Stock Market and Biden/Employment Data will Matter/2021 Tax Chart

Stock Market and Biden

Employment Data will Matter

2021 Tax Chart

I think it’s safe to say, President-Elect Joe Biden will be our next president, barring something even more significant than a completed “Hail-Mary” pass.  Stock markets certainly can be influenced by politics however, as of now, the markets have no issue with the changing of the guard.  If the R’s keep the Senate, the market will be getting what it desires, in my opinion.

I still believe, what will matter for the future value of stocks, will be profits, profits, profits!  Profits during this pandemic have been more positive than many forecasts, and optimism upon the successful re-opening of our economy is very high.  A lot of pent up demand….. can’t disagree with that!!!

Last week the markets surged with the Dow up 2.25%, the S&P 500 2.30%, the Nasdaq Composite 2.97% and the Smallcap Russell 2000 leading the way, up 3.94%

Over the pond, equities also rose however just under 2% on average.

Bond Yields remained flat with the 10 Year US Treasury yielding .84%.  Keep in mind, the 10 Year Yield on 12/31/2019 stood at 1.91%, prior to this pandemic.  Does this mean that rates will move back to that level after the economy opens?  Certainly not sure of the exact level of rates, however we should expect US Treasury rates to rise.

Friday Jobs Information

Friday the government reports how many jobs were created/lost the prior month.  The estimate is approximately 500K new jobs. That number has been decreasing the last couple of months.  New unemployment claims are now rising, after a string of decreases.  Of course, this is due to the rising of Covid-19 cases.  So the question is, how long will it take to get these folks back to work?  In the meantime, what is the most efficient way to provide monetary assistance for the unfortunate?!  Not knowing the final make-up the Senate may be the deterrent in getting anything done prior to late January.  I hope the current Senate and House can actually negotiate a short-term bill to provide a bridge to this issue only, and leave other desires for another battle, for another day!

Taxes for 2021

Now is the time to start thinking about next years’ income taxes.  Those who will be working in 2021 should be thinking about contributions to various retirement plans. Should you contribute to a Roth or Traditional? For your convenience, click here for a copy of our 2021 Preliminary Key Financial Data. Feel free to add this page to your bookmarks so it is easily accessible in the future! We will keep you posted if any of the data is changed or adjusted.

For questions on taxes, conversions and contributions, please feel free to schedule a consultation, which can be done via Zoom or a phone-call. We have temporarily suspended all in-person consultations and appointments until further notice.

 

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