LifeSteps Financial Market Update | December 2019
Looking Back at November
The U.S. stock market had some nice gains during the month of November. However, economic data was mixed. Manufacturing was slightly weakened throughout the year. Consumer and service sectors remain strong. (Black Friday and Cyber Monday exceeded previous online records.) And, because global manufacturing has weakened, several Reserve Banks outside of the U.S. have engaged in additional fiscal easing.
Looking Ahead to December
The U.S. economy continues to grow at a nice pace. Wages are beginning to move up and consumer sentiment remains very strong. It looks like this holiday season will experience another increase in consumer spending.

We expect to see the U.S. stock market continue to drift upward for the remainder of the year.

The market is being helped by a relatively stable interest rate environment. And, we believe that the market will continue to drift higher because many Money Managers who have cash sitting on the sidelines will feel pressure to invest it before the end of the year.

As we move into next year, we expect the U.S. economy continue to move in a positive direction. We also believe that global growth will begin to pick up as well. There are a few geopolitical events that could trigger a downturn, like the addition of new tariffs or some other type of catastrophic unforeseen event.
Our View
We continue to look positively at the U.S. economy. We are also mindful that slowdowns in the global economies could begin to impact our economy and stock market. We anticipate that the global markets will continue to have geopolitical uncertainty.

As we look forward to 2020, we will be adjusting some of our portfolios to reflect a more conservative, less risky allocation. We feel that it is important to move away from trying to trade around short-term moves. Rather, we believe in focusing on the long-term, remaining disciplined.
If you have any questions, please contact us.

Regards,

Henry Ford

LifeSteps Financial       
This report is for information purposes only and is not a recommendation for any particular security. Mention of individual securities should not imply that we own the security or have owned it in the past. In addition, the information provided here should not form the basis for investment decisions. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. This information should not be used in any transaction without the advice and guidance of your Tax Professional. LifeSteps Financial has not independently verified, or attested to the accuracy or authenticity of the information, including any investment performance measurement.
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