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
U.S. Consumers Prove\nResilient \u2013 <\/strong>The Delta variant threatened to stall the U.S. economic\nrecovery in July, as consumer spending ticked lower while inflation kept moving\nhigher. But U.S. consumers proved resilient \u2013 in August, retail sales rose\n0.7%, according to the Commerce Department, as spending rose in categories like\ngroceries and merchandise at big box stores. The uptick in spending was fueled\nin part by schools and college campuses reopening, with steady spending in\nfurniture and hardware. The tight car market saw purchases ease, as consumers\nmay have been turned off by rising prices and limited supply. Some of the\nU.S.\u2019s largest retailers are anticipating more issues with supply chains\nheading into the holiday shopping season, and some like Best Buy and Target are\nworking to amass large amounts of inventory compared to previous years and\nmarking double-digit increases from 2020. Inventory re-builds can carry a\nsignificant impact on GDP numbers, which will be worth noting for Q3.1<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n _________________________________________________________________________<\/p>\n\n\n\n What Should You Do in a Volatile Market?<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n There are many events that could affect the future of the market \u2013 whether it\u2019s another COVID-19 variant or economic restrictions and inflation. In such volatile times, the key is not to panic but to find a way to navigate market volatility. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If you have $500,000 or\nmore to invest, get our free guide, \u201cUsing Market Volatility to Your\nAdvantage,\u201d<\/em> and learn our insights, based on decades of experience, about\nhow a volatile market may be able to help investors refine their strategies and\npotentially generate solid returns over time. Download Our Guide, \u201cUsing Market Volatility to Your Advantage\u201d<\/a>2<\/a><\/sup><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n _________________________________________________________________________<\/p>\n\n\n\n Are\nTaxes Set to Move Higher? <\/strong>Plans for raising taxes are starting to\nbe released by Democrats as part of a $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation bill\nplanned alongside the $1 trillion infrastructure bill. According to early\nreports from staffers, the plan would increase the corporate tax rate from 21%\nto 26.5%, which is lower than President Biden\u2019s goal of 28%. Investors should\nnote, importantly, that the conversation is no longer centered around the\nprevious 35% tax rate, which could arguably mean corporate taxes could more\npermanently settle under 30%. The Democrats plan would also place a 3% surtax\nfor households with income over $5 million while also raising capital gains\ntaxes for households earning over $400,000. According to early reports, the\nplan appears to scrap changes to estate taxes. These figures are by no means\nthe final rates in the budget deal, and we expect quite a bit of debate in the\nweeks ahead. Meanwhile, the U.S. budget deficit narrowed to $2.7 trillion in\nthe first 11 months of the fiscal year, as both spending and federal tax\nreceipts hit new records.3<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n Economic Restrictions\nin Asia Ripple Through the Global Economy \u2013 <\/strong>Countries critical to the\nglobal supply chain continue to wrestle labor and productivity issues tied to\nthe spread of the Delta variant. Southeast Asia still largely relies on\nheavy-handed restrictions to contain the spread, and it is leading to factory\nclosures, lower production levels, and ultimately higher prices. Malaysia\u2019s\nrestrictions are crimping the production of palm oil, which is a key ingredient\nin everything from candy bars to chips and shampoo. A survey of manufacturing\npurchasing managers found that Vietnam, along with Malaysia and Indonesia, has\nseen factory activity move into contraction territory. Lockdowns in Vietnam \u2013\nwhich is the world\u2019s second-biggest coffee exporter \u2013 have delayed the\nprocessing and shipment of coffee beans. That has left many Western brands that\nrely on Vietnamese factories to see a rise in costs. The issues extend to an\narray of industries. Companies like Adidas, Crocs, and Steve Madden rely\nheavily on Vietnamese manufacturing, which delivers over 30% of U.S. shoe\nimports. Taken together, economic restrictions in Vietnam and elsewhere in Asia\ncan add to an already long list of supply chain issues, from delays at ports to\nrising raw-material prices, and ultimately, to higher costs for consumers.4<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n Don\u2019t let the negative headlines or fears of the unknown\nimpact your investing decisions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n To give\ninsight into ways to manage volatility, I am offering all readers our guide\n\u201cUsing Market Volatility to Your Advantage\u201d5<\/sup>. This guide can\nhelp you learn about our insights, based on decades of experience, about how a\nvolatile market may be able to help investors refine their strategies and\npotentially generate solid returns over time. If you have $500,000 or\nmore to invest, download this free guide today by clicking on the link below.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Consumer spending bounces back, plans for higher taxes on corporations and wealthy, supply snags affect global economy<\/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-9854","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\/9854","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=9854"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/zacksim.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9854\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10308,"href":"https:\/\/zacksim.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9854\/revisions\/10308"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zacksim.com\/blog\/wp-json\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/zacksim.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9854"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zacksim.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9854"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zacksim.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9854"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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\nYou\u2019ll get our ideas on:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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\nYou\u2019ll get our ideas on:<\/p>\n\n\n\n