INVESTING AT A RECORD HIGH The S&P 500 has set 180 all-time record closing highs in the last 5 years, i.e., since 6/07/16, an average of 3 record closes per month. (Source: BTN Research) REALLY LOW As of 6/04/21, the yield on the 10-year Treasury note has been below 2% for 462 consecutive trading days, i.e., since 8/01/19, the longest stretch below 2% in US history. (Source: Treasury Department) IN TEN YEARS The 10-year budget forecast released by the Biden White House on Friday … [Read more...]

BABIES China had 12 million births in 2020, more than 3 times the 3.6 million births that took place in the United States last year. (Source: National Vital Statistics System) BUSINESS DONE ON A CELLPHONE The US banking industry, employing 2 million workers today, is forecasted to eliminate 10% of that total (200,000) during the upcoming decade. The reductions will take place in local bank branches and regional call centers. (Source: Mike Mayo, Wells Fargo Bank Analyst) SPENDING … [Read more...]

ROAD TRIP The average price of a gallon of gasoline reached $3.04 Friday (5/14/21), up 79 cents a gallon YTD. The last time gasoline closed a calendar year above $3 a gallon was 2013. (Source: AAA) PETS After the beginning of the pandemic, about 12.6 million U.S. households got a new pet. The largest national provider of veterinarian’s services, Banfield Pet Hospital, saw half-million more visits in 2020 than in 2019. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, veterinary positions are … [Read more...]

BUCKS FROM THE GOVERNMENT Pandemic stimulus payments to individuals and federal unemployment benefits made up 22% of the record setting US personal income total reported by the government for March 2021. The same 2 categories made up just 3% of national personal income in January 2020, i.e., immediately before the pandemic began. (Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis) DO THE MATH The S&P 500 is a cap-weighted index, i.e., the largest capitalized stocks carry a disproportionate impact on … [Read more...]

Greetings, our team is growing and so is our need for more space! We are thrilled to announce that our office remodel will begin next week with an expected completion date sometime in the early fall. We will still be available to all clients during this time. Our team will primarily be working remotely, but we will have some of our support staff team at temporary office location.  If you need to pick something up or drop something off, you can find us at 5944 Seminole Centre Ct, Suite B, in … [Read more...]

MAKE A QUICK DECISION Existing homes that were sold nationwide in March 2021 were on the market on average of just 18 day (2 ½ weeks) before selling. (Source: National Association of Realtors) SIMPLER RETURN The “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act” (TCJA) of December 2017 increased the standard deduction for taxpayers effective with the 2018 tax year. As a result of the change, the percentage of households taking the standard deduction has increased from 70% (pre-TCJA) to 90% (post-TCJA). (Source: Tax … [Read more...]

TAX CHEATERS The government projected in September 2019 that our nation’s “tax gap,” i.e., the difference between what all taxpayers should have paid compared to what they actually paid, was $441 billion per year. On 4/13/21, IRA Commissioner Charles Retting testified before the Senate Finance Committee that the “tax gap” could be as his as $1 trillion annually, or more than double previous estimates. (Source: IRS STATE MONEY The average US state receives 48% of its tax revenue from sales … [Read more...]

LOFTY NUMBER Almost forty years ago, on 10/9/81, the interest rate on a 30-yr mortgage peaked at an amazing 18.63%. Today that rate is just 3.04%, a decline of 83.7%! Conversely, today, the price for a thousand board feet of lumber on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange hit yet another high at $1,300.00/1,000 bd ft. A year ago, the same contract was $328.50, and on 9/28/09 it was just $163.60. Nothing is forever. IMMUNITY IMPROVEMENT In Israel, where per capita Covid-19 injection rates are … [Read more...]

BEFORE RATES RISE In a report released on Monday 4/05/21, an estimated 1 out of every 8 homeowners (12.2%) with a mortgage had refinanced their loan to a lower interest rate in just the previous 6 months. (Source: Survey of Consumer Expectations Housing Survey) GROWING DEMAND, LAGGING SUPPLY Inflation as measured by the “Consumer Price Index (CPI),” was up +0.62% in March 2021, the highest monthly rate recorded in the United States since June 2009 (almost 12 years ago). There have been just … [Read more...]

WEALTHIEST The top 10% of US households (as measured by net worth) own 70% of all assets nationwide as of 12/31/20, i.e., $85.6 trillion out of $122.9 trillion. The bottom 50% of US households own just 2% of all assets as of 12/31/20, i.e., $2.5 trillion out of $122.9 trillion. (Source: Federal Reserve) LOWEST PAID, HARDEST HIT 82% of the net job losses in the United States in calendar year 2020 were suffered by workers in the bottom 25% of wage earners. (Source: Economic Policy … [Read more...]