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IRS Raises 2023 Tax Brackets due to Inflation
Posted on November 17th, 2022
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) controls the adjustments of tax brackets and standard deductions, and annually makes tax code adjustments based on the cost of living factors, congressional demands, and inflation. The adjustment for 2023, due to 40-year highs in inflation (with inflation currently sitting at 8.2%), was abnormally high. Thresholds for each tax bracket […]
US Population Rapidly Retiring
Posted on November 16th, 2022
Since the early 2010s, the percentage of the U.S. population made up of retirees grew at a fairly constant rate. However, this rate spiked at the start of the pandemic: and in the first year since the pandemic, an extra 1.3% of the population have retired, approximately 3.6 million more retirees. For comparison, the average […]
Self-Employed Workforce Shrinks from Highs
Posted on November 15th, 2022
During the Great Resignation in 2021, when significantly high numbers of workers quit their jobs, many turned to remote work and self-employment. The cultural zeitgeist of the time promoted worker confidence in the ability to work for themselves, leading to a spike in the self-employed workforce and fed the resignation trend. By late 2021, the […]
High Mortgage Rates Deter New Buyers
Posted on November 10th, 2022
Mortgage rates hit above 7% by the end of October, the highest since 2002. Such high mortgage rates can deter new homebuyers, adding significant long term costs that many potential buyers would rather avoid. Sellers are forced to come down on home prices if they want to attract buyers. As a result, home prices experienced […]
November 2022 Markets Brief
Posted on November 9th, 2022
U.S. equity markets rebounded in October with the Dow Jones, S&P 500, and Nasdaq indices all posting gains for the month. Technology, health care, and financial stocks were the largest contributors to the S&P 500 Index, but these sectors have begun to see significant headwinds in the past couple of weeks. U.S. dollar strength weakened […]
November 2022 Economic Snapshot
Posted on November 8th, 2022
The US midterm elections have commanded significant attention in the recent news cycle, but many consequential economic issues are continuing to develop. The Fed has continued on its steepest rate increase since the early 1980s. Political pushback against the Federal Reserve has been building as criticism surrounding the rate hikes has become a focal issue. […]
How Does the Fed Control Interest Rates?
Posted on October 27th, 2022
The Fed Funds Rate, which is controlled by the Federal Reserve Board (also known as the Fed), is the interest rate at which banks charge each other to borrow money, which also sets the baseline interest rate at which banks and other financial institutions can charge to consumers, which makes loans and credit card debt […]
Europe’s Currencies Plummeting against Us Dollar
Posted on October 26th, 2022
The European economy is currently experiencing turbulence due to the Ukrainian conflict and Russian supply cuts. Meanwhile, soaring interest rate hikes in the US have bolstered the strength of the dollar, creating a situation where the British pound and Euro are trading at historic lows against the US Dollar. 2022 marked the first time the […]
Rising Unemployment Claims Increase Uncertainty
Posted on October 25th, 2022
Unemployment claims have been rising since bottoming in March this year, and have climbed back up, causing concern. By mid-July, initial unemployment claims had bounced back up to 262,000, their highest since last November. While new claims have retreated slightly, unemployment claims continue to remain elevated from their lows. The upward trend in new unemployment […]
Looking Through The ESG Lens
Posted on October 13th, 2022
With Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) considerations for investing growing in broad acceptance and understanding, investors should understand how it affects the investment landscape as well as their own investments. ESG is a financial and investment philosophy where investors inspect these non-traditional aspects of companies, in addition to traditional fundamental and technical analyses. Environmental considerations […]
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