In today\u2019s Steady Investor, we take a look at key factors\nthat we believe are currently impacting the market, such as:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Inflation Ticks\nHigher, Again \u2013 <\/strong>High U.S. inflation readings seem to be the only economic\nindicator making headlines these days. In June, the CPI print showed\nacceleration at a pace not seen in 13 years, with the Labor Department\nreporting a 5.4% jump from a year ago. When energy and food were stripped out\n(Core CPI), the reading was still a stout 4.5%. These numbers are far higher\nthan the Fed\u2019s targeted 2% to 2.5% range for inflation, but readers should note\nthat the so-termed \u2018base effect\u2019 is still in play. The \u2018base effect\u2019 says that\ninflation readings are high because they\u2019re being compared to a year-ago period\nwhen the global economy was largely stifled by the pandemic. In this sense,\ninflation readings over the summer may not give us a clear picture of how\nsustained price pressures could be, and we may need more time to fully understand\nthe inflation picture. After all, when comparing this June\u2019s CPI print to June\n2019, inflation rose by 3% \u2013 an elevated, but much more acceptable figure.1<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n ______________________________________________________________________________________________<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n Build an Ultimate Retirement Portfolio That Reaches Your Financial Goals!<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Many readers know that when inflation rises, uncertainties\nalso rise \u2013 creating challenges for investors trying to build their retirement\nportfolio. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Investors can counter this uncertainty by defining your\ninvestment objectives, determining your asset allocation, and actively managing\nyour investments over time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To help you do this, we are offering readers our free guide\ndetailing a step-by-step blueprint of Zacks\u2019 customized investing process. Our\ngoal is to help you build a sound retirement portfolio of your own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you have $500,000 or more to invest, get this guide to\nlearn our ideas on building and maintaining a retirement portfolio, which can\nguide you to achieving your long-term goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Get our FREE guide:\u00a07 Secrets to Building the Ultimate DIY Retirement Portfolio<\/a>2<\/a><\/sup><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n ______________________________________________________________________________________________<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n The 4 Big Categories\nof Rising Inflation \u2013 <\/strong>Staying on the hot topic of inflation, it is also\nimportant to note that not all inflation is created equal. In fact, we may be\nbest served to see it in four distinct categories. The first one is the\ncategory most impacted by the \u2018base effect,\u2019 i.e., those goods and services\nthat fell the most during the pandemic. These are airfares, hotel prices, concert\ntickets, and so on. We should reasonably expect a big jump in these prices, and\nit should also be noted that even in the June reading these prices remain below\nwhere they were last February. The second price category is for items that have\nsurged past their pre-pandemic levels due to supply chain bottlenecks and\nunexpectedly high demand, i.e., used cars, lumber, semiconductors, and other\ninputs. The third category is for prices we might reasonably expect to remain\nhigher more permanently, such as housing prices and wages. These are categories\nwhere demand outweighs supply, and it may take some time for the two to find\nbalance. Lastly, there are the goods and services where we are yet to see\nmaterial price increases, such as home rents or small business services being\npressured higher by wages.3<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n Job Openings are at\nRecord Highs, But May Not Last <\/strong>\u2013 Some readers may have seen the\nstat-lines recently: there are more open jobs in the economy than there are\nunemployed workers. Indeed, job openings are at a record high today, but there\nare still sticky issues in the labor market such as too low wages, issues with\nchild care, and expanded unemployment benefits that last through September in\nsome states. But the record rate of job openings should not be expected to last\n\u2013 many companies are predicting they will need fewer employees in the future,\nas the pandemic laid bare some of the new efficiencies that can be ushered in\nby technology and automation. Across industries like hotels, restaurants,\nwarehousing, and aerospace, companies are investing in digital infrastructure\nand automation technology to \u2018do more with less.\u2019 Case in point: in the U.S.\neconomy, total output has recovered to pre-pandemic levels, even though fewer\nworkers are working fewer total hours.4<\/sup><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n China\u2019s Q2 GDP Growth\nis Strong, But Many Worry About Deceleration<\/strong> \u2013 China reported second-quarter GDP\ngrowth of 7.9% in the second quarter and remains on track to meet its annual 6%\nGDP growth rate. But some analysts worry that the rapid rebound in growth is\nnot sustainable in the face of slowing global demand for Chinese goods and less\ninvestment in manufacturing and real estate. China\u2019s economic recovery is also\nsomewhat unbalanced \u2013 while manufacturing and exports power the recovery\nforward, domestic demand has faltered. The opposite has been true in the United\nStates, at least for now. Factory activity is robust while domestic demand is\nso strong that it\u2019s outweighing supply, placing upward pressure on prices as\ndetailed above.5<\/sup><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n The economy and markets are changing quickly, and\nit\u2019s important for investors to know how to navigate through the ups and downs.\nFor those nearing retirement, it is critical to build a portfolio that meets\nyour financial goals. Doing so involves some work: defining your\ninvestment objectives, determining your asset allocation, and actively managing\ninvestments over time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To help you do this, I recommend reading our\nguide, 7 Secrets to\nBuilding the Ultimate DIY Retirement Portfolio<\/em>.6<\/sup> It\nprovides a step-by-step blueprint of Zacks Investment Management\u2019s customized\ninvesting process, which can guide you to building a sound retirement\nportfolio of your own. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If you have $500,000 or more to invest, get this guide to learn our ideas on the step-by-step process to building and maintaining a retirement portfolio. Our goal is to help you reach your goals and enjoy a secure retirement.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Examining the 4 categories of rising inflation, glut of open jobs may not last, China’s growth may not be sustainable <\/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-9728","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\/9728","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=9728"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/zacksim.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9728\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10352,"href":"https:\/\/zacksim.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9728\/revisions\/10352"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zacksim.com\/blog\/wp-json\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/zacksim.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9728"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zacksim.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9728"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zacksim.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9728"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}