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Kevin Salazar

ACCESS YOUR WEALTH. ACCESS YOUR LIFE. But it does require foresight and strategy. Reach out today to see what you have access to!

The “work hard, then retire and enjoy yourself” model has been the American Dream for a while now, but we believe it’s had its day. A new age of America is realizing that there are ways to keep up our American work ethic while enjoying some of the fruits of our labor before we get too old. From making generational wealth more efficient to creating a new legacy, we are a team of financial strategie

s with decades of experience backing us. Kevin Salazar, CFP®, CLU®, ChFC®
[email protected]
(704) 442-4517

05/19/2026

⬇️ ⬇️
A frequently asked question in recent weeks is whether the market is simply ignoring the risks stemming from the current geopolitical conflict, especially given the spike in oil prices that has pushed inflation pressures higher. Our answer is yes—but only at the index level.

LAST WEEK

🔷 indicates a steady but cautious economic environment for small business owners. The optimism index held at 95.9, a slight stabilization from the previous month’s 95.8

🔷 A net negative 8% of small business owners reported higher nominal , and only 3% expected higher sales in the upcoming quarter—the lowest reading in 12 months

🔷 The experienced a slight cooling, falling to 100.4 from 101.6

🔷 Actual and planned price increases rose in April; A net 30% of owners raised their average selling prices, and 27% plan to implement increases in the next three months

🔷 Overall rose 0.6% month-over-month, a slight deceleration from the previous month’s 0.9% increase, which pushed the year-over-year rate to 3.8%, up from 3.3%

🔷 rose 0.4%, slightly above the 0.3% estimate, this pushed the year-over-year core rate to 2.8% from 2.6%, this pushed the year-over-year core rate to 2.8% from 2.6%

🔷 increased 0.4% for the month (1.1% year-over-year), while services rose 0.5% (3.3% year-over-year)

🔷 data reveals a slight uptick in market activity, with sales rising 0.2% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.05 million, up from 4.01 million in the previous month; also saw a modest increase, climbing to 1.47 million from 1.39 million

THIS WEEK

WEDNESDAY: Federal Open Market Committee minutes from the April 28–29 meeting

THURSDAY: S&P Global will release its Flash U.S. PMI (Purchasing Managers Index) data for May; U.S. Census Bureau will publish U.S. housing starts and building permits data for April

FRIDAY: The University of Michigan will release the final results for its May Surveys of Consumers

Read it here: http://spr.ly/6186BBAJjq

05/12/2026

⬇️ ⬇️
U.S. equities moved higher again this week, supported by continued strong earnings, fresh evidence of a stabilizing labor market, and growing optimism surrounding artificial intelligence ( ).

LAST WEEK

🔷 April ( ) Services report shows a sector still in expansion mode at 53.6, though it has slowed to its weakest pace since November 2025

🔷 Nonfarm payrolls increased by 115,000 in April

🔷 The diffusion index, which measures the percentage of industries that are actively hiring, checked in at 53.8%

🔷 Unemployment rate held steady at 4.3%

🔷 U.S.-based employers announced 83,387 job cuts in April, according to the latest Challenger Job Cut Report

🔷 Initial jobless claims checked in at 200,000

🔷 May 2026 University of Michigan consumer sentiment overall index fell to 48.2 from 49.8

THIS WEEK

MONDAY: April 2026 Existing Home Sales report from the National Association of Realtors

TUESDAY: BLS will release its April 2026 Consumer Price Index (CPI); National Federation of Independent Businesses Small Business Optimism Index for April 2026

WEDNESDAY: BLS is scheduled to release its April 2026 Producer Price Index (PPI)

THURSDAY: April 2026 Advance Monthly Retail Sales

FRIDAY: U.S. Federal Reserve’s April 2026 Industrial Production report

Read it here: http://spr.ly/6187BBtjEx

05/05/2026

⬇️ ⬇️
Despite continued geopolitical gridlock that has kept the Strait of largely closed—and pushed West Texas Intermediate above $100 last week for the first time since the April 8 ceasefire announcement—U.S. equities continued to climb.

The S&P 500 closed at a record high on Friday as investors looked through higher and focused on an economy that, for now, is still holding together: resilient first-quarter growth, signs that the labor market is stabilizing, strong earnings, and interest rates that have drifted higher only modestly.

