00:00:00
I'm back from my honeymoon to Costa Rica
00:00:02
with my beautiful bride. So, let's get
00:00:04
back to work. This video is going to
00:00:06
highlight some of the biggest things
00:00:07
that have happened in the last week or
00:00:09
so. And there's been a lot of things
00:00:11
that happened while I was gone. And
00:00:12
there's going to be a lot of things that
00:00:14
are going to continue to happen in the
00:00:16
next week or two. So, I'm going to give
00:00:17
you all the highlights of what happened
00:00:19
this past week, what's coming up, all
00:00:22
the dates to consider, and a bunch of
00:00:24
things that are about to move the stock
00:00:25
market in July. This week's postponement
00:00:28
of the July 9th US tariff deadline to
00:00:31
August 1st, along with pressure to get
00:00:33
more deals done by then was obviously
00:00:36
the biggest piece of news. But come on,
00:00:39
who didn't see that coming? So, first
00:00:41
up, let's talk about this big beautiful
00:00:44
bill Roth IRA stuff. Recently, a number
00:00:47
of YouTubers and bloggers have come out
00:00:49
with some information breaking down the
00:00:50
bill, but none bigger than Andre Jack.
00:00:53
When I heard what he had to say, it
00:00:55
definitely piqued my interest. And so I
00:00:57
did my own digging. It's always
00:00:59
important for you to do your own
00:01:01
research. And I'll show you what I
00:01:03
found. But first, this is what he said.
00:01:05
Now, this bill also has some major
00:01:07
changes to the Roth IRA by 2026. And
00:01:11
this is super important. Right now, you
00:01:14
know that if you make too much money to
00:01:15
contribute to a Roth IRA, there's a
00:01:17
loophole. You can just contribute to a
00:01:19
traditional IRA and then convert it to a
00:01:21
Roth. A lot of people I know do this and
00:01:23
it's totally legal, but not for a lot
00:01:26
longer because starting in 2026, this
00:01:29
bill will get rid of the backdoor Roth
00:01:32
IRA strategy completely. That means no
00:01:36
more after tax IRA conversions. If
00:01:39
you've been doing that trick every year
00:01:41
to build tax-free income in retirement
00:01:44
with a backdoor or even a mega backdoor
00:01:46
Roth IRA, you might want to start
00:01:48
looking at other options right now. And
00:01:50
there's two reasons why they're doing
00:01:52
this. First, it raises tax revenue. And
00:01:55
second, lawmakers say that this loophole
00:01:58
mainly benefits wealthy people and
00:02:00
wasn't really what Roth IAS were
00:02:02
intended for in the first place.
00:02:04
So, after hearing that, obviously that's
00:02:05
a huge deal and that's something that
00:02:07
definitely affects me as I do the
00:02:09
backdoor Roth IRA. So, I went ahead and
00:02:11
dug a little further and here's my
00:02:13
findings. The spoiler alert here is that
00:02:15
there is absolutely nothing in the big
00:02:17
beautiful bill as of right now that
00:02:20
actually says that they're going to get
00:02:21
rid of this backdoor Roth IRA. But there
00:02:24
are some stipulations and some things as
00:02:26
to what it might include. And that first
00:02:28
one is eliminating the backdoor Roth for
00:02:31
high earners. Proposed restrictions may
00:02:34
ban Roth conversions of after tax IRA
00:02:37
contributions for individuals earning
00:02:39
above a certain income threshold like
00:02:42
400,000 or above. Similar to what was
00:02:45
proposed in the original build back
00:02:47
better act in 2021. Number two is the
00:02:50
possible elimination of mega backdoor
00:02:52
Roths. The mega backdoor Roth done via
00:02:56
after tax 401k contributions and inplan
00:02:59
or inservice Roth conversions may also
00:03:02
be limited or banned. Number three is
00:03:04
one of the ones that actually could
00:03:06
happen, but I'm interested to see how it
00:03:08
might happen, but these are new taxes on
00:03:10
Roth conversions. Some versions of the
00:03:13
proposal have floated additional taxes
00:03:15
or waiting periods for converting
00:03:17
traditional to Roth IAS. potential five
00:03:20
or 10-year holding requirements or new
00:03:22
sir taxes may apply depending on income
00:03:25
level. All this being said, this is
00:03:27
basically just speculation and nothing
00:03:29
is actually saying yes, absolutely we're
00:03:32
going to be cutting out the backdoor
00:03:35
Roth IRA. Also, the bill still has to
00:03:38
fully pass. And even then, again, it
00:03:40
doesn't say anything about killing off
00:03:42
the backdoor Roth. The day after Andre
00:03:44
Jack posted his video, he actually
00:03:47
amended the video with this pinned
00:03:49
comment. He said that he confused a
00:03:51
piece of the bill with the Build Back
00:03:52
Better document from 2021. He wrote,
00:03:55
"Correction, backdoor Roth IAS are
00:03:58
unaffected. The loophole is not going
00:04:00
away." So, what should you do now with
00:04:02
this information? Basically, just keep
00:04:04
doing what you're doing. Nothing's
00:04:06
changing yet, but do understand even if
00:04:08
the big beautiful bill doesn't have this
00:04:10
in it, maybe some other bill down the
00:04:13
road might have it. I believe the Roth
00:04:15
IRA is the most powerful tool in
00:04:18
investing and actually saving with that
00:04:20
tax-free wealth building. So, here's
00:04:22
some quick plan B options if backdoor
00:04:24
Roths are banned. You can max out your
00:04:26
Roth 401k contribution if your employer
00:04:29
offers one. contribute to taxable
00:04:31
brokerage accounts using a taxefficient
00:04:33
ETF or index strategy. You could also
00:04:36
consider municipal bonds, health savings
00:04:38
accounts, or life insurance retirement
00:04:40
plans for tax advantaged growth. Now,
00:04:42
that was a huge thing that could affect
00:04:44
all of us as investors. I also quickly
00:04:47
have the sparknotes version of the top
00:04:49
five things that I got out of the big
00:04:51
beautiful bill. So, let me highlight
00:04:53
that real quick for you. One big thing
00:04:55
was that it stimulated startup funding
00:04:57
and venture capital activity. The
00:04:59
housing market in high tax states may
00:05:02
get a lift from the salt relief. EV and
00:05:05
clean energy sectors face short-term
00:05:07
setbacks. Health care providers and
00:05:09
low-income households face budgetary
00:05:11
pressure. Educational equity debates may
00:05:15
intensify as voucher incentives scale.
