😧 Oh no. Higher taxes.

Earnings season is ready – are you? | Keep that economic support comin' | [TOGETHER WITH]( Hi {NAME}, here's what you need to know for April 14th in 3:08 minutes. 🌍 This is your world, major companies just live in it. So join the former UK CEO of UBS Wealth Jamie Broderick for [How To Become An Impact Investor]( on Thursday, and find out how you can make them play by your rules – not the other way round. [Get your ticket here]( Today's big stories - Analysts are expecting US companies to report their highest quarterly earnings growth in a decade - There's a big threat to your portfolio on the way, and it isn't inflation – [Read Now]( - Investors are worried the US Federal Reserve will do something hasty after the inflation rate hit its highest in eight years last month Great Scott! [Great Scott!] What’s Going On Here? Analysts are [expecting]( US earnings to have grown by the most in a decade last quarter, as American companies leave 2020 in the rear-view and finally get back to the future. What Does This Mean? It’s that time of year when investors find out how companies have been performing, and they’re expecting big things: analysts have raised their estimates for US firms’ earnings growth by [6%]( over the last three months. That record increase – more surprising considering analysts usually lower their expectations – could be because they slashed their earnings forecasts by too much at the height of the pandemic, or just because they’ve seen upward-trending economic growth expectations and adjusted accordingly. Either way, US companies are forecast to have grown their earnings by 25% on average last quarter – way above the 4% average of the past five years ([tweet this](). Throw in the fact that most companies tend to [underpromise and overdeliver]( anyway, and earnings growth will probably reach at least 28% – the highest in more than 10 years. Why Should I Care? Zooming in: All bets, please. Investors reckon companies in the [consumer discretionary]( sector – i.e. sellers of nice-to-haves, like carmakers and luxury goods companies – will post the biggest boost to earnings. Shoppers, after all, have needed something to spend their money on. Financial companies are projected to come in a close second, while energy companies and industrials – especially airlines – are expected to see their earnings drop. For markets: Look for the underdogs. Investors’ main aim during earnings season is to back companies that’ll beat expectations, but between sky-high share prices and ever-climbing growth forecasts, that’s easier said than done. Still, [consumer staples]( and utilities firms seem like a good place to start: not only are they the worst-performing US sectors this year, but analysts haven’t adjusted their expectations of them lately – making them the most likely to do something genuinely surprising.  You might also like: [Two ways to trade this one-of-a-kind earnings season.]( Copy to share story: [( 🙋 [Ask a question](mailto:questions@finimize.com?body=Ask us a question: Where are you writing from? Let us know and we'll mention it when we reply.&noapp=true&subject=Great Scott!&utm_campaign=daily-global-14-04-2021&utm_source=email) 2. Analyst Take Is This The Next Big Threat To Your Portfolio? What’s Going On Here? The massive US recovery plan is the [talk of the town]( right now, and investors seem pretty enthusiastic about it. But with the ratio of US public debt to the size of its economy already at an [all-time high](, one question looms large: where exactly is all this cash going to come from? The answer, it might not surprise you to hear, includes [higher taxes](. Goldman Sachs even estimates that [one mooted plan]( could reduce earnings of S&P 500 stocks by [9% on average]( next year – with a particular impact on the tech and healthcare sectors. At best, that could drive investors to take profits off the table. At worst, it could lead to [a stock market correction](. So that’s today’s Insight: what higher taxes might mean for your portfolio, and [three simple things you can do to protect yourself](. [Read or listen to the Insight here]( SPONSORED BY LIBERTEX So you want to get into CFD trading There’s no better place to do it than with [Libertex](. Libertex’s [simple but advanced platform]( offers a user-friendly interface, [top-notch trading tools](, and high-tech security protocols. You can deposit and withdraw cash instantly, fee free, and with any