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Red was the primary color last week in all 5 major indices. The Dow Jones shed about 2%, but looking closer at the S&P Style Boxes, it was small caps that pulled back the most, and of the S&P Sectors were in the red. The Federal Reserve released its “Beige Book” last week. Like many, you might not know what that is although, it is published 8 times per year. Basically, it leverages mostly qualitative information about current economic conditions from each of the twelve Federal Reserve Districts. The September report focused on continued price increases with an emphasis on supply, shortages, sales and growth. The Beige Book data will lead into Friday’s reporting of the PPI (Producer Price Index). The PPI has set a new all-time high of 8.3% since the data has been tracked. This is well beyond the 2% inflation rate the Federal Reserve has set as a goal. However, there are other measures the Federal Reserve looks at as well. This week will provide more economic reports that will likely show more impacts of inflation. Have you planned and prepared for inflationary changes as a part of your financial planning and investment strategies? If you have, what are your assumptions? If not, you need to account for it now and in the future. At Leap Wealth, we include inflationary issues as a part of our planning and investment process. Contact us today to get started or just get a different opinion on what you are currently doing. www.leapwealth.com

Summer is officially over in a couple of weeks but with kids back in school or online, we are getting back into a routine. We are in the 3rd month of the 3rd quarter and seeing mixed results among the major indices. Last week gains were seen in 4 out of 5 indices with the Dow being lone negative. Pending home sales dropped 8.5% year over year, surprising analysts who thought it would be slightly positive. The Home Price Index marked its 3rd consecutive month of record setting gains as well. The Consumer Confidence report from last Wednesday did see the index reach a 6-month low, but Fridays lackluster payroll report seemed to let the wind out of the economic sails by not meeting expectations. The S&P Sectors ended mixed with Real Estate taking the lead, and now the top year to date performer of the sectors with a 2021 gain of 33.55%. At Leap Wealth, we leverage our Advance and Protect Strategy across multiple platforms and investments to help our clients build wealth. Stay tuned as we are ready to handle what comes our way. www.leapwealth.com

The weather is not the only thing that heated up last week. The S&P and a few other indices recorded more All-Time Intra-Day Highs last week. Emerging Markets rebounded significantly and returned to positive for the year erasing last week’s negative results. This was due in primarily the reopening of shipping ports and airports in China. Of the sectors in the S&P500, the largest gains were in Energy and Financials. Jerome Powell’s comments at the Jackson Hole Symposium were positive for equities, but treasuries dropped slightly. The Crude Oil market had a 10.2% increase due to the expected impact of Hurricane IDA which made landfall in the Gulf of Mexico on the 16th Anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. Even though Ida was a Category 4 and Katrina a 3, lessons learned from Katrina were certainly seen and the damage not as severe, although there were certainly disruptions. Our thoughts go to those who were impacted by this most recent storm. At Leap Wealth, we are positioned to help our clients manage through the market cycles but leveraging our Advance and Protect investment philosophy. Contact us to set up a convenient time to discuss your goals, what is important to you and learn more about us. Click here to learn more and schedule a time: www.leapwealth.com, we work with clients across the country, so geography is never an issue.

The Dog Days of summer are upon us. It wasn’t the sun that melted the gains from the markets last week although, all 5 indices fell with the Emerging Markets pulling back the most. With the Chinese economy making up almost 35% of the MSCI Emerging Markets Index, the issues going on in China have had the most negative impact. China has suffered multiple setbacks this year, shipping ports have closed due to Covid flare-ups and the Chinese government seeing to tighten rules on “unfair” competition. China is claiming unfair internet practices are impacting their economy. Energy was the biggest loser in the S&P500 sectors last week as oil prices have dropped to lower demand. OPEC has said it will maintain current output. The annual Jackson Hole FOMC Economic Symposium will be held this week, but online only. We are still on a roller coaster ride as we move through 2021. At Leap Wealth, our investment management process leverages a buy, hold and sell process in order to smooth out that ride. Contact us today to learn more. www.leapweatlh.com

The major markets ended last week divided between gains and losses. The indices spanning broader categories and sectors benefited from last week’s activity while the Tech centric NASDAQ and Emerging Market indices fell. The Economic Calendar saw a record 10.1 million job openings last week. Thursday’s Producer Price Index came in with a headline that captured economist’s attention. The 7.8% 12-month inflation number represented the highest reading since the index was recreated in 2010. The week was closed out with Friday’s University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index which dropped unexpectedly. The drop from 81.2 in July to 70.2 in August represents a 13.55% month over month decline in sentiment which took the index back to 2011 levels. The sudden drop in sentiment has only been surpassed three times in the last twenty years; two of which coincided with the Financial Crisis of 2008 and the governmental lockdowns at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic. At Leap Wealth Management, our advisors are well positioned to help you work through all the ups and downs of the investment markets, primarily focusing on every client’s specific needs and goals. Contact us today to learn more. www.leapweatlh.com