LAST WEEK

🔷 2026 from the Bureau of Economic Analysis ( ) released last week showed the economy growing at a solid 2% in the first quarter of 2026, a notable and reassuring acceleration from last quarter’s modest 0.5% growth

🔷 was up 1.6%, contributing 1.08% points to the 2% GDP figure

🔷 Index edged higher to 92.8 in April

🔷 differential increased to 7.5% from the 6.1% recorded in March

🔷 Headline ( ) inflation accelerated to an annual rate of 3.5% in March, according to the latest Personal Income and Outlays report from the

🔷 Headline Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index ( ) held steady at 52.7%

🔷 Prices Paid Index surged to 84.6 percent, marking the highest level since April 2022

THIS WEEK

TUESDAY: April 2026 ISM Services PMI report

WEDNESDAY: ADP National Employment Report for April 2026

THURSDAY: University of Michigan five- to-10-year inflation expectations for May 2026

FRIDAY: Bureau of Labor Statistics will release its April U.S. jobs report

Read it here: http://spr.ly/6183BBbVkf

04/29/2026

⬇️ ⬇️
Economic data released last week continued to highlight the same tension investors have been grappling with for months: moderating growth, inflation that remains “stuck” near 3 percent, and interest rates that remain the key swing factor for markets. That backdrop was complicated further by the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, which has the potential to both elevate inflation pressures and weigh on growth through higher uncertainty.

LAST WEEK

🔷 responded by rising throughout the week, with West Texas Intermediate climbing from $83.85 last Friday to close the week at $94.40, while Brent moved from $90.38 to $105.33

🔷 The U.S. Census Bureau’s advance report for March 2026, released last week, showed a headline gain of 1.7% in March, reaching $752.1 billion

🔷 April 2026 S&P Global Flash rose to 52.0

🔷 PMI jumped to 54.0, its strongest in nearly four year

🔷 PMI improved slightly to 51.3

🔷 University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index fell to 49.8 in April, down from March’s 53.3 and the weakest reading on record since data collection began in 1978

🔷 The Current Economic Conditions index fell to 52.5 in April from 55.8 in March

🔷 Year-ahead inflation expectations jumped to 4.7%, the largest one-month increase since April 2025

THIS WEEK

TUESDAY: The Conference Board will publish its U.S. Consumer Confidence Survey for April 2026

WEDNESDAY: The Fed is set to meet on April 28–29

THURSDAY: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis will release the Personal Income and Outlays report for March 2026; Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index; first release of the Q1 Gross Domestic Product report

FRIDAY: April ISM Manufacturing PMI

Read it here: http://spr.ly/6184BBOgfg

04/20/2026

⬇️ ⬇️
Over the past few weeks, a rising tide of optimism has been gathering in the equity markets. This positive momentum reached a crescendo last week when Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi announced that, in line with the ceasefire in , the would reopen for commercial vessels after being closed for approximately seven weeks beginning in late February.

West Texas Intermediate fell to $83.85, which was down 11.5% from the prior day, while Brent Crude fell 9.1% to $90.38. U.S. equities pushed sharply higher for the 12th of the past 13 trading days as markets breathed a collective sigh of relief. The optimism quickly faded on Sunday, however, when Iran reclosed the strait, citing the ongoing U.S. naval blockade as a “breach of trust.”

LAST WEEK

🔷 Small Business Optimism Index reflected a recent pullback in sentiment, dropping three points from 98.8 to 95.8

🔷 The ’s latest showed eight of the 12 districts reported slight to modest increases in economic activity, while two reported little change and two noted slight to modest declines.

🔷 Existing home sales fell 3.6% in March to a 3.98 million

🔷 slashed its 2026 outlook for existing home sales from a 14% gain down to just 4%

🔷 /Wells Fargo sentiment index fell to 34 in April (down from 38)

🔷 Initial remained historically low at 207,000, bringing the four-week moving average down to 209,750

🔷 for final demand rose 0.5% in March pushing the year-over-year reading to 4%

THIS WEEK

TUESDAY: U.S. Census Bureau will release the Advance Monthly Sales for Retail and Food Services report for March 2026

WEDNESDAY: Kevin Warsh, the nominee for Federal Reserve Chair, is scheduled to testify before Congress

THURSDAY: Flash PMIs for manufacturing and services will be released

FRIDAY: University of Michigan will release the final reading of its Consumer Sentiment Index for April

Read it here: http://spr.ly/6187BB61nZ

04/13/2026

⬇️ ⬇️
anxieties surrounding negotiations between the U.S. and paused a rally on Friday, initially sparked by roughly in-line data and the announcement of a two-week on Tuesday night.

