In this week\u2019s\nSteady Investor, we look at key stories and the questions surrounding their\nmarket impact, such as:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When Apple Inc. Warns, Investors Listen \u2013 <\/strong>Apple Inc. sent ripples through the market this week, being the first major corporation to announce it would miss sales targets as a result of the coronavirus. China is a major part of the supply chain for iPhone and other hardware production, and China\u2019s growing middle class has been a key source of sales and revenue growth for Apple. China\u2019s virtual lockdown on citizens and production facilities has stifled production and sales have ground to a near halt, forcing Apple to take the early step of declaring it would likely miss revenue targets.1<\/sup> We expect more announcements like Apple\u2019s in the coming weeks, as the outbreak persists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Japan\u2019s Horrendous Q4 2019\u2013 <\/strong>Japan posted abysmal GDP growth figures in Q4, showing a -6.3% contraction in the three months ending December 31, 2019. Japan has seen this move before, as the sharp decline in growth is arguably tied to the government\u2019s decision to raise the national sales tax from 8% to 10%. Private consumption figures saw a sharp drop in the quarter as a result, as consumers stacked purchases ahead of the tax increase and went into saving mode thereafter. To make matters more difficult, the coronavirus outbreak is likely to dent Japan\u2019s economy even further, as Japan has deep economic ties to China in tourism and production.2<\/sup> With a Q1 2020 decline in GDP growth, Japan will have entered a technical recession. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n ______________________________________________________________________________<\/p>\n\n\n\n Have You Overlooked Critical Retirement Plans?<\/a><\/strong> ______________________________________________________________________________<\/p>\n\n\n\n Key Leading Indicators Show Weakness \u2013 <\/strong>Transportation indices in the US have historically been fairly reliable economic indicators. If the economy is humming, goods are crisscrossing the country by truck, rail, air and sea. If economic activity is modest or flattening out, volumes tend to decline and the freight market shows weakness. That\u2019s what we\u2019re starting to see today. The Cass Freight Index posted its largest year-over-year decline since 2009, with shipment volumes plummeting -9.4% and expenditures dropping -8%.4<\/sup> Market-watchers are especially concerned because the Freight Index was displaying signs of weakness even before the coronavirus outbreak, which means the weakness is likely to get worse before it gets better. Meanwhile, the Conference Board\u2019s Leading Economic Indicator Index \u2013 which is widely viewed as a highly reliable predictor of future economic activity \u2013 has quietly declined in four out of the last five months.5<\/sup> Are these all signs pointing to a peak in economic activity, that\u2019s now turning over?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Steady Rates for the Foreseeable Future \u2013 <\/strong>Fed minutes from their previous two meetings, in December and January, indicate a committee that is largely content with interest rate policy given the backdrop of US economic activity. Fed officials have mentioned the coronavirus outbreak on several occasions, indicating to the market that the issue is being watched closely for any negative impact on global investment, spending, and trade. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell told lawmakers last week that the Fed will need to see \u201cpersistent and material\u201d economic disruptions from China before the Fed would consider cutting interest rates in response to the crisis. Meanwhile, early signs point to the Chinese government and the People\u2019s Bank of China \u201creadying the cannon\u201d of fiscal and monetary stimulus to re-invigorate the economy once the crisis abates.6<\/sup> China\u2019s stimulus could arguably lead to a bounce to global growth in the second half of the year, in our view. <\/p>\n\n\n\n There is no way to know exactly where the market\nis headed or how these stories will pan out, but taking time to plan for your\nfinancial future can give you peace of mind in times of uncertainty. Coronavirus impacts sales and revenue, interest rates steady, Japan contracts in Q4, key indicators weak.<\/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":[71,73],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8517","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-private-client-group","category-steady-investors-week"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/zacksim.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8517","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=8517"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/zacksim.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8517\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10635,"href":"https:\/\/zacksim.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8517\/revisions\/10635"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zacksim.com\/blog\/wp-json\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/zacksim.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8517"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zacksim.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8517"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zacksim.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8517"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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If you\u2019re ready to retire, you probably have all of your financial \u201cducks\u201d in a row, which is important since that is the first step for a successful retirement. But achieving your best retirement is about much more than just being properly invested.
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If you are planning on retiring in the next month, two months or half a year, you need to make sure you\u2019ve considered some core factors and made decisions ahead of time.
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To help you do this, we have created our guide,\u00a0\u201c6 Secrets to a Happy Retirement.\u201d\u00a0<\/em>If you have $500,000 or more to invest, get our free guide today. You\u2019ll learn some of the most important \u201cbig picture\u201d ideas that should be a part of your planning to help ensure a happy retirement.
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Download 6 Secrets to a Happy Retirement<\/a>3<\/a><\/sup><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
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\nThis preparation can help make a smooth and\nhappy transition to the next chapter of your life. If you are planning on\nretiring in the next month, two months or half a year, you need to make sure\nyou\u2019ve considered some core factors and made decisions ahead of time.
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\nTo help you do this we have created our guide,\n\u201c6 Secrets to a Happy Retirement.\u201d7<\/sup> If you have $500,000 or more to\ninvest, get our free guide today. You\u2019ll learn some of the most important \u201cbig\npicture\u201d ideas that should be a part of your planning to help ensure a happy\nretirement.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"