ARTICLES

An Alternative To Money Market Funds

April 2026

MARKET OVERVIEW
After a strong start to begin 2026, the US stock market suffered a sharp reversal beginning in late February due to the start of the US & Israeli led attack on Iran. As of the close of trading on March 31, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 3.58% for 2026. Meanwhile the S&P 500 is down 4.63% and the Nasdaq is down 7.11% year to date. The impact has also been swiftly seen in the energy markets. West Texas Intermediate crude oil and Brent crude oil both ended the week trading at over $100 per barrel.

Some items of note: Volkswagen reported a sharp drop in profit and signaled another tough year ahead, Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square fund has filed for an IPO that will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange, Exxon Mobil is reincorporating in Texas. Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz and his Wife have moved to Florida, Vertiv, Lumentum Coherent and EchoStar joined the S&P 500 replacing Match Group, Molina Healthcare, LambWeston and Paycom. Yamaha Motor has relocated its corporate headquarters to Kennesaw, GA after nearly 50 years in California, Salesforce plans to buy back up to $50 billion of its shares, Fertitta Entertainment is in talks to acquire the Caesars casino firm and finally, Meta plans to lay off 20 % of its staff.

ECONOMIC SUMMARY
Friday’s Nonfarm Payroll report was far stronger than expected as 178,000 jobs were added, The Labor Participation Rate dipped to 61.9% while the U-6 Unemployment rate dipped slightly to 8.0%. The next unemployment report will be released on May 8.

FEDERAL RESERVE
The next Federal Reserve meeting will be held April 28-29. President Trump has nominated Kevin Warsh to be the next Chairman of the Federal Reserve. He awaits confirmation by the US Senate.

STOCKS TO WATCH
On February 27, Paramount Skydance (PSKY) and Warner Brothers Discovery (WBD) announced they had reached a definitive merger agreement. Under the terms of the agreement, all shareholders of WBD will receive $31 per share in cash upon the closing of the merger. There is a “ticking fee” associated with this transaction. For each quarter that the deal remains open beyond September 30, WBD shareholders will receive an additional 25c per share. For example, if the deal closes in October, WBD shareholders would receive $31.25 per share. If the deal closes in January 2027, WBD shareholders would receive $31.50 per share and so on.

WBD shares ended last week trading @ $27.32 on the Nasdaq market. So if the deal closes on September 30 as planned, the return would be a very attractive 13.47%. Annualized the return would be nearly 27%. The return can be enhanced even more by selling out of the money calls which helps reduce the original acquisition cost of the shares.

My weekly radio show is now on holiday and should return soon on WWPR 1490 AM. My prior radio shows and columns are available here.

If you are unhappy with the returns now offered by money market funds feel free to contact us.

Disclaimer

The material contained in this website is for your private information. We are not soliciting any action upon it. The opinions expressed here are our present opinions only. The material is based upon information which we consider to be reliable. No representations are being made that it is accurate and complete and thus should not be relied upon as such. Past performance is neither an indication nor guarantee of future performance.