71 Search Results for: covid
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Market Commentary: Despite Initial Worry, Inflation Remains Well Controlled
U.S. inflation rose 0.3% last month and is now up 1.4% for the year (Figure 1). Investor concern about inflation has increased in recent months against the backdrop of large stimulus packages and hopes of an economic recovery. Pushing back against that concern is a slowly recovering labor market. Initial jobless claims fell 19,000 from the previous week but remained stubbornly close to 800,000. Continuing claims were more than 4.5 million.
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Market Commentary: Federal Interest Rates Remain Low with No Increases Planned
The U.S. employment situation remains lackluster. Only 49,000 new jobs were created in January. Unemployment dropped but only because labor force participation fell from 63.4% to 61.4% (Figure 1). As COVID-19 cases have dropped this year, some improvement is expected in coming months. Vaccine distribution remains the most important path toward an improved economy.
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Tax Tips for Business Owners in a COVID World
Facing everything from empty sales floors to painful staff shortages, entrepreneurs have been uniquely hurt by 2020 and the extent of the damage isn’t fully known yet. A Yelp economic impact report released in September found that almost 100,000 small businesses in the country had closed their doors permanently while many others struggle under the current conditions.
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How the Biden Administration Could Impact Retirement and Tax Planning
How the Biden Administration Could Impact Retirement and Tax Planning The resident of the White House has changed, and along with this shift come changes in perspective and policy. Taxes, wages and other financial touches on our daily lives will see at least some shift, and the landscape will change more over time. We put together this webinar, “How the Biden Administration Could Impact Retirement and Tax Planning,” to offer insight as our country navigates these changes. Our host, Jamie Hopkins, is the Director of Retirement Research at Carson and a nationally-recognized voice in financial planning. This on-demand webinar goes...read the full article
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Tax Tips for Business Owners in a COVID World
Facing everything from empty sales floors to painful staff shortages, entrepreneurs have been uniquely hurt by 2020 and the extent of the damage isn’t fully known yet. A Yelp economic impact report released in September found that almost 100,000 small businesses in the country had closed their doors permanently while many others struggle under the current conditions.
Read more -
Market Commentary: Rise in COVID-19 Cases Leads to Market Dip Before Holiday Shopping Season
Retail data were mixed last week. U.S. retail sales rose 0.3% in October and are now 5.7% higher than one year ago. But as Figure 1 shows, the increase was the smallest since the recovery began. Increased coronavirus cases in October likely pressured purchases lower and moved consumers online. Non-store retailers reported a 3.1% increase in sales.
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Market Commentary: COVID-19 Vaccine Shows Positive Results and Market Soars Even After Tight Election
Special Update The first COVID-19 vaccine to announce results reported very positive data early Monday morning. Two notable pharmaceutical and biotech companies announced on Monday their COVID-19 vaccine was more than 90% effective. The study also showed there were no side effects observed in the vaccine trial. The effectiveness is higher than many medical experts expected and represents a major step forward in efforts to contain the virus. News on other vaccine trials is expected in coming weeks and months.
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Comparing Traditional Mortgages and Variable-Rate Mortgages in the COVID-19 Economy
Do you know what it was like to buy a house in 1982? You pulled up your Trans Am to the bank where the picture of President Regan hung on the lobby wall and got your checkbook out of your jean jacket. Then you signed up for a 30-year mortgage with a 17% interest rate!
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Market Commentary: S&P Climbs Despite Surge in COVID-19 Cases
Stocks continued to climb in the face of an increasing number of new COVID-19 cases and evidence the surge is stifling the economy’s ability to recover. Initial unemployment claims dipped to 1.3 million, but they have remained above 1 million for 16 consecutive weeks.
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Market Commentary: S&P 500 Dips as COVID-19 Cases Surge
The daily total for new virus cases topped 40,000 as a resurgence in the South and Southwest pushed new cases to an all-time-record high. Some states are reporting record hospitalizations and pausing or reversing reopenings. Initial unemployment claims, as shown in Figure 1, remain close to 1.5 million.
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Market Commentary: Investors Optimistic Over Slowing COVID-19 Cases
Similarly to last week, investors had to weigh progress fighting COVID-19 and what that means for the future against the economic toll the virus and policies designed to slow it are having on the economy.
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Market Commentary: Stocks Rise in Hopes that COVID-19 Slows
Investors were faced with a combination of optimistic and pessimistic news this week and opted to accentuate the positive. Health care data reinforced the gradual success social distancing is having in curtailing the spread of the virus.
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Market Commentary: Despite Initial Worry, Inflation Remains Well Controlled
U.S. inflation rose 0.3% last month and is now up 1.4% for the year (Figure 1). Investor concern about inflation has increased in recent months against the backdrop of large stimulus packages and hopes of an economic recovery. Pushing back against that concern is a slowly recovering labor market. Initial jobless claims fell 19,000 from the previous week but remained stubbornly close to 800,000. Continuing claims were more than 4.5 million.
Read more -
Market Commentary: Federal Interest Rates Remain Low with No Increases Planned
The U.S. employment situation remains lackluster. Only 49,000 new jobs were created in January. Unemployment dropped but only because labor force participation fell from 63.4% to 61.4% (Figure 1). As COVID-19 cases have dropped this year, some improvement is expected in coming months. Vaccine distribution remains the most important path toward an improved economy.
Read more