As of July 2019, the national savings rate in the U.S. is approximately 7.7% of household income, down slightly from 8.0% in June.* The rate has been steadily increasing since hitting its all-time low of 2.2% in July 2005. I am excited to see that people are starting to make wiser decisions when it comes to their finances; but when we look at other developed countries, we start to see the greater picture of our spending relative to some of our global neighbors. The countrymen of Switzerland store away 13.5% of their monthly pay. The French manage to save 14.94%. Our Mexican neighbors sock away 21% of their earnings. When it comes to savings, though, Asian countries put the rest of us to shame. Japan saves 34%, South Korea comes in at 34.6% and China tops the list at 36.10% of monthly personal household income being saved.*

In the words of the great Aerosmith, “Talk about things that nobody cares,” is precisely related to the title of this article and very aptly named after the band’s 1975 Top 40 hit, “Sweet Emotion.”

We’ve all heard the saying, “records are meant to be broken.” Early in the month of July, the various indexes, which measure the over-all stock market – the NASDAQ, the Dow, AND the S&P 500 indexes – all did just that!

The time this goes to print, the first round of the Democratic debates will have just concluded. I’m hopeful that a few leaders with great ideas and strategies have risen to the top of the list. Infrastructure, healthcare, Welfare reform, all need to be addressed and I’m excited for solutions to be presented. I’m also hopeful that a candidate emerges who isn’t focused on disincentivizing those who have made the American Dream a reality.

When it comes to stock market volatility, risk seems to start very slowly and then happen all at once. I’m sure you’ve heard friends talk about their investment accounts “taking the stairs up and the elevator down.” The decline we saw in the S&P 500 index* from October 1 – December 24, 2018 was fast and furious. The market was able to wipe out almost two years-worth of gains when it fell approximately 20% from peak to trough in just over nine weeks. If you’ve been investing over the past 20 years, you’ve been able to see two of the largest declines in stock market history. This leaves investors questioning, “when will the next big crash come?”

In December 2017, President Trump and his republican-held Congress passed a sweeping corporate tax reform bill lowering the corporate tax rate from 35% to just 21%*. This is a permanent decrease of corporate taxation that will remain in place until both houses of Congress pass a bill to increase it. They also cut income taxes on individuals in all tax brackets. This is good news in the short term, as we get to keep more of the money we earn and spend it on things we want. Taxes that were decreased on individuals, though, are scheduled to go back up, as those cuts have a “Sunset Provision” in 2026 and revert to the way they were, unless Congress acts to make them permanent.

So many investors are asking, “If the Democrats take back the House after the midterm elections, what’s going to happen to the markets and the economy?” Although I had to return my crystal ball to the store (because its past accuracy has been sketchy at best), I’d still like to offer my opinion. So, here are my guesses: