Positive reports on corporate earnings, housing starts, and the index of leading economic indicators (LEI) drove stocks to close the week at a record high. American Express, Coca-Cola, and Twitter, all issued better than expected earnings reports, and two important economic indicators were very positive. According to numerous academic studies, America needs to build about one million new single-family housing units to keep up with population grow..

This week's episode dives into the markets and investing. Please enjoy!..

State of the Markets Unlike the first quarter where we saw interest rates rise in anticipation of stronger growth, the realization of a stronger economy has resulted in rates falling over the second quarter. For example, the 10-year Treasury yield fell by 27 basis points and the long 30-year bond yield declined by 30 basis points. Despite commodity prices moving higher, homes selling for more than list, a waiting list to buy most major appliances..

The most important measure of the financial strength of the United States is the Standard & Poor’s 500 stock index. It’s widely watched but constantly surprising. Of the 500 companies in the S&P 500, the five largest account for 21% of the total value of the much-watched index. You won’t believe where they are currently valued! Ranked by market capitalization, the five companies are:  Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Google, and Faceb..

Looking back on modern history, where are we in financial economic terms?..

Strategy Unlike the first quarter when we saw interest rates rise in anticipation of stronger growth, the realization of a stronger economy has resulted in rates falling.  The 10-year Treasury yield fell by 27 basis points and long bond yields have declined by 30 basis points.  Despite commodity prices moving higher, homes selling for more than list, a waiting list to buy most major appliances, and labor costs rising, the Fed has assured us the..

The second quarter of 2021 seemed to play out exactly as planned.  Vaccinations were in the arms of nearly everyone who wanted one, causing more than the 60% of the vaccinated population to resume “life as usual,” and the stimulus dollars were being spent with vigor.  As a result of supply chain disruptions and various cashflow enhancements, there were too many dollars chasing too few goods and services, and signs of inflation were abundant..

Looking back on modern history, where are we in financial economic terms?  These four charts explain can help you figure out where we are. In the post-War era, major declines in stock prices are highly correlated with recessions, and stock prices generally bottomed months before the end of recessions. At present, no recession is on the horizon. It's quite the opposite: the fundamental measures of the economy are all strong.   Retai..

The stock market has been new breaking record highs for nearly a year now, and stocks are high-priced by some traditional historical measures, such as trailing 12-month earnings.  With some pundits saying stock market risk is high, this is a good time to note how investors have been compensated for taking the extra risk of investing in stocks instead of parking cash in a so-called riskless asset like 90-day Treasury bills. Stocks, as measure..

This week, we talk briefly about Medicare parts A, B, and D. Please enjoy...

The stock market has been new breaking record highs for nearly a year now, and stocks are high-priced by some traditional historical measures, such as trailing 12-month earnings...

With purchasing manager survey data bolstering a bullish outlook and the Federal Reserve revealing a hike in interest rates is still far off, stocks closed at a record high for the third straight week. The indexes of both monthly surveys of corporate purchasing managers at large businesses fell, but they were coming off record highs. With these indexes administered by the Institute of Supply Management, a reading greater than 50 indicates busines..

This week, we cover 529 Plans and saving for college...

The Standard & Poor’s 500, an index representing U.S. stocks, returned 125.4% in the five years ended June 30, 2021, making it the No. 1 performer of this diverse group of 13 types of securities investments. A distant second was the 74.9% return on a global index of stocks excluding the U.S. Below is the same data, the five-year returns on the same 13 indexes, for each of the past four years ended June 30. Remarkably, U.S. stocks were not j..

The U.S. created 850,000 new jobs in June, considerably more than the 680,000 expected and confirming the labor market recovery from the pandemic is progressing in line with the Federal Reserve’s plan for economic growth...

The U.S. created 850,000 new jobs in June, considerably more than the 680,000 expected and confirming the labor market recovery from the pandemic is progressing.  Historically, 95,000 new jobs per month are required to maintain a stable unemployment rate and keep up with population growth, and last month’s figure of 850,000 was the largest gain in 10 months. The economy lost about 21 million jobs in the pandemic.  Total employment in ..

This week we take a look at the markets and address concerns about inflation...

From the perspective of a financial professional, the window of opportunity to act before taxes are hiked is about to close. The plan to end the step-up in basis on inheritances is perhaps the most significant change. Other tax proposals President Biden campaigned on include a sharp reduction in the favorable treatment on profits from investments, a new top tax rate of 39.6%, and an expansion of the 12.4% Social Security tax on tax-filers who ear..

Tax hikes are an accident waiting to happen.  The likelihood of higher tax rates suddenly makes converting traditional IRA investments into Roth IRAs more important. Higher taxes are widely anticipated, and our job as financial professionals is to alert you to what’s ahead. Before the tax wreck of 2021, please brace yourself by planning now. The IRS is hiring more tax auditors and President Biden has proposed tax hikes on high income and h..

A big question is clouding an otherwise sunny economic outlook is whether inflation will revert to its tame rate, as the Federal Reserve predicts?..