Is it possible for Target to make money from purchases made on-line at Walmart? The astounding answer is YES!
Four Thousand plus (4,000+) on-line retailers offer cashback to shoppers to entice purchases through their websites, including Target and Walmart. If your online store is a cashback provider, there is now a way to make money on purchases made at all the other online retailers offering cashback. Your store makes money on every purchase from all other participating retailers AND in the process creates an incentive for future purchases at your store.
How It Works?
In our Target example, this giant retailer could offer its on-line shoppers the “Target Cash Back Shopping App” with the headline, “Earn cashback from all your online purchases at Target and all other participating retailers, and leverage it for great buys at Target.” Using this approach, the cashback from purchases made at Target and all other retailers is held for future on-line purchases at Target.
Key Advantages?
A retailer that adopts the “cashback shopping app” will realize the following advantages:
Grow revenue – Retain a portion of shopper cashback to enhance profitability
Earn money – Every time your customers shop on-line with other retailers
Gather competitive information
Know what and when shoppers are buying at other retailers, and
How much they are spending by item and in total
Craft offerings – Based on shopper and competitive insights
Message – Communicate directly to shoppers via the app on special offers, etc.
Next Steps?
Every Retailer has unique branding and messaging. My firm works with your marketing and IT professionals to customize our app to the look and feel of your online presence. The app itself is built for an easy download on to your shopper’s mobile and desktop devices. The Retailer provides advertising to entice shoppers to join the program. Money is earned when on-line purchases are made through the app.
Phillip Davis
To learn more about the cash back shopping app. and the business opportunity it represents, contact Philip A. Davis at pdavishr@comcast.net or 678-977-5578.
Late last week the government reported that the U.S. economy created 1.763 million new jobs last month. The expectations had been for 1.48 million. It’s good to see the numbers going in the right direction.
These are huge gains in employment, but it comes after even larger losses. To be sure, the economy is a long way from where it was just six months ago. The unemployment rate is down to 10.2%. We’ve had recessions that peaked with lower unemployment rates. The number of unemployed people dropped by 1.4 million to 16.3 million. The labor-force participation rate is 61.4%, which isn’t as bad as I had expected.
Let’s look at leisure and hospitality, which is a crucial sector for the economy. Leisure and hospitality added 592,000 jobs in July. In May and June, the sector added 3.4 million jobs. That sounds impressive, but leisure and hospitality lost over 8.3 million jobs in March and April.
We had more good news for the jobs market on Thursday, when the jobless-claims report finally fell below one million. The number of folks filing for jobless benefits fell to 963,000. That’s the first time in 20 weeks it came in under one million. Economists had been expecting 1.1 million.
While the jobs market is better, there’s still a long, long way to go. We also saw strong CPI numbers, which surprised me a bit as the increases were the largest in years. Something to continue to watch.
We’re also seeing another move towards cyclical stocks. By this, I mean stocks whose fortunes are closely tied to the broader economy. When cyclicals do well, that’s often though, not always an early sign of an improving economy. Perhaps Wall Street is sensing that the economy will reopen sooner than expected.
An Important Message For Parents Of College-Aged Kids
For those of you like me who are sending their children back to college, there is an important step to take now more than ever as we live through this health crisis and want to protect our kids as much as possible even as they are moving away to a college campus.
For my readers in Georgia, the law states that a person who is 18-years or older is considered an adult. At this point, parents cannot legally access their medical or financial matters. To help make sure that parents can continue protecting their children while they’re away at college, it is a good idea to create two essential estate planning documents: a financial power of attorney and an advance directive for health care. For my readers in other states and other countries, it would be wise to check your state’s laws.
Financial Power of Attorney
A financial power of attorney is someone who is legally authorized to act on another person’s behalf. A financial power of attorney can help with money, real estate, or legal matters. If the student gets sick or becomes incapacitated, the parent with the financial power of attorney can make sure that any bills are paid, and any legal issues are handled appropriately.
If a student becomes incapacitated and they have not named a financial power of attorney, the court will likely appoint a guardian or a conservator to help with any financial or legal issues. That court-appointed individual may not necessarily be the student’s parent.
Advance Directive for Health Care
An advance directive for health care is a legal document in which a person lists their health care and treatment preferences. It puts their doctors on notice about medical decisions if they are otherwise able to communicate those wishes due to an injury or illness. Within the advance directive, a person can designate their medical power of attorney. If a college student designates their mother or father as their medical power of attorney, that parent can speak to their child’s doctor, look at any health care records, and make decisions about their child’s medical treatment.
