Georgia Retirement Services

03/21/2024

🛒 As inflation continues to make headlines, consumers are taking a stand against rising prices.

Consumers are shifting gears – they're choosing store brands over name brands, frequenting discount stores, and even opting for used cars over new ones. 🔄

In response, large food companies are hitting the brakes on price increases. This could potentially help to cool down inflation. 🌡️
But, prices still remain around 19% higher than they were pre-pandemic, leading to consumer resistance and a search for more budget-friendly options.

This is a testament to the power of consumer influence on market prices. We'll keep you informed.



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More Americans are buying used cars, too, rather than new, forcing some dealers to provide discounts on new cars again.

11/10/2023

10/20/2023

📢 Latest Update: 10-year Treasury yield reaches highest level in over 15 years!

🔼 The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield rose to 4.634%, its highest since 2007.
🔼 The 2-year Treasury yield also climbed to 5.148%.
🔼 Yields and prices have an inverted relationship, with one basis point equaling 0.01%.
🔼 The Commerce Department reported a 0.2% increase in durable goods orders for August, surpassing economists' expectations of a 0.5% decline.
🔼 Key data points, including new home sales and consumer confidence, fell short of forecasts, adding to concerns about the state of the economy.
🔼 The Federal Reserve's indication of higher interest rates for a longer period has raised worries among investors about the economy's future.
🔼 Investors are also worried about a potential government shutdown starting on Oct. 1. Moody's rating agency warns of a negative impact on the U.S. credit rating, while Wells Fargo predicts a decline in the U.S. dollar index.



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Investors assessed the state of the U.S. economy following the latest economic data.

08/22/2023

Understanding pullbacks in stock prices is critical, even if we don't like them. They are moderate drops that occur within a continuing uptrend. Looking at the chart, we've seen two pullbacks in the past ten months since stocks started trending higher in October 2022. Will this August give us the third pullback?

Pullbacks can be painful as they break trend lines and support levels, making investors second-guess their strategy. Remember, they're easier to spot in retrospect, but evaluating them during a portfolio decline can be challenging.

As we move into September and October, known for their reputations on Wall Street, it might be wise to focus less on day-to-day market gyrations and explore other projects. And if you need a quick update on Wall Street, don't hesitate to call.

07/21/2023

Individual investors becoming more upbeat about stock prices, there's still much skepticism. It can be challenging to break from a bearish mindset if you've been in that camp for a while.

06/02/2023

As we approach the end of 2025, several temporary tax provisions that were part of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act are set to expire, including the lifetime estate and gift tax rules.

For couples, the amount is $25.84 million for 2023. If the scheduled sunset takes place in 2026, the estate and gift tax exemption will revert back to an estimated $14 million for couples, depending on the inflation rate over the next few years. With this pending change on the horizon, you might consider revisiting your estate strategy if you are uncertain whether the sunset will influence your approach.

The sunset's impact extends beyond lifetime estate and gift tax rules. For example, the top income tax rate is expected to revert to 2017 levels, rising from 37% to 39.6%. The $10,000 limit on state and local tax deductions is scheduled to expire, as is the $750,000 cap on mortgage interest deduction.

This post is for informational purposes only and is not a replacement for real-life advice, so make sure to consult your tax, legal, and accounting professionals before modifying your estate or tax strategy in anticipation of changes in 2025.

05/17/2023

🏦 The Federal Reserve has raised interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point and hinted at a pause in tightening its cycle due to recent bank failures and inflation.

🖥️ Despite noting "inflation remains elevated," officials will monitor incoming data to determine if more hikes "may be appropriate."

💼📊 The move marks a new stage of the U.S. central bank's management of the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.



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The Federal Reserve moved its management of the post-pandemic economic recovery into a new phase on Wednesday with what may be the last in a historic series of interest rate hikes and heightened attention to credit and other economic risks.

05/15/2023

🚨Attention Facebook Users🚨

If you had an active account between May 2007 and December 2022, you could be eligible for a share of a $725 million class action settlement!

Facebook has settled a lawsuit alleging privacy violations, but Meta, the parent company of Facebook, did not admit wrongdoing. Here's what you need to know:

Claim deadline: August 25, 2023

Payments depend on how many users submit claims and how long each user maintained a Facebook account.

Visit Facebookuserprivacysettlement.com to make a claim. Protect your privacy and get your share!



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Facebook users who maintained an account between May 2007 and Dec. 2022 can submit a claim for their share of a $725 million class action settlement.

05/05/2023

Check out the latest commentary from which discusses the debt ceiling and what it means for your portfolio in a non-partisan manner. Click here to read: https://bit.ly/3LlOWde

04/28/2023

🎉 Did you know that earning $300,000 a year is still considered middle class in some US cities?

🏙️ According to a study by SmartAsset, the middle class income range varies widely across the largest 100 US cities.

🌴Fremont, California has the highest-earning middle class with those earning up to $311,936 still falling in the middle-income range there.

👀 Check out the top 10 US cities with the highest middle class income thresholds:

Fremont, California
San Jose, California
Arlington, Virginia
San Francisco
Seattle
Irvine, California
Gilbert, Arizona
Scottsdale, Arizona
Plano, Texas
Chandler, Arizona

🧐High local median incomes tend to correlate with high costs of living, so it's important to consider that as well.



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Notoriously high Silicon Valley salaries help drive up middle class income ranges in cities like Fremont and San Jose.