Markets Mixed // Identity Theft and Cyber-Crime… Are You Protected?

Markets Mixed – Looking for Direction

The major Stock Market Indexes finished mixed last week, looking for direction.  Investors want to know:

  • Interest Rates, how high? Is inflation a real concern, or is our Federal Reserve forecast of “transitory” inflation accurate?  When rates go higher than anticipated, typically not positive for most stocks, as well as interest-rate sensitive bonds.
  • How much longer will we have Covid restrictions here in the United States, as well as traveling abroad and re-entering!? Obviously, restaurants, tourism businesses, and many small businesses are still in dire straits.   Restrictions impact spending, which impact profits and stock prices!!  I’m not suggesting we should not have restrictions, just the facts of the potential impact to your investments.
  • Will the reversing stock trend of Value Stocks leading Growth stocks continue? Value is up double digits and Growth is mostly flat so far in 2021.
  • Tax increases and Government Spending. We are anticipating an “Infrastructure” proposal that will include significant tax increases, in several areas from Corporate Tax increases, to families earning over $400,000, a carbon tax, an investment transaction tax, an annual wealth tax, and the list goes on.  Not everything thrown at the wall will stick, however we should anticipate tax revenue going up, and simple math suggests something will be going down.

For the week, the Dow and the S&P 500 finished up 1.36% and 1.58% respectively.  The Nasdaq dropped (.57%) and the Russell 2000 (2.88%).  Over the pond, the major stock indexes were also down.

The 10 Year US Treasury Yield fell slightly to finish the week @ 1.66%.

Identify Theft Protection Webinar

It’s getting worse!  More IRS/Social Security scam phone calls….  Email hacking, password theft, credit card fraud, and SSN stealing….  I’ve spoken to many clients who have fallen victim, in one way or another.  Some of these scammers are really good at what they do.  When it happens to you, it’s not very pretty.

What can you do?!  On Tuesday, April 20th, we will be hosting a virtual workshop on Identity Theft & Cyber-Crime (featuring a former FBI Agent). You will learn of 10 simple safeguards you can easily and immediately employ to protect yourself.  One of the “biggies” today, is how to detect a bogus email.  They can look *so* real. Additionally, you will receive handouts and tip-sheets to you guide on implementing the safeguards we discuss.  The webinar certainly opened my eyes up much wider! Please join us!

Workshop Information:

Tuesday, April 20th — 10:30am-11:15am
Webinar Link to be Provided
CLICK HERE for more information and to RSVP

 

 

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