If a student gets hurt or seriously ill without having an advance directive in place, there could be delays in making urgent health care decisions. If the parent is not named the medical power of attorney, he or she might have to petition the court in order to act on their child’s behalf.
While I don’t practice law, I have a great group of legal experts in my network to help answer your questions. If you want to discuss this further, feel free to contact me and I will do my best to help!
Kevin Garrett – Integrated Financial Group
My firm specializes in working with people that experience what we call “Sudden Income.” Typically the income came from one of these events:
1) Accessing and Managing Retirement Assets
2) A Performance Contract (Typically a Sports or Entertainment Contract)
3) Divorce Settlement
4) Inheritance or Insurance Payout
5) Sale of a Business or Stock Options
6) A Personal Injury Settlement
I believe the unique nature of these events requires specialized professional experience, empathy, and communication to deal with both the financial changes and the life changes that inevitably come with them.
My clients value my ability to simplify complex strategies into an actionable plan. They also appreciate that I am open, non-judging and easy to talk to about their dreams and fears. Each client defines financial success differently and my goal is to guide them from where they are now to where they want to be. As my client’s advisor, my goal is to provide them with a lifetime income stream, improving returns, protecting their funds and managing taxes.
Firm Specialties:
Retirement Planning For Business Owners & Executives
Woman’s Unique Financial Planning Needs
Professional Athletes
Investment/Asset Allocation Advice
Estate Planning
Risk Management
Strategic Planning
Kevin was listed in The Wall Street Journal as “One of the Financial Advisors In The Southeast That You Need To Know”
Kevin was listed in Forbes Magazine’s Annual Financial Edition as a Five Star Financial Advisor
Kevin has been awarded the FIVE Star Professional Wealth Manager in in Atlanta Magazine in 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017,2018 and 2019.
Award based on 10 objective criteria associated with providing quality services to clients such as credentials, experience, and assets under management among other factors. Wealth managers do not pay a fee to be considered or placed on the final list of Five Star Wealth Managers.
KEVIN GARRETT, AWMA, CFS
Integrated Financial Group
200 Ashford Center North, Ste. 400 | Atlanta, GA 30338
2020 is an election year, and as we get closer to November, I expect this to replace COVID-19 and the recession at the top of investors’ minds. The makeup of Congress may influence stock market performance, and how stocks and the economy perform prior to the election may forecast who will win.
THE MAKEUP OF CONGRESS IS VERY IMPORTANT
Although all election years feel different, 2020 no doubt may be one of the most unique election years ever. We have a pandemic, a deep recession, extremely heightened partisanship, a mail-in ballot controversy, an unpredictable president, and the oldest presidential candidate ever.
Amazingly, 1940 was the last time the S&P 500 Index was lower during an election year with an incumbent in the White House. Historically, when a president has been up for reelection, it has tended to boost stocks.
Stocks were down big in 2008-but President George W. Bush had finished his two terms. It isn’t about Republican or Democrat-it’s about incumbents trying to boost the economy and stock prices by the time voters go to the polls.
I’m often asked if stocks perform better under a Republican or Democratic president. I take a different view and point out that stocks have tended to do their best when we have a split Congress. Markets tend to like checks and balances to make sure one party doesn’t have too much sway.
When Republicans have controlled both chambers in Washington, DC, on average the S&P 500 has gained13.4% per year and gross domestic product (GDP) has grown 3%. When Democrats have controlled both the House of Representatives and the Senate, the economy did a little better, with GDP growth of 3.3%, while the S&P 500 was up 10.7% on average. Some of the best stock gains in recent memory took place under a split Congress. Stocks gained close to 30% in 1985, 2013, and 2019, all under a split Congress. The average S&P 500 gain with a divided Congress was 17.2% while GDP growth averaged 2.8%, again suggesting markets may prefer split power come November.
WATCH THE ECONOMY
History shows that the US economy has had major bearings on the presidential election outcomes. If there has been a recession during the year or two before the election, the incumbent president has tended to lose. If there were no recession during that time, the incumbent tended to win. Incredibly, the economy has predicted the winning president every year going back to President Calvin Coolidge, when he won despite a recession within two years of the election. But Coolidge inherited a recession when President Warren G. Harding passed away, and by the time people voted in November 1924, the Roaring ’20s had started to take hold, and the economy was strong again.
