Tag: Current Events

Rental Car Insurance

Jun 5, 2023

The rental car you’re driving while on vacation or a business trip is nice–you almost wish you could take it home with you. But what happens if you have an accident while you’re renting it? When you do go home, the last thing you want to take back with you is the liability associated with a car you don’t even own.

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Tags: Certified Financial Planner Charlotte NC, Current Events, Insurance, Personal Finance

Market Update: Investor Sentiment Tested

May 5, 2023

Spring is often thought of as an uplifting time, marked by growth and renewed hope as we emerge from the long months of winter and look ahead to the rest of year. Investors saw signs of such renewed hope in recent weeks, especially on the inflation front as several inflation measures showed signs of improvement. We also saw markets stabilize after the surprisingly fast collapse of Silicon Valley Bank. But although it initially appeared that a stable spring would set the markets up for a calm, quiet summer, a flurry of recent activity is testing investor sentiment. (more…)

Tags: Certified Financial Planner Charlotte NC, Current Events

Market Update: Markets and the Economy Are Sometimes Out of Sync

Apr 28, 2023

• The U.S. economy grew 1.1% annualized in the first quarter, the third consecutive downshift in quarterly growth.
• Consumers started the year on strong footing as spending on both goods and services added to headline growth. But higher frequency data tell us that consumers have started to slip.
• The biggest drag on overall growth was a decrease in inventories as businesses prepared for weaker demand in the latter part of this year. The good news is if the economy does slide into recession, businesses will not likely have bloated inventories during a downturn in demand.
• The backward nature of the GDP report is possibly misleading for markets as we know consumers were still spending in January, but since March they have pulled back as they get more pessimistic about the future. The latest consumer confidence report corroborates that thesis.
• Bottom Line: The U.S. economy is likely at an inflection point as consumer spending has softened in recent months. The data is setting the Federal Reserve (Fed) up nicely for next week’s meeting. (more…)

Tags: Current Events

Market Update – An Economy with a Backache

Apr 19, 2023

• Small businesses, considered the backbone of the economy, are shrinking hiring plans. Hiring intentions among small businesses declined in March, implying that upcoming job reports will likely be lackluster.
• Firms are hunkering down as virtually no firms have plans to expand business operations. In fact, the number of firms reporting any expansion plans is the lowest since early 2009 when the economy was in the depths of the Great Financial Crisis.
• Small businesses are reporting more difficult access to credit. The percent reporting tighter credit is the highest since 2012 as lending institutions tighten up under the uncertainty of the macro landscape.
• Now, some good news. Inflation was less of a problem in March as firms are more concerned about the overall business environment as the economy slows under tighter financial conditions.

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Tags: Certified Financial Planner Charlotte NC, charlotte NC, Current Events, financial advisor, financial advisor charlotte nc

Market Update – A Resilient March

Apr 10, 2023

The financial markets’ resilient performance during March was striking, despite pockets of uncertainty surrounding the strength of the economy—and not to mention concerns over the durability of the banking system. The ability of the market to navigate nearly two weeks of headline-related risk tested the underlying resolve of the market’s capacity to look ahead. (more…)

Tags: Current Events, financial advisor charlotte nc

Market Update: Three Takeaways from the Fed Decision

Mar 27, 2023

Overview

• As we expected, the Federal Reserve (Fed) raised the fed funds rate by 0.25%, pushing the upper bound to 5.00%.
• Financial conditions were stable enough for the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) to release updated projections, unlike the Fed’s decision back in March 2020 to delay updated projections due to financial instability.
• Yesterday, the Committee was unanimous in their decision, creating an aura of calm for markets.
• Financial stability is clearly a vital factor in future decisions, but as of now, the Fed will likely hike at least one more time at the May meeting.
• Tighter credit conditions translate into equivalent rate hikes. Therefore, the Fed can rightly soften their language that additional policy firming may (or may not) be appropriate.

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Tags: Current Events

Market Update – Three Implications of the Latest Inflation Release

Mar 15, 2023

• The monthly consumer inflation rate slowed slightly to 0.4% in February from 0.5% the previous month, enough to push the annual rate of inflation down to the lowest since mid-2021.
• Housing costs accounted for over 70% of the increase in February and were the largest contributor to the monthly growth rate. This component will not likely be a significant driver of inflation by year end as more multi-family units come to market.
• Headline annual inflation rose 6%, the smallest increase since September 2021 and should reassure investors that inflation will cool further in the coming months.
• Food inflation rose 0.3% in February, the smallest increase since April 2021. Food prices are convincingly on a downward trend for the past seven months.
• Bottom Line: Even amid current banking scares, the Federal Reserve (Fed) will still prioritize price stability over growth and likely hike rates by 0.25% at the upcoming meeting. Shelter costs are poised to ease as more multi-family units come online throughout the year—as the supply of housing units increase, prices will slow and potentially decline. Investors should expect inflation to improve in the latter half of this year and will likely be interested in taking on more market exposure in portfolios.

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Tags: Current Events

Market Update – Bank Failures Raise Market Distress

Mar 13, 2023

Stock and bond market activity was materially shaken last week as Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), the California bank subsidiary of SVB Financial Group (SIVB), fell into FDIC receivership. SVB is the first FDIC-insured institution to fail since 2020 and the largest by assets since Washington Mutual failed in 2008. The news has caused market participants to speculate if another shoe is to drop. (more…)

Tags: Current Events

Market Update: Waiting for New Highs

Mar 3, 2023

Financial markets have experienced quite a bit of change this year in just two short months. We started the year hopeful that stocks would benefit from a better economic and monetary policy environment by the spring, but recent developments suggest that may be further out than we initially thought. We remain confident that a new bull market will come—it just may require a bit more of our patience before we get there. (more…)

Tags: Current Events

Bonds Are Back… But it May be Bumpy And That is Normal

Mar 1, 2023

Bond investors experienced the worst year ever for core bonds last year (as per the Bloomberg Aggregate Bond Index), -so the prospects of another year like 2022 could be hard to fathom. The good news is we don’t think we’ll see another year like 2022 anytime soon, but despite the higher starting yield levels, we could see periods of negative returns. In fact, after a strong January for core bonds, unless yields fall dramatically today, February returns will be negative. But that is normal. Since inception of the index in 1975, over a third of the monthly returns have been negative and close to 25% of quarterly returns have been negative. Bonds trade daily and interest rates change throughout the day as well, so that means the market value of a bond will change daily as well. (more…)

Tags: Certified Financial Planner Charlotte NC, Current Events, Investment Planning