Additional Commentary from Allen B. Lang
Hello Summer,
By now almost all eligible citizens have received their “Survival Checks”. I call it Survival Checks simply because by the time they were sent out basic staple products had already risen 7-10%, or more. Gas was already up 10-20c per gallon, meats were up, poultry was up, etc., etc.. So the checks were just to keep people even. Well, that’s my assessment anyway.
The way our legislators are “throwing around” a Trillion here, a Trillion there, we’re soon going to be talking a lot of money. I just hope the printing presses don’t run out of ink.
Now that most isolation mandates have been relaxed, you can visibly see the economy is bouncing back and getting stronger. I am still holding to my 10-12% increase in GDP, AND, I might have to raise those numbers just from what I have been seeing in the last month. Stores have more traffic, people are out and about. Many companies have called their employees to come back to their offices rather than working from home. It appears that more than 55% of the adult community has received their COVID shots and those over 65 years of age are about 70% vaccinated.
The markets continue to be volatile with daily increasing of their ranges from up or down
100-200 points on the Dow Averages and 50 to 100 points on NASDQ, while S&P 500
is showing 20-40 point ranges. Given that volatility will continue, I truly believe the averages can move higher by year end by 10 to15%.
We review all portfolios at least weekly and make changes or recommend changes as
necessary. Right now I think we are in a good place while keeping a watchful eye on inflation and unemployment numbers. Looking forward to 2022, I am VERY cautious at this point. We’ll know more after 2nd and 3rd quarter earnings are reported and hopefully we will see signs of continued growth.
Stay safe and be well.
Submitted by,
Allen B. Lang
Senior Portfolio Manager
Atlas Wealth Management, LLC
