When the chicken smell flooded into the bank's lobby, I knew what time it was... Growing up, my dad ran the Peoples National Bank of Shelbyville, Tennessee. So at age 15, I got my first job as a bank teller.

What I Learned From the Chicken Smell in My Hometown Bank By Joe Austin, senior analyst, Chaikin Analytics When the chicken smell flooded into the bank's lobby, I knew what time it was... Growing up, my dad ran the Peoples National Bank of Shelbyville, Tennessee. So at age 15, I got my first job as a bank teller. I quickly learned that Fridays were the busiest time of the week... That's when most people in Shelbyville got their weekly paycheck. And it felt like half the town came through our doors to get some cash for the weekend. Just after 2 p.m. every Friday, things got particularly colorful... The local Tyson Foods chicken plant would let out. And the workers would start streaming in. I had no idea that processing chickens was such a dirty business. But several decades later, I can still remember the plant's signature scent. Some workers even had pieces of chicken skin or gizzards on their clothes. Serving these folks showed me how hard some people work. I also learned to respect others, no matter what they do to scrape out a living. But I'm not just sharing a "feel good" story about hardworking people in Middle Tennessee. This job is also how I learned about the way that financial institutions make money. And today, I have my eye on the stocks of these companies... Recommended Links: Porter's New Warning Could Spark More Hate Mail Than Ever The S&P 500 Index recently posted a six-day win streak... DOGE is pushing to cut federal spending... and the U.S. and China agreed to pause most tariffs for 90 days. But what should you do next? On Thursday, June 5, Stansberry Research founder Porter Stansberry will explain why you should expect volatility to be the new normal... why markets are going to cause many "buy and hold" investors to "buy and fold"... and how he's personally preparing his money (which you can do, too). Click here to learn more. Changes Ahead for Social Security? According to a Boston-based institutional financial-research firm serving clients like Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, and BlackRock, "The way income will be calculated for Social Security could soon change forever." Today, the firm is sounding the alarm on huge changes ahead. It adds, "Sources confirm: AI is already inside the Social Security Administration, with a full federal action plan due this summer." Click here to see how it could impact your money. Payment Processing Is a Big Business You see, like any business, a bank has different departments. And in that job, I got to see how each department worked. The biggest business at most banks is the loan department. But the loan business depends on what's happening with interest rates... When rates go up, banks' margins go up as well. The banks can reprice the loan rates faster than what they pay out on deposits. So they can maximize the gap between the two rates. But when rates go down, the opposite happens. Banks need to lower their loan rates faster than they can reprice their deposit rates. As a result, their margins get squeezed. So for any bank, the loan department is typically either thriving or struggling. It's a cyclical business. On the other hand, payment processing is the "steady Eddie" business inside most banks. This department includes the infrastructure and services that allow the movement of money. For many banks, payment processing is usually the most profitable. Think about it... People need money to pay for stuff. That's true no matter what's happening in the economy. Rain or shine, they rely on the banks to process their paychecks and help pay their bills. That makes payment processing a stable part of any bank's business. Of course, payment processing has changed a lot since I cashed all those checks for the chicken-plant workers decades ago... For one, we all now have credit and debit cards. But even that is outdated technology today. I bet you've either used or seen someone else use "tap to pay" to buy something. That's when you tap the chip on your debit card against a special reader instead of swiping it. A lot of you have likely used "mobile payments" as well. The two big mobile-payment services in the U.S. are Apple Pay and Google Pay. And they're tied to your smartphone. Tap to pay and mobile payments both use near-field communication ("NFC"). NFC is a short-range wireless technology. It lets your phone talk to point-of-sale terminals. You might've noticed restaurants and retailers with Square or Clover point-of-sale terminals. They're two of the biggest names in this relatively new part of the financial industry. These companies take a cut of the transaction every time you tap your phone or card. That cut ranges from 1.5% to 3.5% of the transaction's value. These point-of-sale terminals – and the processing they do – is big business. The global payments market is expected to reach a value of about $3.2 trillion by the end of this year. But that's just the beginning... The Financial-Services Industry Is Strong Right Now According to one market-research firm, the global payments market could see close to 67% growth over the next five years. That would put its value at around $5.3 trillion in 2030. So it's no wonder that companies are racing to gain as much market share as possible. And that's good news for the financial-services industry... Today, this industry group earns a "strong" rating from the Power Gauge. And when we look at the breakdown, it's easy to see why... Out of the 87 rated stocks in the financial-services industry group, 33 earn a "bullish" or better rating from the Power Gauge. And none of them get a "bearish" or worse rating. Overall, 37% of the stocks in the group are in "bullish" territory. That's a great sign. So if you're not paying attention to the financial-services space already, you should be. Good investing, Joe Austin Market View Major Indexes and Notable Sectors     # Hld:     Bullish     Neutral     Bearish Dow 30 +0.2% 6 18 6 S&P 500 +0.56% 87 270 142 Nasdaq +0.79% 22 59 19 Small Caps +0.31% 384 1056 443 Bonds -1.3% Energy +1.31% 1 10 12 — According to the Chaikin Power Bar, Small Cap stocks and Large Cap stocks are somewhat Bearish. Major indexes are mixed. *  *  *  * Sector Tracker Sector movement over the last 5 days Real Estate +2.83% Information Technology +2.71% Financial +1.86% Health Care +1.83% Consumer Discretionary +1.73% Communication +1.71% Consumer Staples +1.57% Utilities +1.38% Materials +1.34% Industrials +1.29% Energy +0.74% *  *  *  * Industry Focus Health Care Services 9 40 9 Over the past 6 months, the Health Care Services subsector (XHS) has outperformed the S&P 500 by +0.86%. Its Power Bar ratio which measures future potential is Neutral, with an equal number of Bullish and Bearish stocks. It is currently ranked #12 of 21 subsectors and has moved up 1 slot over the past week. Indicative Stocks SGRY Surgery Partners, In USPH U.S. Physical Therap RDNT RadNet, Inc. *  *  *  * Top Movers Gainers STLD +10.27% NUE +10.1% NEM +5.42% FCX +4.34% VST +4.3% Losers FSLR -5.33% LDOS -4.63% IPG -4.55% OMC -4.02% GM -3.87% *  *  *  * Earnings Report Earnings Surprises CRDO Credo Technology Group Holding Ltd Q4 $0.35 Beat by $0.08 CPB The Campbell's Company Q3 $0.73 Beat by $0.07 SAIC Science Applications International Corporation Q1 $1.92 Missed by $-0.20 *  *  *  * You have received this e-mail as part of your subscription to PowerFeed. If you no longer want to receive e-mails from PowerFeed, click here. You're receiving this e-mail at STEVENMAGALLANES520.NIMS@BLOGGER.COM. 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