payment method, plus benefit from a host of perks including [VIP sponsorship experiences]( with Valencia CF and Tottenham FC. With 23 years in the market, [250 trading assets on offer](, 2.9 million clients worldwide, 120 countries covered, and 40 international awards, [Libertex]( provides the best possible [trading platform]( for anyone to #tradeformore. Get your CFD trading off to the right start: [get started with Libertex today](. [Get Started]( Disclaimer: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 83% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money. Please support our sponsors Look Alive [Look Alive] What’s Going On Here? Fresh data on Tuesday showed that prices of US goods and services rose at their fastest in eight years last month – and now investors are nervous the US central bank will pull the plug on economic support altogether. What Does This Mean? The US government stepped up its aid for American taxpayers last month, bringing the nation’s bank accounts back from the brink with some much-needed stimulus checks. So with more spare cash floating around, it’s no massive surprise that [inflation’s]( on the rise: prices [ticked]( up by a higher-than-expected 0.6% in March from the month before, and 2.6% from a year earlier – exceeding the Federal Reserve’s (the Fed’s) target. Plenty of economists are [expecting]( that figure to hit the 4% mark before long, and if it transforms from one-off spike to spiraling trend, there could be big problems ahead… Why Should I Care? For markets: Fed support isn’t going anywhere. The Fed’s been propping up the prices of stocks and bonds for more than a decade. So the last thing the central bank wants is a repeat of the “[taper tantrum](” of 2013, when the slightest hint it’d be reducing its support sent waves of panic through markets. That’s also why it’s now [insisting]( it won’t touch interest rates – the brakes of the economy – until US inflation averages 2% over a sustained period of time, not just a month or two. Those assurances don’t seem to have worked, mind you: the possibility of a taper tantrum topped a Bank of America [poll]( of investors’ biggest worries on Tuesday. The bigger picture: … until it does. One Fed official did show his hand this week, [saying]( that three-quarters of Americans would need to be vaccinated before the central bank would even think about withdrawing economic support. If nothing else, then, this week’s [hold-up]( of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine could buy inflation-anxious investors a bit more time to safeguard their portfolios. You might also like: [Why central banks have so much power over your portfolio.]( Copy to share story: [( 🙋 [Ask a question](mailto:questions@finimize.com?body=Ask us a question: Where are you writing from? Let us know and we'll mention it when we reply.&noapp=true&subject=Look Alive&utm_campaign=daily-global-14-04-2021&utm_source=email) 💬 Quote of the day “Believe those who are seeking the truth. Doubt those who find it.” – André Gide (a French author and winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature) [Tweet this]( 🌏 Finimize Events 😎 Don’t be a square Like a leather jacket-wearing badboy with an “IDGAF” attitude, NFTs are too cool for school right now. So join Eterna Capital’s Andrea Bonaceto on April 21st for [Are NFTs A Digital Bargain Or Bubble?](, and find out how you can become one of the in-crowd. Or don’t, y’know? Whatever, man. Investing’s just a concept. 😎 [How To Become An Impact Investor](: 4pm UK time, April 15th 🔥 [The Three Most Important Trading Signals](: 6pm UK time, April 20th 👩‍🎨 [Are NFTs A Digital Bargain Or Bubble?](: 2pm UK time, April 21st 💡 [Investing In Small Stocks](: 6pm UK time, April 21st 🏡 [The Pros and Cons Of REITs And Real Estate](: 1pm UK time, April 22nd 📈 [How To Inflation-Proof Your Portfolio](: 6pm UK time, April 22nd 🚀 [Space: The Final Investment Frontier](: 6pm UK time, April 27th 💰 [Crowdfunding Club](: 1pm NYC time, April 28th 🛢 [The Energy Sector’s New Direction](: 4pm UK time, April 29th 🔪 [How To Cut Through The Spin](: 6pm UK time, April 29th 👋 [Live Q&A With CEO Max Rofagha](: 1.30pm UK time, April 30th 📚 What we're reading - You don’t have to love what you do ([In These Times]() - How to save a planet ([Noema]() - Plans change, but ads don’t ([Wired]() ❤️ Share with a friend Your Referrals: 0 Thanks for reading {NAME}. 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