\u201cIn America businesspeople, almost to a pinstripe, are convinced that the $300-a-week boost to unemployment insurance explains the shortages. However, pundits do not agree on whether stimulus handouts really lead people to shirk. The evidence is hazy elsewhere, too\u2026Australia ditched its job-protection scheme in March, and shortages have worsened.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The unemployment data has inspired many theories about why jobs aren\u2019t filling more quickly. These include fear of contracting COVID-19, low hourly pay, and lack of dependent care, to name a few. Some states recently modified unemployment programs, so there soon may be new data to help clarify the situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Is the Federal Reserve thinking about raising rates or slowing bond purchases? <\/strong>In June 2020, Fed Chair Jerome Powell famously said, \u201cWe\u2019re not even thinking about thinking about raising rates.\u201d Some are wondering whether that has changed. The minutes from April\u2019s Federal Open Market Committee<\/em> meeting, which were released last Tuesday afternoon, included a statement that raise questions. It said:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cA number of participants suggested that if the economy continued to make rapid progress toward the Committee\u2019s goals, it might be appropriate at some point in upcoming meetings to begin discussing a plan for adjusting the pace of asset purchases.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Of course, the economic picture isn\u2019t as robust as it was in April. Since then, we\u2019ve seen a weaker-than-expected employment report and higher-than-expected inflation data. While one month does not establish a trend, investors, economists, and pundits will be watching economic data releases closely for clues about economic recovery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Will inflation prove to be transitory or will it persist?<\/strong> Investors also are worried the Federal Reserve will keep rates low for too long. James Politi of Financial Times<\/em> reported:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe Fed has argued that strong monetary support for the economy is still needed because of the risk of a slowdown in the recovery and the shortfall in employment compared to pre-pandemic levels. Nor does it expect the current spike in consumer prices to last, arguing that it is being fueled by supply chain bottlenecks and the economic reopening.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Others aren\u2019t so sure the Fed is right. Last Tuesday, former U.S. Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers said the Fed\u2019s latest forecasts suggest it is misreading the economy and encouraging complacency, reported Greg Robb of MarketWatch<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Last week, the Standard & Poor\u2019s 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Indices moved slightly lower while the Nasdaq Composite moved slightly higher.<\/p>\n\n\n\n (The one-year numbers in the scorecard below remain noteworthy. They reflect the strong recovery of U.S. stocks from last year\u2019s coronavirus downturn to the present day.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n With Mother\u2019s Day behind us and Father\u2019s Day ahead, it seemed an appropriate time to share some tweets about the parenting experience. Here are a few entertaining examples shared online by parents and rounded up by Buzzfeed:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDoes anyone have directions to that village everyone says will raise my children? It sounds wonderful.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt does not do to leave a live dragon out of your calculations, if you live near one.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Investment advisory services offered through\u00a0Keystone Financial Services, an SEC Registered Investment Advisor. These views are those of Carson Coaching, not the presenting Representative, the Representative\u2019s Broker\/Dealer, or Registered Investment Advisor, and should not be construed as investment advice. This newsletter was prepared by Carson Coaching. Carson Coaching is not affiliated with the named firm or broker\/dealer. Government bonds and Treasury Bills are guaranteed by the U.S. government as to the timely payment of principal and interest and, if held to maturity, offer a fixed rate of return and fixed principal value.\u00a0 However, the value of fund shares is not guaranteed and will fluctuate. Corporate bonds are considered higher risk than government bonds but normally offer a higher yield and are subject to market, interest rate and credit risk as well as additional risks based on the quality of issuer coupon rate, price, yield, maturity, and redemption features. The Standard & Poor’s 500 (S&P 500) is an unmanaged group of securities considered to be representative of the stock market in general. You cannot invest directly in this index. All indexes referenced are unmanaged. The volatility of indexes could be materially different from that of a client\u2019s portfolio. Unmanaged index returns do not reflect fees, expenses, or sales charges. Index performance is not indicative of the performance of any investment. You cannot invest directly in an index. The Dow Jones Global ex-U.S. Index covers approximately 95% of the market capitalization of the 45 developed and emerging countries included in the Index. The 10-year Treasury Note represents debt owed by the United States Treasury to the public. Since the U.S. Government is seen as a risk-free borrower, investors use the 10-year Treasury Note as a benchmark for the long-term bond market. Gold represents the 3:00 p.m. (London time) gold price as reported by the London Bullion Market Association and is expressed in U.S. Dollars per fine troy ounce. The source for gold data is Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (FRED),\u00a0https:\/\/fred.stlouisfed.org\/series\/GOLDPMGBD228NLBM. The Bloomberg Commodity Index is designed to be a highly liquid and diversified benchmark for the commodity futures market. The Index is composed of futures contracts on 19 physical commodities and was launched on July 14, 1998. The DJ Equity All REIT Total Return Index measures the total return performance of the equity subcategory of the Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) industry as calculated by Dow Jones. