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Across the board, we’re seeing the capitalist principles of supply and demand both drive and curb U.S. economic activity. As more people have emerged from their hermit-like existence throughout the past year and a half, consumer spending is shifting from goods to services. For example, the services industry (e.g., restaurants, travel, hospitality) is on the…

This past August, close to 4.3 million Americans quit their jobs — the most ever in just one month (since the government began collecting data two decades ago).1 But there isn’t just one reason people are quitting their jobs. There are dozens. Some who had to juggle care for children or elderly relatives have chosen caregiving…

The general outlook for equities is positive toward the end of the year and into 2022. Stocks performed relatively well through the autumn earnings season and, as a general rule, the fourth quarter tends to be the best one for stock performance. While the coronavirus, labor shortages, supply chain issues and rising prices have presented…

It is interesting to evaluate how various economic events throughout time affect different demographics. For example, the 2007-2009 Great Recession saw higher losses in male-oriented jobs, such as construction and manufacturing. The pandemic-induced recession of 2020 was quite the opposite, affecting women to such a degree that the event spawned the term “she-cession.”1 There is…

Pew Research Center reported that in 2019, about 38% of adults ages 25 to 34 in the U.S. were not married or living with a partner, up from 29% in 1990.1 While marriage and even long-term relationships are growing less prevalent, the data shows that single people tend to be less financially stable than those…

In capitalism, all management, labor and profits are privately controlled. In a socialist economy, however, businesses are owned and run by the government, and the workers are employees of the government. The U.S. national health care system is run based on capitalist principles. However, the Veterans Affairs (VA) health care system is an example of…

You may have noticed higher prices on the things you buy regularly, like groceries and gas. However, many consumers may not realize that economic factors such as backed-up supply chains, extreme weather events, labor shortages/higher wages, and higher demand are not currently reflected in many consumer prices. Why is that? In some cases, merchants and…

America’s outsourcing of manufacturing (and jobs) has been a sore point for many years. But now that there are logistics issues due to the pandemic – costing U.S. companies money – there may be more incentive for reshoring in the future. Alas, some logistics planners are projecting that supply uncertainties, disruptions, and inflationary forces could…

The transition from growth to value and back to growth stocks often accelerated during the pandemic. Growth-oriented stocks usually outperform when the economy is on the rise. Therefore, growth stocks took the path of the coronavirus: They tanked during the lockdown, they rose again when the economy reopened and then stumbled again until vaccines were…

Some people have no trouble saving money — they stash away any cash they don’t need, and their account grows and grows. These people usually aren’t very materialistic and don’t have a lot of goals that require money to fulfill. That’s a wonderful trait, in some ways. However, there’s nothing wrong with setting up specific…