In today\u2019s Steady\nInvestor, we look at key factors that we believe are currently impacting the\nmarket, such as:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Consumer Spending\nShines in January \u2013 <\/strong>Consumer spending accounts for more than two-thirds of\nUS economic output. When consumer spending is strong, it follows that the\neconomy is usually strong or strengthening, too. January brought good news \u2013\nconsumer spending at stores, online, and at restaurants (food services) jumped\n5.3% from December, putting spending back at highs. Interestingly, Americans\nhunkered down over the holidays, particularly as election uncertainty and\nsurging pandemic cases weighed on sentiment. Spending during the holiday season\nactually fell from previous periods. To be fair, a significant catalyst for\nhigher spending in January was government stimulus checks which went out to\nmost American families. Where previously most direct government payments went\ninto savings, this time consumers dished out cash for spending. Meanwhile,\nother economic data points to solid footing for the US economy in the new year\n\u2013 the Federal Reserve reported that industrial production rose for the 4th<\/sup>\nstraight month, and manufacturing also pushed back-up to pre-pandemic levels.\nAll good signs of things to come, in our view.1<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n ______________________________________________________________________<\/p>\n\n\n\n See How You Can Prepare for Market Uncertainties <\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n As\ninvestors are thinking about their next financial move, questions may rise \u2013\nhow much potential does 2021 have to be an outstanding year for the market? When\nwill the economic recovery take place? <\/p>\n\n\n\n Navigating through 2020 showed us all\nthat any outcome is possible in the market, and that\u2019s why it\u2019s important to be\nready! This year has potential to be a huge year for the market, but how can\nyou better prepare for both the good and the bad this year? In this report, we make predictions for the sector under\nand over performers, while also providing thoughts on possible outcomes of\n2021. We will look at:<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you have $500,000 or\nmore to invest and want to learn more, download your guide today!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Download Our Just Released, \u201cFebruary Market Strategy Guide\u201d<\/a>2<\/a><\/sup><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n ______________________________________________________________________<\/p>\n\n\n\n Watching the Federal\nDebt Ceiling (Again) \u2013 <\/strong>Many readers remember Congressional infighting over\nthe federal debt ceiling over the last several years, with debates about raising\nit to allow for the U.S. to borrow more. Those debates could be coming back. In\nthe $1.9 trillion \u201cAmerican Rescue Plan,\u201d Democrats declined to include an\nincrease in the federal debt ceiling, meaning the issue will have to be\naddressed later this year. \u2018Kicking the can down the road\u2019 could mean one of\ntwo things: either the debt must be increased later this year in another tax-and-spending\npackage, or Republicans and Democrats will have to negotiate it into another\nbill along the way. Either way, expect to hear another batch of debt ceiling debates\nin the late summer or early fall, when the US could run out of borrowing capacity.3<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n Labor Market Setbacks\n\u2013 <\/strong>Initial jobless claims for unemployment benefits rose to 861,000 last\nweek, delivering a setback to the jobs market even as the broad economy shows\nsigns of improving. The pre-pandemic peak for jobless claims is 695,000, which\nis the de facto benchmark for indicating the jobs market is functioning again\nas normal.4<\/sup> The labor market does not appear to be fully stalled,\nbut it does appear as though it has lost some momentum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Is There a Major\nBoost Coming for Child Tax Credits? <\/strong>American families with young children\nmay be getting a major tax boost in the coming years. Both President Biden and\nSenator Mitt Romney have proposed versions of expanding child tax credits, in\nfairly bold ways. President Biden\u2019s proposal would lift the child tax credit to\n$3,600 for a child under 6 and $3,000 for children between the ages of 6 and 17.\nThe boost to the tax credit (amount above $2,000) would start phasing down for\nindividuals earning $75,000 per year and couples earning $150,000, with the\nremainder phasing out for individuals earning $200,000 and couples earning\n$400,000. Romney\u2019s plan would raise the credit for children under 6 to $4,200,\nwhile matching the $3,000 credit for older children. Romney\u2019s plan also phases\nout the full tax credit for at incomes higher than $200,000 (single) and\n$400,000 (joint). Both Biden and Romney share the same goal: to reduce child\npoverty in the United States, which is sadly higher than most developed\ncountries.5<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n Managing Expectations of 2021<\/strong> \u2013 2020 taught us that\nanything can occur in the market at any time. With that being said, it\u2019s better\nto prepare for any outcome! With 2021 potentially being a great year for the\nmarket, let us help you manage your expectations by focusing on key data points\nand facts! <\/p>\n\n\n\n In our just-released February Market Strategy Report, we make\npredictions for sector under and over performers, while also providing thoughts\non possible outcomes of 2021. We will look at: <\/p>\n\n\n\n If you have $500,000 or more to invest and want to learn more, click on the link below to get your free report today! Ideas to boost child tax credits, jobless claims rise, consumers spend big in January, Fed debt ceiling approaches <\/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-9351","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\/9351","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=9351"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/zacksim.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9351\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10449,"href":"https:\/\/zacksim.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9351\/revisions\/10449"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zacksim.com\/blog\/wp-json\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/zacksim.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9351"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zacksim.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9351"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zacksim.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9351"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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