My analysis suggests the 2020 presidential race is still up in the air. If the economy continues to open up, a vaccine is on the way, and the massive stimulus continues to drive asset prices higher, President Trump’s chances may improve. A weak economy struggling to come out of recession and weaker markets would likely favor challenger former Vice President Joe Biden.
AND WATCH THE STOCK MARKET
Since 1928, the stock market has accurately predicted the winner of the presidential election 87% of the time, including every single election since 1984. It’s quite simple. When the S&P 500 has been higher the three months before the election, the incumbent party usually has won; when stocks were lower, the incumbent party usually has lost.
Think back to 2016, when virtually no one expected Hillary Clinton to lose-except for the stock market. Stocks were quite weak leading up to the election, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down nine days in a row. Copper (a President Trump play on infrastructure) was in the green a record 14 consecutive days.
POTENTIAL POLICY CHANGES
Markets tend to be volatile ahead of elections because of the uncertainty around possible policy changes. In this election, the stakes are particularly high for corporate America because a takeover of the Senate by Democrats and a possible Biden victory reportedly may lead to an increase in the corporate tax rate from 21% to 28% and unwind the corporate earnings boost the 2017 Tax Cut and Jobs Act delivered.
Other areas to watch that could impact markets:
* Tighter financial regulation could have some market impact.
* Healthcare should perform well regardless of the election outcome with “Medicare for All” off the table.
* Energy could be hurt by a potential blue wave, but prices may get support from lower production and higher production costs.
So in summary, as we get closer to the November election, how stocks and the economy are doing could be a big signal for who will win the election and be in office in January.
KEVIN GARRETT, AWMA, CFS
Integrated Financial Group
200 Ashford Center North, Ste. 400 | Atlanta, GA 30338
Phone | 770.353.6311
Email | kgarrett@intfingroup.com
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Your feedback helps me continue to publish articles that you want to read. Your input is very important to me so; please leave a comment.
I taught my grandsons there are only two places in the entire universe: “Here” and “There!”
When one would ask if I had seen his baseball glove, I would respond, “No, it’s not here. So it must be there!” They thought that was pretty neat and I would overhear them telling their brothers the same thing!
So as a business owner, you should know where you ARE – you have your numbers. But where do you WANT to be – say in 5 years? Where is your THERE?? What does it look and feel like? Why do you want to get there?
Having worked with hundreds of business owners domestically and internationally, I am always saddened to have a client tell me they don’t know or aren’t sure where they want to be in that time frame.
I remind them of what the Cheshire Cat told Alice, “If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will get you there!” But that “there” may not be the “there” where you intended to go!
No one disputes the necessity of planning, but the truth is that many business owners spend more time planning a vacation or a hunting trip than planning the future of their business.
I believe the primary reason is that the cares of the daily operation of the business choke out the priority of setting aside time to do the reflection necessary for a clear path forward. Stephen Covey wrote about the conflict in his seminal book First Things First, where he addressed the URGENT against the IMPORTANT.
In Quadrant I are the Urgent AND Important issues; these are the fires that have to be put out to keep the business running. Operational breakdowns, bad quality, customer complaints, delayed shipments, employee disagreements, and the list goes on!
Quadrant II is where the Important issues that are NOT Urgent reside. This is where ALL the important issues of life reside: date night with the spouse, attending the kid’s ballgame or dance recital, reading important literature, meditating/praying, planning, reflecting, taking care of our health. We all recognize the importance of these activities in our lives, but our spouse won’t divorce us if we miss a date night – – – the fires burn up our relationships.
The paradox of this is that the ONLY way to get control of Quadrant I is to camp out in Quadrant II! Do the planning necessary to PREVENT the fires in the first place!
Let’s be honest, charting the path for a business five years out can be a daunting exercise, but it is essential to arrive at our “There!”
Strategic planning is of paramount importance. If you would like more information, feel free to contact me for a FREE 45-minute “The Bridge to There” presentation in your operation. Get a high-level view of what your future path can be!
Ralph Watson
Ralph Watson has a varied and extensive career spanning 45 years of increasingly responsible positions in both sales and operations in a very diverse mix of industry specialties, including food processing, textile and apparel, financial services, and professional management consulting.
