Lawmakers will once again be in focus this week as they debate additional relief efforts to combat the economic mess COVID-19 has created. Statistics like the ones found in in the 2nd paragraph of the WMR certainly are driving Congress to act quickly again. Much of the debate will center around an extension of the $600 per week of federal funds for the unemployed. Very interesting is JP Morgan’s Weekly Market Recap’s “Thought of the Week” and corresponding “Chart of the Week” which dig into some of the economies of the initial federal unemployment relief package. Most are expecting the new bill to have some sort of function or formula to eliminate any disincentives the unemployed may have about returning to work. For certain, it will be a contentious debate in the halls of Congress.
No surprise to many, but many shrewd corporations have taken the incredibly low interest rates as an opportunity to issue bonds and raise capital for their businesses. Notable Number 1 tallies the bond issuances up for a record breaking amount.
The thought of getting audited by the IRS would make most of us feel a little uneasy, even if we were confident that our tax returns were perfectly accurate. While the IRS has reduced its workforce by about one-third over the last decade, it has invested heavily into technology which can mine your tax return for abnormal ratios and outlier situations. Those findings could result in a review by an auditor and potentially lead to an examination or collection scenario. Notable Number 4 details just how profitable the IRS’s efforts around examinations and collections have been.
As always, we hope you find this week’s Weekly Market Review both informative and interesting.
Click HERE for the Weekly Market Review
Click HERE for the J.P. Morgan Recap
Trevor N. Coe, CFP®