Insights

U.S. home prices continued to march higher. As Figure 1 shows, they have surged 13.2%. The 20-city index has increased slightly more as cities just out of the top 10, such as Phoenix, San Diego, and Seattle have experienced very rapid price appreciation. The annualized gains are in line wit …

Watch this webinar hosted by Carson’s Director of Retirement Research Jamie Hopkins to learn more about upcoming legislation could impact your financial plan.

S&P 500 earnings were expected to be strong and turned out to be phenomenal. When the final 5% of companies report, first quarter earnings are expected to have increased 51.9%. When the quarter began, earnings growth was expected to be less than 25%. Strong earnings from consumer discre …

 The U.S. economic picture is looking more muddled than expected. The Consumer Price Index rose 0.8% last week. Used automobile prices rose quickly in response to the semiconductor shortage limiting new car production and demographic trends boosting demand. Retail sales were expected to bui …

Watch this webinar hosted by Carson’s Director of Retirement Research Jamie Hopkins and Vice President of Insurance Matt Lewis to learn more about how life insurance should fit into your financial plan.

 The U.S. job market added only 266,000 jobs in April, missing expectations of nearly 1 million. March’s gain of more than 900,000 new jobs was revised down to 770,000. The data show the U.S. job market slowed rather than accelerated in April. The leisure and hospitality industry experience …

We put together a fact sheet “What You Need to Know About Insurance” to help you determine if you have the right insurance coverage for your and your family’s needs. We’ll look at life insurance, homeowner’s insurance, medical insurance and more to help answer your questions: What is it? Wh …

Life insurance can be confusing. It’s a protection tool for your family, but can also be an investment tool. Your beneficiaries get the payout when you die, but you can draw funds from it while you’re still alive.

 U.S. GDP surged an annualized 6.4% in the first quarter (Figure 1). Two rounds of government stimulus helped the economy climb within 0.9% of its all-time high. If expected growth is included, the economy remains 3.7% below pre-COVID trends. Personal income jumped 21.1% from February as a …

 S&P 500 earnings are exceeding elevated expectations. Before earnings season began, S&P 500 earnings were expected to grow 23.6% as businesses rallied from lower earnings during the COVID shutdowns from one year ago. Based on the first quarter of companies reporting, earnings are n …