Posted by It may be too early to celebrate April’s gains because there is still no peace deal with Iran. But my retirement account has gained back $25K of the $26K that it lost in March. The stock market is acting like the war is over and ignoring the fact that gas prices are still high. It could all fall apart if the peace talks fail and the war resumes. The gains may just be a case of the reported larger tax refunds boosting spending and investment activity in the next few weeks. In my area, gas prices are still under $4 a gallon, but grocery prices are up.
Large corporate layoffs seem to be in the news daily. Many companies are redirecting investments into AI and laying off non-essential employees to help pay for it. My best advice for younger people is to learn a trade that AI isn’t going to make obsolete. The skilled trades that come to mind are Electrician, Plumber, Carpenter, HVAC Technician, Mechanic, and Healthcare worker. Once they sort out what AI can and can’t do, companies will be hiring for newly created AI support positions. Right now, the trend is to layoff and figure out what kind of jobs they will need to create later. I last worked as a Data Specialist for an electronics manufacturer. I don’t think that job is going to be around in the future.
With the stock market rebounding it is difficult to find good investments. Especially when the war in Iran could resume at any moment. The time to buy more stock was two weeks ago. Now I’m waiting to see what happens next. It feels like a trap when stocks regain all of their losses in a short period of time. Intuitional investors wait for retail investors to buy in and then start another sell-off. I still think the housing market is due for a rebound. I have the iShares US Home Construction ETF (ITB) on my watch list. I like this one because it has a mainly home builders with some building material retail companies. If interest rates drop this summer, this ETF could see a 25% gain. High oil prices and lower interest rates will be good for electric and hybrid vehicle sales too.