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  • 3 State Level Tax Hikes That Might Be Coming Due to COVID-19

    Posted Date September 1, 2020 Posted Time 12:00 pm Published in

    No surprise, but Americans are consuming and spending less since the coronavirus kicked in.  Retail sales dropped to 8.7 percent in March, the largest month-over-month decline since the Census Bureau started tracking this data. Previously, the sharpest decline was less than half this – at 3.9 percent from October 2008 to November 2008, during the previous economic crisis. The reduction in consumer spending is due in part to lockdowns, spending more time at home for fear of the virus, and the economic impact – whether it’s losing a job, reduced hours, or in anticipation of tougher times ahead. While consumer... View Article

  • Three Strategies Companies Can Implement to Recover Faster

    Posted Date September 1, 2020 Posted Time 12:00 pm Published in

    Small businesses nationwide were already facing cash problems before the COVID-19 pandemic, according to McKinsey & Company. The firm found that almost one-third of small businesses were either seeing losses or making just enough to stay in business, but not realizing profitability. Looking at businesses selling essential and non-essential items, McKinsey & Company reports that before satisfying their “interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization” obligations and accountings, they were facing challenging times. When it comes to selling essential items, such as food, business owners in this industry only had margins of 5 percent. For businesses selling non-essential items, this sector saw... View Article

  • How Will Monetary Policy Impact Markets Going Forward?

    Posted Date September 1, 2020 Posted Time 12:00 pm Published in

    With gold hitting $2,000 an ounce in recent days, coupled with the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy creating a lot of liquidity, how will markets perform for the rest of 2020 and beyond? Based on a reading from the Federal Reserve’s minutes from its July 28 to July 29 meeting, the Fed remarked that the ongoing pandemic would continue to put a strain on the economy, slowing expansion and causing additional damage to the country’s monetary framework. The Fed highlighted the nation’s GDP drop by 32.9 percent in the second quarter. While Q3 growth is expected to be positive, that was... View Article

  • Tips for Retiring in the Next 10 Years

    Posted Date September 1, 2020 Posted Time 12:00 pm Published in

    The stock market continues to perform with relative resilience, despite the current economic decline. But to be clear, without 100 percent participation in the economy – in terms of small business job creation, consumer spending, and company growth and expansion – the stock market is apt to reposition prices to reflect slower growth. With no containment or control of the pandemic on the horizon, there is plenty of uncertainty associated with future financial planning. Anyone looking to retire in the next 10 years or so may want to take a fresh look at their current retirement income plan. In fact,... View Article

  • Five Ways to Manage Back-to-School Stress

    Posted Date September 1, 2020 Posted Time 12:00 pm Published in

    If you’re anxious about sending your children back to school, you’re not alone. In fact, a recent poll from ABC News/Ipsos showed that 45 percent of parents don’t want their kids in the classroom at all. But whether your kids are in school or learning at home, there’s still plenty of worry to go around. How do you cope? Here are a few suggestions from a variety of counselors and mental health professionals that can help. Express Your Feelings Noticing the anxiety that’s going on inside is half the battle – then let it out. “I would encourage parents to... View Article

  • How to Make the Most of Digital Marketing

    Posted Date September 1, 2020 Posted Time 12:00 pm Published in

    Digital marketing is not a new phenomenon. However, new realities imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic have highlighted the importance of digital marketing for businesses. Basically, digital marketing revolves around using digital channels to advertise. Such channels include mobile devices, search engines, social media, websites, email, and others to help reach consumers. The purpose is to create a relationship with potential online customers to influence their buying decisions. Why Digital Marketing For starters, with digital marketing, you are able to personalize your marketing and target your ideal audience. It offers the ability to target an audience based on location, age, preference,... View Article

  • Laws to Enhance Benefits for Service Members, First Responders, Veterans and to Restore National Parks and Public Lands

    Posted Date September 1, 2020 Posted Time 12:00 pm Published in

    A bill to amend the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act to extend lease protections for servicemembers under stop movement orders in response to a local, national, or global emergency, and for other purposes (S 3637) – This bill extends the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act to protect service members who were previously issued orders to change duty stations but had those orders rescinded because of the pandemic. A stop movement order may leave them with a housing and/or car lease in two different locations. This extension allows families who are unable to relocate due to pandemic-related travel restrictions to be released without... View Article

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