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), commonly known as \u201cThe Dow,\u201d is an index representing 30 stock of companies maintained and reviewed by the editors of The Wall Street Journal. The NASDAQ Composite is an unmanaged index of securities traded on the NASDAQ system. International investing involves special risks such as currency fluctuation and political instability and may not be suitable for all investors. These risks are often heightened for investments in emerging markets. Yahoo! Finance is the source for any reference to the performance of an index between two specific periods. The risk of loss in trading commodities and futures can be substantial. You should therefore carefully consider whether such trading is suitable for you in light of your financial condition. The high degree of leverage is often obtainable in commodity trading and can work against you as well as for you. The use of leverage can lead to large losses as well as gains. Opinions expressed are subject to change without notice and are not intended as investment advice or to predict future performance. Economic forecasts set forth may not develop as predicted and there can be no guarantee that strategies promoted will be successful. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Investing involves risk, including loss of principal. The foregoing information has been obtained from sources considered to be reliable, but we do not guarantee it is accurate or complete. There is no guarantee a diversified portfolio will enhance overall returns or outperform a non-diversified portfolio. Diversification does not protect against market risk. Asset allocation does not ensure a profit or protect against a loss. Consult your financial professional before making any investment decision. Please contact our office if you would like a list of sources used in creating this content.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" What do markets hate? They hate uncertainty, and recently there has been plenty of it. Some of the questions plaguing economists and pundits include: Why aren\u2019t people returning to work? Americans, like people in other parts of the world, have not been rejoining the workforce at the pace many had anticipated. One of the most […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":4567,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"post_statement":"","post_description":"","post_cta":"","post_button":"Read More","post_button_url":"","compliance_id":"","post_disclaimer":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.keystonefinancial.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/oi_article\/4564"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.keystonefinancial.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/oi_article"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.keystonefinancial.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/oi_article"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.keystonefinancial.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.keystonefinancial.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4564"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.keystonefinancial.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/oi_article\/4564\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.keystonefinancial.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4567"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.keystonefinancial.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4564"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.keystonefinancial.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4564"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.keystonefinancial.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4564"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.keystonefinancial.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Screen-Shot-2021-05-25-at-8.15.17-AM.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nAhhh, the Joys of Parenting<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
–Not Your Trending Mom<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHi, I’m a parent. You may remember me from such greats as \u2018Repeating Myself\u2019 and \u2018Arguing over Shoes\u2019 and \u2018Stepping on Cereal.\u2019\u201d
–Rodney LaCroix<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThoughts and prayers for my son who thought it would be funny to tell me \u2018I\u2019ll get to it when I get to it, woman.\u2019\u201d
–Mom On The Rocks<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhy aren\u2019t there any horror movies called \u2018My 4 year old fell asleep in the car at 5pm.\u2019\u201d
–threetimedaddy<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201c7 [year old] son: May I have some water?
Me: What are the magic words?
7 [year old] son: I can get it myself.
Me: There you go.\u201d
–Laura Marie<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBlew my nose in front of my daughter and her friends today. Please respect her privacy during this difficult time.\u201d
–Simon Holland<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Parenting is never an easy job, and the pandemic made it a lot trickier. Parents have to make important financial planning decisions involving children, too. Often these are related to legacy planning, and sometimes they involve special needs. If you would like to talk about the needs of your family and identify potential solutions, give us a call.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
–J.R.R. Tolkien<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n