Even so, the S&P 500 capped off its best week since November—despite losing momentum after a seven-day advance—while West Texas Intermediate ( ) managed to end the week below $100 a barrel for the first time since late March even as the Strait of remained largely closed heading into the weekend.

LAST WEEK
🔷 crude oil jumped above $101 per barrel, while International rose above $100 a barrel

🔷 Core held stubbornly at 0.4% for a second consecutive month placing the year-over-year measure at 3%, remaining above the Fed’s 2% target

🔷 Institute for Supply Management ( ) Services Index, released last week, showed a spike in prices paid by service firms to 70.7, the highest level reached since October 2022

🔷 Headline rose by 0.9% for the month, bringing the YoY increase to 3.3%

🔷 Core inflation rose a modest 0.2% for the month and bringing the YoY rate to 2.6%

🔷 Headline cooled slightly to 54.9, down from 56.1 the previous month

🔷 index jumped to 60.6 from 58.6

🔷 index rose sharply to 70.7 from 63

🔷 experienced a sharp decline, falling to 45.2

THIS WEEK

MONDAY: Existing home sales data for March 2026;

TUESDAY: The BLS is scheduled to publish the March Producer Price Index (PPI) report; National Federation of Independent Business Small Business Economic Trends report for March 2026

WEDNESDAY: The Fed is scheduled to release the Beige Book

THURSDAY: U.S. Department of Labor will release its weekly initial jobless claims report

FRIDAY: The Fed will release its latest batch of industrial production

Read it here: http://spr.ly/6185B62eNL

04/08/2026

⬇️ ⬇️
Despite West Texas Intermediate crude climbing to $111.54, U.S. stocks ended last week higher for the first time since February 20. This rebound was fueled by a slight drift lower in interest rates and a domestic economy that remains resilient despite heightened geopolitical risks amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

LAST WEEK

🔷 March 2026 S&P Global U.S. final indicates that economic growth continued but lost momentum, with the composite index slipping to 50.3 from 51.9 in February

🔷 March 2026 Employment Situation report, released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics ( ) on April 3, revealed a significant rebound in the U.S. as nonfarm payrolls surged by 178,000 jobs

🔷 rebounded more strongly than expected in February, rising 0.6% to a total of $738.4 billion

🔷 Institute for Supply Management ( ) Manufacturing Prices Paid index hit its highest level since June 2022

🔷 S&P Global US Services Purchasing Managers’ Index ( ) fell into contraction at 49.8

🔷 Atlanta Fed’s tracker has faltered from over 3 percent in early March to 1.6% as of April 2

THIS WEEK

MONDAY: The March ISM Services PMI report

TUESDAY: ADP Research Institute will release the latest NER Pulse

THURSDAY: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis has scheduled the next Personal Income and Outlays report

FRIDAY: BLS will also release Consumer Price Index (CPI), March 2026 Real Earnings report; Michigan Consumer Sentiment data for April

Read it here: http://spr.ly/6184B6xHOs

03/24/2026

⬇️ ⬇️
Stocks fell for the fourth consecutive week as rising interest rates and surging oil prices—driven by the ongoing conflict in the Middle East—continued to weigh on investor sentiment.

