Good for Bad – The Weekender | 6.3.23

Welcome to the Weekender for Saturday, June 3, 2023. It was a stellar week for the S&P 500, which rose by 1.8%. Primary drivers for the week’s equity moves were legion.

First, the debt ceiling debacle, a talisman for the voodoo political environment we find ourselves in, was solved. Taking credit for pulling the country back from the brink in a nationally televised address, President Biden told the nation that he was the man who could mend the tears in the national fabric, clearly a nod to, and unofficial commencement of, his run for re-election. Second, employment numbers, this Weekender’s primary topic, came in strongly suggesting the Fed’s record-breaking interest rate hikes have had limited impact on the labor market. Third, artificial intelligence, the gift that keeps giving, continued to lift the big tech names.