- Markets still unsettled

- Retail spending down - another bankruptcy (but who they blame?)

- Consumer frayed

A New Closest to The Pin!

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 Warm-Up
- Markets still unsettled
- Retail spending down - another bankruptcy (but who they blame?)
- Consumer frayed
- Announcement #1 Closest to the Pin is a good one...
- Announcement # 2 New DH Shirts - attention collectors...
- March madness - BBall and Markets

Markets
-Worst month since 2023 - and it is not over
- USD is dropping - loss of confidence
- Gold - keeps shining - wow what a run!
- Revenge of the Dems on Markets? Tesla stock pummeled...(We initiated a new position on this drop - today)
- US Stocks  - where is the money going?

Attention Collectors! 
- The New DHUnplugged shirts are finally here! We are going to sell only 6 - the donations received by this Friday - March 21 above $250 will get a shirt - Nice white swim/light long sleeve. (The rest are reserved for winners and special occasions) - We will also have the #1 as the first shirt ever out to the public for $1,000.
-  Put your address and size in the comments

Consumer Confidence
- The preliminary University of Michigan Index of Consumer Sentiment for March experienced a significant drop, falling to 57.9 compared to the Briefing.com consensus of 65.6 and the final reading of 64.7 in February. This marked the third consecutive decline in consumer sentiment.
--- A year ago during the same period, the index stood notably higher at 79.4.
- Several key factors contributed to this decline.
-- The Current Economic Conditions Index decreased from 65.7 to 63.5, down from 82.5 a year earlier.
-- Similarly, the Index of Consumer Expectations saw a sharp drop from 64.0 to 54.2, compared to 77.4 a year ago.
-- Inflation expectations also played a significant role, with year-ahead inflation expectations climbing from 4.3% to 4.9%, marking the highest level since November 2022.
--- Additionally, long-run inflation expectations increased from 3.5% to 3.9%, the largest month-over-month rise since 1993.
!--The overarching takeaway from the report was that the decline in sentiment affected various demographic groups across age, income, wealth, political affiliations, and geographic regions, with inflation concerns and policy uncertainty emerging as critical factors behind the drop.
 Consumer Confidence
Private Equity
- Time Bomb Twitter post?
- Yes, agree PE is getting too mainstream and not a good amount of liquidity - not right for most investors
- Is it the next bomb waiting to happen?

HANG ON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
- Jeremy Siegel is sayibg market could go lower (Tom Lee !!!! We need you!!!!)
- Speaking on current market conditions, Siegel pointed to several risk factors that could push stocks lower in the near term. Key concerns include persistently high inflation, Federal Reserve policy decisions, and growing fears of an economic slowdown. While markets have shown resilience in recent months, he believes investors may be overly optimistic about the trajectory of interest rates and economic growth.
- “The market has priced in a near-perfect landing,” Siegel said, referencing investor expectations that the Fed will successfully bring inflation down without triggering a recession.
- However, he warns that there are still significant headwinds that could derail this outlook.

Retail
- Forever 21 filed for bankruptcy protection for the second time in six years on Sunday and blamed fast-fashion e-tailers Shein and Temu for its demise.
- The retailer's operating company is expected to cease all operations in the U.S. and has already begun liquidation sales at its mor...

DHUnplugged #744: March Market Madness