amidst higher financing costs. (WSJ) Did You Know? 30 years ago, the average American consumed 90,832 kwh per capita ....today it's below 79,000, a drop of over 13% and about half of what people use in the UAE (Dubai) per capita ....US energy use per capita is up just 3% since 1965. Other emerging economies have seen energy demand soar 600% and more.....Oman is up 55,000%! (Our World In Data) Did You Know? What might be the single most appealing attracter of wealthy people? Tax savings! JPMorgan Chase has attracted more than $15 billion in assets from wealthy clients to its tax strategy business, where clients looking to lower tax bills sell stocks at a loss as a write-off against other gains, a tactic common in separately managed accounts (SMAs) known as tax-loss harvesting. (FT). Buying tax credits is also wildly popular. Did You Know? The number of American homeowners without insurance has more than doubled to 12% from 5% in 2019. The spike in uninsured homes is being driven by a dramatic rise in the cost of coverage. Higher premiums are putting a strain on households already struggling to afford life’s staples. Some bet that something bad won't happen to them. Some bet that government will rescue them. The fewer people paying into the insurance system the higher rates are bound to go for everyone else? (USA TODAY) Did You Know? Another record-smashing sale in Malibu, California.....$210 million for a waterfront mansion on 9.5 prime acres! The happiest peopledon’t have the best of everything, they just make the best of everything! | 