LAST WEEK

🔷 The 10-year yield closed the week at 4.382%, up from 3.94% on February 27th; the two-year Treasury—a sensitive proxy for expected Fed action—rose to 3.90% from 3.37%

🔷 The ( ) gained 0.7% in February; year-over-year increase to 3.9%; Core PPI also rose a firmer than expected 0.5% for the month and reached 3.9% year over year

🔷 U.S. household net worth reached a new record of $184.1 trillion in the fourth quarter of 2025

🔷 Industrial production rose 0.2% in February, according to Fed data released last week, following a 0.7% jump the prior month and bringing the year-over-year increase to 1.4%; Manufacturing grew 0.2%

🔷 National Association of Home Builders ( ) index, a critical indicator for interest-rate-sensitive sectors, registered a reading of 38 in February 2026 the 23rd consecutive month of contractionary sentiment

THIS WEEK
TUESDAY: The S&P Global U.S. Flash Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI)

THURSDAY: U.S. Department of Labor will release its Weekly Unemployment Insurance Claims Report

FRIDAY: University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index for March 2026

Read it here: http://spr.ly/6186B6b9L2

03/17/2026

⬇️ ⬇️
The continued amplification of the conflict in the Middle East has created heightened uncertainty in financial markets.

Factor in uncertainty surrounding and an impending changing of the guard at the U.S. central bank, and monetary policymakers have their work cut out for them as they attempt to carry out the Fed’s dual mandate of stable prices and maximum employment.

LAST WEEK
🔷 began with a historic overnight spike to $119.50 last Sunday, March 8, as the effective closure of the Strait of triggered immediate supply shock fears before retreating to $94.77 by Monday afternoon

🔷 The headline (CPI) inflation rate held steady in February at 2.4% annually, while core CPI, which excludes more volatile food and energy costs, rose a modest 0.22% for the month

🔷 ( ) data last week, which showed that U.S. economy grew at a revised annualized rate of just 0.7% in the fourth quarter of 2025

🔷 University of Michigan Index released on Friday showed that consumer confidence fell to 55.5 from 56.6 in February

🔷 The National Federation of Independent Index dipped 0.5 points to 98.8 in February, falling short of analyst expectations but remaining slightly above its 52-year historical average of 98

🔷 trends emerged as the strongest component of the index, surging seven points from January to a net negative 14%

🔷 U.S. economy expanded at a sluggish annualized rate of 0.7% in the fourth quarter of 2025, according to a second estimate on growth from released last week

🔷 and spending data from January, which showed solid nominal income growth, up 0.4% in the first month of 2026

THIS WEEK

TUESDAY: U.S. central bank’s FOMC is scheduled to meet this Tuesday and Wednesday and will release its official interest rate decision

WEDNESDAY: February Producer Price Index inflation data

THURSDAY: The Fed will release the Financial Accounts of the United States

Read it here: http://spr.ly/6184B6RvlO

03/10/2026

⬇️ ⬇️
We have repeatedly highlighted the delicate balance that the U.S. economy and markets remain suspended in as the treads a thin line between a softening labor market and stubborn that continues to hover above its 2% target.

LAST WEEK
🔷 The 10-year increased by nearly 20 basis points over the week, finishing at 4.14% on Friday, while the two-year rose to 3.56%

🔷 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Situation report for February showed continued labor softness, with total nonfarm payrolls falling by 92,000 after a gain of downwardly revised 126,000 jobs in January

🔷 The rate edged up slightly to 4.4%, while average hourly earnings rose 0.4% month over month to $37.32, leaving wages up 3.8% year over year

🔷 ’s National Employment Report showed that private payrolls increased by 63,000 jobs in February

🔷 The layoff report showed that announced job cuts fell sharply to 48,307 in February, down 55 percent from January’s 108,435 layoffs and 72 percent lower than February 2025

🔷 indicated that the U.S. economy shed roughly 17,000 jobs in February in its dataset

🔷 The came in at 52.4, slightly down from 52.6 in January

🔷 PMI rose strongly to 56.1 in February, up from 53.8 in January

🔷 Retail sales fell 0.2% in January 2026

THIS WEEK

TUESDAY: National Federation of Independent Businesses is scheduled to release its monthly Small Business Economic Trends report; National Association of Realtors will release the Existing Home Sales report for February 2026

WEDNESDAY: Consumer Price Index (CPI) data for February 2026

FRIDAY: Personal Consumption Expenditures report is scheduled for release by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA); University of Michigan is scheduled to release EST its preliminary March 2026 Survey of Consumers; BEA will release the Second Estimate of Fourth Quarter 2025 GDP and the Annual 2025 GDP reports

Read it here: http://spr.ly/6184B6ENI6

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