Several trends emerged in 2021 that will be worth watching in the new year. Here are four to keep an eye on:
Holiday Shopping Data Signals a Strong U.S. Consumer – The Thanksgiving holiday and Black Friday are generally key shopping days for retailers, and 2021 delivered. RetailNext, a research firm that tracks in-store shoppers, said that foot traffic in stores was up 61% this Black Friday compared to 2020, when many consumers were still skittish about the spread of Covid-19. Interestingly, consumer enthusiasm to get out and shop meant that online sales fell slightly year-over-year, falling from $9 billion in 2020 to $8.9 billion this year. Even with more consumers visiting stores in person, Black Friday store shopping was still down about 25% from 2019 levels, before the pandemic struck. Overall, the National Retail Federation expects that U.S. November-December retail sales will jump by approximately 10% from a year ago, bringing the total to as much as $850 billion or more. Despite all the challenges brought by the pandemic, labor shortages, and some inventory issues, consumers have increased spending by about 4.4% on average over the last five years. Inflation remains a concern, but consumers are also benefiting from a strong labor market and higher wages, which have somewhat offset the effect of higher prices.1
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Avoid These 8 Financial Mistakes When Planning Your Retirement
Many investors, especially those who are trying to plan for retirement, may be wondering how to prepare for the future. There is no definite answer. That’s why it is better to prepare for any given financial situation!
But, how can you do this? We believe there are eight common mistakes that many investors make when planning for retirement. In our guide, 8 Retirement Mistakes to Avoid, we outline these mistakes and how you can potentially avoid them.
If you have $500,000 or more to invest and want to learn more, click on the link below to get your free copy:
Learn About the 8 Retirement Mistakes to Avoid!2
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Will the Omicron Variant Hurt the Economy? Readers by now have likely heard of the new Covid-19 strain called Omicron, which seems likely to be the source of the next wave of global infections. Public health uncertainties abound, but a key economic question is: will this new strain result in another pullback of activity, spending, manufacturing, etc.? In our view, the scale of the economic impact is likely to depend on the severity of the strain, and whether or not the vaccines continue to be effective in avoiding severe illness. It is too early to know, but there is one reason to remain hopeful – with each new wave of Covid-19, the economic impact has declined. In other words, businesses and governments have adjusted to the pandemic in a way that the economy can continue to function even as the virus spreads, versus March 2020 when the entire global economy was shut down. Vaccination rates also continue to notch higher, which should hopefully reduce overall health risks posed by Omicron.3
One Potential Driver of the Labor Shortage: More Entrepreneurs – One headline that appears often is that there is a shortage of workers in the U.S. But what we do not hear often is that the pandemic has also led to a historic surge of entrepreneurship and self-employment. There are now 9.4 million self-employed workers in the U.S., according to the Labor Department, which marks a 500,000 increase since the start of the pandemic. Many workers are eschewing service sector jobs to set out on their own, as consultants, freelancers, and other types of small business owners. In 2021, the share of U.S. workers who are employed by a large company (more than 1,000 employees) fell for the first time since 2004, while the number of self-employed workers is at its highest level in 11 years. Chances are the number of self-employed workers will continue rising from here – in September alone, 4.4 million people resigned from jobs, a record.4
Another Piece of Good News in the Jobs Market – For the week ending November 20, the number of workers filing for unemployment benefits (jobless claims) fell to 199,000, the lowest level in 52 years. Jobless claims serve as a proxy for layoffs, and it makes sense why they would be so low – employers that have workers don’t want to lose them. In the following week, claims rose slightly to 222,000, which also signals a very tight labor market.5
Investors Should Become Familiar with These 8 Retirement Mistakes – While we can’t predict or control the future of the market, it is possible to stay focused on actions that can help guide your future investments. There are common mistakes and habits that we believe can help some investors succeed while others fail. Don’t fall prey to common investing mistakes!
To help you understand some of these mistakes and how to avoid them, we have created the guide, 8 Retirement Mistakes to Avoid.6
In this guide, we provide our thoughts on what we believe are 8 of the biggest retirement mistakes investors should avoid. If you have $500,000 or more to invest and want to learn more, click on the link below:
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