Ralph served as a Senior Executive Analyst with a number of international consulting companies focused on the family-owned, privately held market where he distinguished himself as one of the top analysts in a highly competitive field. In early 2014, he personally coached 10 businesses in Europe.
Ralph C. Watson, Jr. 404.520.1030
Thank you for visiting our blog.
Jim Weber – Managing Partner, ITB Partners
I hope you enjoyed our point of view and would like to receive regular posts directly to your email inbox. Toward this end, put your contact information on my mailing list.
Your feedback helps me continue to publish articles that you want to read. Your input is very important to me so; please leave a comment.
Stocks shook off the 5.9% S&P 500 Index drop a week ago Thursday by gaining three days in a row before fading a bit at week’s end. While researching and reading this week, two charts stood out to me that tell us quite a lot about how investors have reacted during this volatile market and what could be next.
Incredibly, nearly a third of all investors over 65 years old sold their full equity holdings. With stocks now back near highs, this is yet another reason to have a plan in place before trouble comes, as making decisions when under duress can lead to the exact wrong decision.
As shown in the above chart, according to data from Fidelity Investments, nearly 18% of all investors sold their full equity holdings between February and May, while a much higher percentage that was closer to retirement (or in retirement) sold. Some might have bought back in, but odds are that many are feeling quite upset with the record bounce back in stocks here.
Along these same lines, investors have recently moved to cash at a record pace. In fact, there is now nearly $5 trillion in money market funds, almost twice the levels we saw this time only five years ago. Also, the past three months saw the largest three-month change ever, as investors ran to the safety of cash. If you were looking for a reason stocks could continue to go higher over the longer term, there really is a lot of cash on the sidelines right now.
Stocks are Overbought
Last, I noted a few weeks ago that the extreme overbought nature of stocks here is actually consistent with the start of a new bull run, not a bear market bounce, or the end of a bull market. Adding to this, the spread between the number of stocks above their 50-day moving average and 200-day moving average was near the highest level ever.
Looking at other times that had wide spreads, they took place near the start of major bull markets. Near-term the potential is there for a well-deserved pullback, but going out 6 to 12 months, stocks have consistently outperformed historically.
About Integrated Financial Group
My firm specializes in working with people that experience what we call “Sudden Income.” Typically the income came from one of these events:
1) Accessing and Managing Retirement Assets
2) A Performance Contract (Typically a Sports or Entertainment Contract)
3) Divorce Settlement
4) An inheritance or Insurance Payout
5) Sale of a Business or Stock Options
6) A Personal Injury Settlement
I believe the unique nature of these events requires specialized professional experience, empathy, and communication to deal with both the financial changes and the life changes that inevitably come with them.
My clients value my ability to simplify complex strategies into an actionable plan. They also appreciate that I am open, non-judging, and easy to talk to about their dreams and fears. Each client defines financial success differently and my goal is to guide them from where they are now to where they want to be. As my client’s advisor, my goal is to provide them with a lifetime income stream, improving returns, protecting their funds, and managing taxes.
Firm Specialties:
Retirement Planning For Business Owners & Executives
Woman’s Unique Financial Planning Needs
Professional Athletes
Investment/Asset Allocation Advice
Estate Planning
Risk Management
Strategic Planning
Kevin was listed in
The Wall Street Journal as “One of the Financial Advisors In The Southeast That You Need To Know”
Kevin was listed in Forbes Magazine’s Annual Financial Edition as a Five Star Financial Advisor
Kevin has been awarded the FIVE Star Professional Wealth Manager in Atlanta Magazine in 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019.
Award based on 10 objective criteria associated with providing quality services to clients such as credentials, experience, and assets under management among other factors. Wealth managers do not pay a fee to be considered or placed on the final list of Five Star Wealth Managers.
KEVIN GARRETT, AWMA, CFS
Integrated Financial Group
200 Ashford Center North, Ste. 400 | Atlanta, GA 30338
Phone | 770.353.6311
Email | kgarrett@intfingroup.com
I hope you enjoyed our point of view and would like to receive regular posts directly to your email inbox. Toward this end, put your contact information on my mailing list.
Your feedback helps me continue to publish articles that you want to read. Your input is very important to me so; please leave a comment.
