In today\u2019s Steady\nInvestor, we focus on important factors that we believe are making an impact on\nthe market today, such as:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Corporations are Sitting\non Record Amounts of Cash \u2013 <\/strong>U.S. corporations have by and large been\nenjoying a strong 2021. Aggregate S&P 500 earnings are up close to 100%\nfrom Q2 2020, and companies are outperforming revenue expectations at a strong\nclip. Corporations are also sitting on a record amount of cash \u2013 data from Q2\n2021 earnings reports shows a balance sheet with a record $6.84 trillion in\ncash and short-term investments, which marks a 45% increase from the average\nover the previous five years. At one point earlier in the year, many investors\nbet that cash-rich corporations would increase spending on technological\nupgrades, factories, and personnel as the vaccination rate moved higher and as\npandemic risks waned. There is still some evidence CEOs are planning to invest\ncash \u2013 businesses like Tyson Foods, Morgan Stanley, and Constellation Brands\nhave made statements recently citing their desire to spend on expanding\nresearch budgets, building factories, and boosting shareholder equity via share\nbuybacks and dividend payments. With the Delta variant spreading quickly, some\nbusinesses appear \u2013 for now \u2013 to be pulling back slightly on their plans.1<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n ___________________________________________________________________________<\/p>\n\n\n\n Want to Breeze Through Your Retirement Uncertainties? Find Out How!<\/a><\/strong> That\u2019s why\nwe\u2019re here to help! There are simple steps you can take NOW to help ensure your\nsecure and comfortable retirement. Get our practical advice that is based on decades of\nexperience and can potentially guard your retirement assets against the \u201cwhat\nifs\u201d in life, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you have $500,000 or more to invest,\u00a0download our\u00a0Retirement Uncertainties\u2026and How to Breeze Through<\/a>.<\/em>2<\/sup><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n ___________________________________________________________________________<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The U.S. Pulls Ahead\nof China in Growth \u2013 <\/strong>The\nU.S.\u2019s GDP growth surge in Q2 outpaced China\u2019s, and many economists expect the\nU.S. to edge out the second-largest economy in growth for the next few quarters.\nThe U.S. expanded at a 12.2% pace in the second quarter compared to a year ago,\nwhile China posted a 7.9% gain. If the U.S. continues to grow at a faster pace\nthan China for a few more quarters, it would be the first sustained period of\noutperformance since the 1990s. A few factors are driving faster U.S. growth in\n2021. For one, the U.S. has a relatively high vaccination rate and an economy\nthat largely has no economic restrictions related to the pandemic. In China,\nhowever, low vaccination rates and the appearance of the Delta variant have led\nthe country to install drastic measures to stop the spread, in some cases\nlocking down completely. The U.S. also poured more fiscal and monetary\nresources into the economic recovery than China did, which has played a role in\nthe sharp growth rebound experienced in the first half of 2021.3<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n U.S. Retail Sales Dip\nin July. Cause for Concern? <\/strong>U.S. retail sales, which measure purchases at\nstores, restaurants, and online, fell 1.1% in July compared to June levels. If\nauto purchases are pulled from the figure \u2013 which has been a volatile category\nin 2021 \u2013 then sales declined a more modest 0.4%. Restaurants and bars saw a\nsummer jump as consumers ventured back out, with sales rising 1.7% from June. The\ndata suggests that consumers continue to shift spending away from big-ticket\nitems and towards services, an expected outcome as restrictions fell away and\npeople re-engaged with the physical economy. Market watchers will be looking to\nAugust numbers to measure if the economic impact of the Delta variant, which has\nto date led to a sharp drop in consumer sentiment as measured by University of\nMichigan data.4<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n These\nrecent events are a proven fact that life\u2019s unknowns can throw your plans off\ntrack. <\/p>\n\n\n\n For those\nwho are planning to retire soon, there are steps you can take to better prepare\nyourself and protect your secure and comfortable retirement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you have $500,000 or more to invest, get our free guide,\u00a0<\/a>Retirement Uncertainties\u2026and How to Breeze Through Them.<\/a>5<\/a><\/sup><\/strong>\u00a0It provides advice, based on our decades of experience, that we believe can help ensure that your golden years will be comfortable and secure.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" U.S. firms sitting on record levels of cash, retail dip could be cause for concern, Q2 GDP growth surges ahead of China <\/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-9794","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\/9794","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=9794"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/zacksim.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9794\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10327,"href":"https:\/\/zacksim.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9794\/revisions\/10327"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zacksim.com\/blog\/wp-json\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/zacksim.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9794"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zacksim.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9794"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zacksim.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9794"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\u00a0
When preparing for retirement, taking the \u2018what-ifs\u2019 into account can keep you uncertain about your future financial decisions.\u00a0 What if inflation eats into your retirement? What if you run into more expenses during retirement than you\u2019d expected? <\/p>\n\n\n\n