July 8th, 2021
Dear Clients/Prospective Clients/Partners:
Happy Summer, folks! Wow, we certainly have had our share of heat the last few weeks and the markets have been hot as well. We will take it and I’m sure you will too. With the S&P 500, DJIA and Nasdaq up more than double-digits at the midpoint of the year, it appears that this continued runup has some legs. We are entering earnings season and it will be interesting to see if the adjustments companies have made to fixed office costs and employees working from home affects the bottom line. It will also be interesting to see how many corporations require their employees to come back to their offices by the fall months. It is certainly inconsistent across Wall Street with Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Bank of America all having different requirements for their employees.
The coronavirus, the pandemic and now variants and specifically, the delta variant is causing havoc in many countries. Will this ever end? At times, it seems like the Biden administration continues to want us to put our hands out for government assistance, but I am not sure that’s the right answer. Who’s going to pay for this? Many people have been affected by the pandemic in a variety of ways: lost jobs and relocation to work, sick or dying family members, educational struggles with children not adapting to virtual learning and many parents not having the bandwidth or freedom to help. Not to mention, the front-line workers and many health care workers that may have long-lasting health issues for dealing with this head-on. It is tough and it seems we’re not done with this crisis yet. It’s okay to have a difference of opinion on several of these issues, but be kind and listen to understand, do not listen to respond.
The jobs report came in at 850,000 jobs added in June, which was higher than expected and unemployment increased slightly to 5.9%. In surveys, businesses are still struggling to find workers to come back to work or find new workers that want to work. With 3.2 trillion in government stimulus spending since last year, perhaps that has something to with the lack of wanting to work. Why would you if you are being paid more to stay home? Some states have taken it upon themselves to help fix this employment problem. South Dakota and Iowa, to name a few, have sent back federal government aid. They want people to go back to work, so the small to medium-sized businesses can thrive again and this in turn helps local economies. Good for them in taking the initiative! Hopefully, this leadership spreads to more states and their governors. Enjoy this summer weather and thank you for putting your continued trust in our guidance.
Sincerely,
J.B. L’Esperance, ChFC
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