Pollution and the Pandemic
Fresno Financial Advisor News. At least one positive thing emerged from coronavirus lockdowns: A worldwide decline in carbon emissions. Satellite imagery revealed that roads less traveled and skies less flown yielded a remarkable reduction in air pollution. In China alone, carbon emissions dropped by 25% in just a four-week period.1 What’s interesting is the correlation […]
Coronavirus Silver Lining: Permanently Shorter Workweeks?
Fresno Financial Consultant News While technology and engineering advances have exponentially increased productivity throughout the past century, 40-hour workweeks are still the norm. Meanwhile, countless companies throughout the U.S. and the world have found that shorter workweeks make employees more productive. Studies show that a four-day week can boost productivity by as much as 40%. […]
Preparing for Potential Pandemics
Fresno Retirement Advisor News If you think the economic decline due to the pandemic has been difficult for you personally, the big picture numbers may be even worse. Analysts project that the total economic disruption could eventually cost between $9 trillion and $33 trillion. Many economists are advocating that the U.S. — and the world […]
What To Expect From the Payroll Tax Holiday
Fresno Financial Consultant News Christmas came early this year. Well, sort of. In an effort to provide financial aid to millions of Americans in dire economic straits, President Trump declared a payroll tax holiday between September and the end of the year. Available to workers who earn $104,000 a year or less, this means that […]
What to Expect: A New Term In Washington
Fresno Financial Advisor News Overview 2020 brought a very powerful pair of crises: A worldwide pandemic and the deepest recession since World War II. While most Americans have been affected in one way or another, the variance in impact on individual households is staggering — kind of like the way a tornado can demolish one […]
Americans and Their 401(k)s
Fresno Retirement Advisor News A recent survey found that working households experiencing financial strain due to the pandemic have not been inclined to make withdrawals from their 401(k)s to help make ends meet. In fact, the vast majority haven’t even changed their rate of contributions. Instead, these households are relying on the “old standbys” of […]
How to Pull Out of a Decline: Lessons From the Last Recession
Fresno Financial Advisor News Overview According to the National Bureau of Economic Research, the Great Recession that began at the end of 2007 was considered the worst in U.S. history since the 1930s. That is, until the coronavirus hit our shores. Some academics claim that the 2008 recession would have been much worse had Congress, […]
Retirement Planning in The New Year
Overview At this point, near-term retirees tend to fall into one of three categories: 1. You already have all the savings you need; you’re ready. 2. You’re on track to have all the savings you need by the time you retire. 3. You’re not on track and are worried about it. Regardless of which track […]
COVID Outlook: Economy, Finances, Health
Overview Compared to 2008, the current pandemic-induced recession is three times worse in terms of annualized gross domestic product (GDP) decline. Economists have urged Congress to pass additional stimulus legislation for unemployment benefits, forgivable loans to small businesses, aid to the travel industry and allocated funds to save local government jobs in the wake of […]
The Future of Retirement Planning
Fresno Retirement Advisor News As of the end of July, the stock market was still performing relatively well and the Federal Reserve had announced no near-term changes to interest rates.1 However, other economic news was not as rosy. According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the U.S. economy contracted by nearly a third (32.9% annual rate) […]