Last week, Russian invaded Ukraine. After the invasion, the Russia Trading System Index (a gauge of the Russian stock market) dropped 38 percent. Today's Peek of the Week explains how the major U.S. stock indices responded and how they were able to partially recover during Friday's session. There are many global markets to keep track of as geopolitical events continue to unfold. The cost of war can be felt by most when the demand for things is high and the supply is low. The reality: the war is pushing prices even higher.
Today's Peek of the Week is full of questions. Investors wonder what will happen with the current geopolitical tensions, if the Federal Reserve will tame inflation and how the market correction is being received. Major U.S. stock indices moved lower last week and came even closer to correction territory. A stock market correction occurs when assets, indexes or markets decline by 10 to 20 percent and although they feel unpleasant, they aren't unusual. In addition, here have been all kinds of debates about college and its importance. Questions such as: is college a good investment? Which college majors are worth the cost? And, should employers remove college degree requirements from job listings? What do YOU think?
Why did the U.S. stock markets finish the week lower? There are few factors that come into play. We're still facing the issue of inflation and after the inflation report was released, investors recalibrated their expectations to include a federal rate increase. Today's Peek of the Week explores three other factors that could be contributing to stocks finishing lower: the U.S. Treasury yield curve percentage, escalating geopolitical tensions between Russia and Ukraine, plus declining consumer sentiments. The reality is that there is no single answer that contributes to a stock market decrease and tremendous uncertainty lies ahead. Also, how nature holds the power to CURE us…
Romantics love Valentine’s Day, and so do some practitioners of the dismal science, which is just another name for economics. You might think economists are all about the $27 billion Americans spent on the holiday last year, but that’s just part of the story... Read our special Valentine's Day Commentary to learn about viewing love as a unique form of currency in these times that require resilience and patience.
Have you ever heard the saying "a rosy view through the rearview mirror?" Economists have held back on expressing positive outlooks due to Omicron spread, and they were ultimately surprised by how things played out. Today's "Peek of the Week" details the number of #jobs that were added (rather than lost), painting a picture of a robust economic growth in the United States despite the supply chain issues and pandemic variants. We also discuss #Olympians who place in the top three and their rewards (NOT including the medals). Check it out!
In Chinese this means 'Wishing you happiness and prosperity!’
Happy Lunar New Year from Achievement Financial! The holiday begins today, February 1st and while it officially spans three days, it’s celebrated in China and other Asian countries over the course of two weeks. Read our special Lunar New Year 2022 commentary. We share a link to the Lunar New Year "dos and don'ts," and more Lunar New Year facts.
January presented us with a month of stock market decline but last Friday's gain "snapped a three-day streak of losses and left the S&P 500 up 0.8 percent for the week." Today's #PeekoftheWeek lists some possible reasons why the first weekly gain of the year took a few weeks to occur and how economic expansion is leading us to more space exploration. Take our "space economy" quiz to find out how much you know!
If you aren't familiar with the 'January Barometer', today's Peek of the Week describes it like this: as goes January, so goes the year. . . As we know, people do not make perfect financial decisions and the predictive values associated with the January Barometer aren't perfect, either. So what's going on? Last week we saw U.S. stock indices move lower because of inflation, the pandemic and Federal Reserve policy. One thing is very clear: the global economy stays resilient, requiring new and innovative adaptations around the world.
Is the economy doing well, or not? The answer doesn't come easy these days. Today we posted a brand new Peek of the Week that attempts to answer this question. Last week, the focus was on retail sales for the month of December 2021 being down 1.9 percent compared to November 2021. There are more factors and timeframes to consider than the month-to-month data, and Barron's reported the "the slowdown is expected to be short-lived."
The Fed's minutes from their December meeting were released last week and investors found themselves surprised by "the change in tone" for future outlooks. Our Peek of the Week tells the story of the Federal Reserve and how 2020 forced our country to make adjustments to avoid a deep recession or depression, and how we continue to pivot going forward.
Since we've officially entered the new year, it felt like the perfect opportunity to look back on some challenges and delights from 2021 in our first Peek of the Week of 2022. We saw surges in: the stock markets, global growth, COVID-19 cases and vaccinations. Something that did NOT seem to increase in 2021 was optimism. According to a CBS News poll, about 40 percent of Americans felt like 2021 was a year of sadness, but three out of four people felt hopeful about 2022. We know that hope goes a long way. Today's blog lists our top financial and stock market highlights from 2021!
While circumstances beyond our control took the wheel over the nearly past two years, 2022 might be the year where we can be more in control of what we write into the chapters of our year. We hope 2022 is a wonderful year full of good luck and prosperity. If you need help developing a plan for financial prosperity, please get in touch.
