As of this afternoon, the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act had been passed by both the House and the Senate, but not yet signed by President Trump. Though President Trump is calling for some changes to the Act before he will sign, we wanted to address a summary of this bill that is over 5,500 pages and to highlight the areas that will impact a large percentage of our clients.
It's worth noting that the S&P 500 has marked 30 new closing highs this year and rallied 64% from its March low as of yesterday’s close. The technology heavy NASDAQ Composite has registered 50 new closing highs so far this year. I am not sure if that is a record number of new highs in a single year for that index, but it is certainly impressive. In addition, after years of lagging their large size peers, small company stocks tracked by the Russell 2000 index have reached nine new record closing highs year-to-date.
During the holiday season, scammers are hard at work attempting to steal anything they can phish out of us. Be on the lookout for fake shopping notices or shipping e-receipts. Scammers are sending messages via email and text that contain links to malware or phishing sites that are designed to steal our various account login information. Amazon, UPS and FedEx are commonly imitated in these scams.
The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) established by the CARES Act in March 2020 provided loans to eligible small businesses. If the borrower used the loan proceeds to pay certain eligible expenses, then the amount of the loan up to eligible expenses could be forgiven and the loan forgiveness amount would not be treated as taxable income to the borrower.
Recently the S&P 500 hit a new intraday high, which was driven both by some certainty around election results as well as optimism for a COVID-19 vaccine on the horizon. The morning after election day, it seemed fairly clear that the Republican party would maintain control of the Senate. Stock markets rallied after having been positioned for a “blue wave” of Democratic control that would have led to more sweeping reforms.
Usually by this time of year vacations are over, children and grandchildren are settled back into school, and the focus begins to shift toward the upcoming holidays. However, as we are all reminded daily, 2020 has been anything but an ordinary year. Many individuals find themselves asking what they should be doing right now to plan for the months ahead.
As borrowers approach the end of their 24 weeks for the Payroll Protection Program (PPP), the question “What do I need to do to apply for forgiveness?” goes through their minds. Many borrowers scrambled getting items put together to apply for the PPP loan because funds were limited, but they do not need to rush when applying for forgiveness. The borrower must apply for forgiveness within ten months following the end of the covered period of 24 weeks. If forgiveness is not applied for, loan payments will begin at the end of this 10-month period. Once forgiveness is applied for, the lender has up to 60 days to review the forgiveness application.
October’s positive uptrend in the stock market has been a welcome respite. As of yesterday’s close, October’s month-to-date performance of the S&P 500 has basically made up for September’s decline. On a total return basis, the index is up 9.4% year-to-date and has gained 18.5% over the past 12 months. That is impressive performance considering we continue to live under COVID-19 rule in a partially opened economy, and it is only 18 days from a contentious election between two radically different candidates.
It is hard to believe we are already in the fourth quarter of 2020. Usually by this time of year, vacations are over, children and grandchildren are settled back into school, and the focus begins to shift toward the upcoming holidays. However, as we are all reminded daily, 2020 has been anything but an ordinary year. We are in the midst of a global health pandemic. There is civil unrest across the country and we are approaching a presidential election with a close race between two individuals who are vastly different.
What a year it is has been so far, with the coronavirus pandemic throwing a wrench into our way of life. Social distancing from one another and wearing masks have become the new normal. Our nation has faced unprecedented times in terms of shutdown. Many businesses and schools have found themselves embracing technology in order to operate and move forward. Our government has taken several actions to provide relief to business and individual taxpayers, with the passing of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the CARES Act).