When the employment report for April is released this Friday, the economic damage from the deepest of the Coronavirus shutdowns will become clear.I am estimating that nonfarm payrolls will be down roughly 22 million versus March, and the unemployment rate will skyrocket to around 17.0%, the highest reading since at least 1948.
To put that in perspective, during the subprime-mortgage panic of 2008, payrolls declined 8.7 million over a 25-month period. Now, it looks like we lost almost three times as many jobs in just one month. The highest unemployment rate since the wind-down from World War II was 10.8% at the end of the 1981-82 recession. The jobless rate peaked at 10.0% after the Great Recession.
Unfortunately, I expect the unemployment rate to be even higher in May, and it is very difficult to believe that $2.5 trillion in government spending offset more than 50% of the damage. I hope I am wrong about that, but promising money to companies for payroll expenditures – but only having them able to open at 25% to 40% capacity – will not save many restaurants or bars.
While the economic damage is horrific, there are some positive signs. While 30 million workers filed for unemployment benefits in the past six weeks, those currently receiving benefits (what are called “continuing claims”) are up a smaller 16 million in the first five weeks of that period and will be up around 20 million for the full six-week period. Yes, that’s still awful, but it tells us that the Payroll Protection Plan and areas of actual job creation, such as online retailing and delivery services, are offsetting some of the damage.
This kind of job destruction will be accompanied by a very large decline in GDP. We’re estimating a contraction at a 30% annual rate in the second quarter. But everyone already knows that.
We won’t get that data until late July, and by then I expect the economy to be expanding, albeit from a low base. In fact, I’m already seeing some light at the end of the tunnel. During the week ending Saturday, May 2, 939,790 passengers went through TSA checkpoints at airports. That’s up 26% from the prior week and up 40% from two weeks ago. The amount of motor gasoline supplied has grown three weeks in a row, and is up a total of 16%. Hotel occupancy and railcar traffic are both up from a month ago. This high-frequency data will give a clearer read on the pulse of the economy as we gradually reopen, and is something I review weekly.
Anyone who ventures outside will notice more cars on the road and more activity, including in businesses that are still required to be closed to the public but are preparing for clearance to re-open. Many researchers are using cell-phone location data to track the movement of people. For example, Apple looks at “routing requests” on map applications. In mid-April, both walking and driving requests were down roughly 60% from January 13th. As of Saturday, walking and driving requests were only down 29% and 16%, respectively.
This recession will be brutal, the worst of our lifetimes. But it is not a normal recession, and it will also be short. Investors should keep in mind that, although the weeks ahead will be tough, there are better days beyond them.
Kevin Garrett – Integrated Financial Group
My firm specializes in working with people that experience what we call “Sudden Income.” Typically the income came from one of these events:
1) Accessing and Managing Retirement Assets
2) A Performance Contract (Typically a Sports or Entertainment Contract)
3) Divorce Settlement
4) Inheritance or Insurance Payout
5) Sale of a Business or Stock Options
6) A Personal Injury Settlement
I believe the unique nature of these events requires specialized professional experience, empathy, and communication to deal with both the financial changes and the life changes that inevitably come with them.
My clients value my ability to simplify complex strategies into an actionable plan. They also appreciate that I am open, non-judging, and easy to talk to about their dreams and fears. Each client defines financial success differently and my goal is to guide them from where they are now to where they want to be. As my client’s advisor, my goal is to provide them with a lifetime income stream, improving returns, protecting their funds, and managing taxes.
Firm Specialties:
Retirement Planning For Business Owners & Executives
Woman’s Unique Financial Planning Needs
Professional Athletes
Investment/Asset Allocation Advice
Estate Planning
Risk Management
Strategic Planning
Kevin was listed in
The Wall Street Journal as “One of the Financial Advisors In The Southeast That You Need To Know”
Forbes Magazine’s Annual Financial Edition as a Five Star Financial Advisor
Kevin has been awarded the FIVE Star Professional Wealth Manager in Atlanta Magazine in 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017,2018, and 2019.
Award based on 10 objective criteria associated with providing quality services to clients such as credentials, experience, and assets under management among other factors. Wealth managers do not pay a fee to be considered or placed on the final list of Five Star Wealth Managers.
KEVIN GARRETT, AWMA, CFS
Integrated Financial Group
200 Ashford Center North, Ste. 400 | Atlanta, GA 30338
Phone | 770.353.6311
Email | kgarrett@intfingroup.com
Website | kevingarrettifg.com
