In today\u2019s Steady\nInvestor, we look at what is going on in the markets and key takeaways and\nquestions for investors to consider, such as:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
An American Who Wants a Job Can\nFind One \u2013 <\/strong>The\njobs market and consumer spending are two key factors driving continued growth\nin the U.S. economy. We often hear about the strength of the labor market with\neach month\u2019s \u2018non-farm payrolls\u2019 report, which tells us how many jobs the\neconomy added. But another data point that is less discussed \u2013 but perhaps even\nmore significant \u2013 is that the number of job openings exceeds the number of unemployed Americans. <\/em>Before 2018, the number\nof available jobs had never been above the number of unemployed, dating back to\n2000 when the records start. In all, there are 1.26 million more jobs available\nthan there are unemployed people. 1<\/sup> Bottom line<\/em>: It seems an\nAmerican who wants a job should be able to find one. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Services Post Another Strong\nReading in the U.S. \u2013 <\/strong>While\nfactory activity and manufacturing continue slumping across the world, the\nservices segment \u2013 which matters more to developed countries\u2019 output \u2013 has been\nseeing sustained strength. Last month, the key measure of services \u2013 the ISM\u2019s\nnon-manufacturing index \u2013 jumped to 54.7%, marking a rebound from a September\u2019s\n52.6% reading. Notably, strong gains were seen in the Business Activity Index\nand in New Orders. Business Activity rose to 57% and New Orders clocked in at\n55.6%, both firmly in expansionary territory. Since non-manufacturing activity\n(services) account for roughly two-thirds of U.S. economic output, this data is\na key sign that a recession may not be as imminent as is widely believed.2<\/sup>\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n ______________________________________________________________________________<\/p>\n\n\n\n Get These 7 Secrets to Building the Ultimate Retirement Portfolio\u00a0<\/a><\/strong> ______________________________________________________________________________<\/p>\n\n\n\n About the Trillions of Dollars in Cash<\/em> on the Sidelines\u2026 <\/strong>The stock market is hitting\nall-time highs and has posted strong year-to-date returns in 2019. But that\ndoesn\u2019t mean all investors are optimistic. In fact, asset flows would suggest\nthat investors are more skittish than ever. According to Lipper data, there is\ncurrently $3.4 trillion socked away in cash on the sidelines, with assets in\nmoney-market funds seeing $1 trillion of new money over the last three years.\nOne could argue that rising interest rates have contributed slightly to this\nincrease in money market funds: In 2011, the average annual return in a money\nmarket was a paltry 0.02%, whereas today that number is up to 1.6%.4<\/sup>\nBut another plausible reason that investors are hoarding cash is that many are\nconcerned about the longevity of this economic expansion and bull market,\nparticularly as recession talk has risen over the past several months. Whatever\nthe case, the bottom line remains that there is plenty of cash available to\ninvest in equities should sentiment rebound. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Will\n\u201cPhase 1\u201d of the Trade Deal Reduce Tariffs? <\/strong>It appears <\/em>as though the world\u2019s two\nbiggest economies are closer than ever to making real progress on a trade\nagreement. In what is billed as \u201cPhase 1\u201d of the trade agreement, China would\nagree to new purchases of American agriculture products; new rules would be put\nin place to discourage currency manipulation and protect from unfair technology\ntransfer; and China would open up more of its market to American corporations. In\nexchange, both countries are also \u2013 in theory \u2013 agreeing to roll back or\neliminate some tariffs, the most important of which are arguably the consumer\ngoods-oriented tariffs set to go into effect on December 15.5<\/sup> <\/p>\n\n\n\n In the meantime, as we\nwait to see how this story and others pan out, I recommend focusing on your\nlong-term financial goals. To help you do this we are offering our\njust-released free guide, 7 Secrets to Building the Ultimate DIY\nRetirement Portfolio<\/em>.6<\/sup> It provides a step-by-step\nblueprint of our customized investing process to potentially help you build a\nsound retirement portfolio of your own and pursue long-term investing success. Available jobs outnumber unemployed, trade deal Phase 1 begins, service sector belies recession fears<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":7426,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8331","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/zacksim.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8331","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/zacksim.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/zacksim.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zacksim.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zacksim.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8331"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/zacksim.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8331\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10682,"href":"https:\/\/zacksim.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8331\/revisions\/10682"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zacksim.com\/blog\/wp-json\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/zacksim.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8331"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zacksim.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8331"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zacksim.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8331"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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Navigating market cycles while creating a retirement portfolio that meets your financial goals is no small feat. To build a portfolio that can potentially reach your goals, you must put some time and effort into defining your investing objectives, determining your asset allocation, and managing your investments over time.
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If you have $500,000 or more to invest, I recommend downloading our guide\u00a07 Secrets to Building the Ultimate DIY Retirement Portfolio.<\/em>\u00a0It provides a step-by-step blueprint of our customized investing process to potentially help you build a sound retirement portfolio of your own and pursue long-term investing success.
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Download Your Copy of\u00a0<\/a><\/strong>7 Secrets to Building the Ultimate DIY Retirement Portfolio.<\/a>3<\/a><\/sup><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
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\nIf you have\n$500,000 or more to invest, get this guide to learn our ideas on the\nstep-by-step process to building and maintaining a retirement portfolio that\nwill help you reach your goals and enjoy a secure retirement.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"