00:05:17
Despite aiming to support working
00:05:19
families, the bill's generous benefits
00:05:21
for investors and wealthy taxpayers,
00:05:24
paired with cuts in social programs,
00:05:26
have drawn criticism, even from figures
00:05:29
like Elon Musk, who argue it furthers
00:05:31
inequality and could harm long-term
00:05:34
growth. My thoughts are, let's just wait
00:05:36
and see what actually happens. This
00:05:38
thing has to pass, and even then, there
00:05:40
could be some changes or some
00:05:42
amendments. Let's see what actually
00:05:44
happens before we start freaking out.
00:05:46
But it is good for you to assess what's
00:05:48
the most important thing for you in your
00:05:49
investing strategy and make sure you
00:05:52
keep going towards that goal. Okay,
00:05:54
let's go over some key dates that you
00:05:56
need to know coming up here in July and
00:05:58
then I'll give you the highlight quick
00:06:00
version of the biggest news that moved
00:06:02
markets over the last 2 weeks or so and
00:06:04
what's going to be happening next week.
00:06:06
So key dates in July, July 14th through
00:06:09
18th is the US consumer price index CPI
00:06:12
and bank earnings. July 15th
00:06:14
specifically is CPI for June, including
00:06:17
Headline and core inflation. Early in
00:06:19
that week, we have major bank earnings
00:06:21
kicking off, including JP Morgan and
00:06:24
Bank of America. On July 16th, we have
00:06:27
the PPI for June. On July 17th, we have
00:06:30
retail sales from June and the
00:06:32
Philadelphia Fed index. The big one is
00:06:35
July 30th and July 31st with the FOMC
00:06:39
meeting and the second quarter GDP
00:06:41
advance report. On July 30th, the Fed
00:06:44
sets the new federal funds rate outlook
00:06:46
at 2 p.m. Eastern time. And the same day
00:06:49
that morning, the second quarter US GDP
00:06:52
advanced reading. expect whatever
00:06:54
happens July 30th and July 31st and
00:06:57
those types of things that come out of
00:06:58
that meeting and what's actually
00:07:00
announced to the public to really be a
00:07:03
telltale sign to see what's going to
00:07:04
happen with the Fed rates, which I don't
00:07:07
think they're going to change in July,
00:07:09
but a lot of people do think in
00:07:11
September we're going to see that first
00:07:12
rate cut. So, some key market events in
00:07:15
the past two weeks. Number one,
00:07:17
Bitcoin's at an all-time high. Bitcoin
00:07:19
topped $118,000
00:07:22
per coin as institutions continued
00:07:24
piling into Bitcoin ETFs. On Thursday,
00:07:27
Bitcoin ETFs logged their biggest day of
00:07:29
inflows of 2025 at $1.18 billion.
00:07:35
Ether ETFs recorded their second biggest
00:07:37
day of inflows ever at $383.1
00:07:40
million according to SOS so Value. For
00:07:43
the week, Bitcoin's on track for a
00:07:45
nearly 10% gain and its best week since
00:07:48
April 25, while Ether's up more than 21%
00:07:52
heading for its best week since May 9th.
00:07:55
Number two is all about the tariffs. 35%
00:07:58
tariffs on Canadian imports, plus 50% on
00:08:02
Brazilian goods, 50% on copper, and 200%
00:08:05
on pharmaceuticals. All set for August
00:08:08
1st. President Trump sent letters to 14
00:08:12
trading partners with similar threats.
00:08:14
This reignited trade tensions. Markets
00:08:17
briefly pulled back from record highs
00:08:19
with the S&P 500 dipping 3% and the Dow
00:08:23
losing 6% on July 11th. However, many
00:08:26
investors expect the threats won't
00:08:28
stick. What's dubbed the taco trade.
00:08:31
Still, analysts warn that this strategy
00:08:33
is becoming riskier. Number three, Fed
00:08:36
policy and inflation signals. JP
00:08:38
Morgan's Jamie Diamond warned markets
00:08:40
are ignoring a rising chance like 40 to
00:08:43
50% the Fed may hike rates again, citing
00:08:47
inflation from tariffs, fiscal deficits,
00:08:49
and demographic shifts. The Fed minutes
00:08:52
in June showed ongoing debate on future
00:08:54
cuts. Officials expect two rate cuts by
00:08:58
year end, though tariff related
00:08:59
inflation could delay them. And this has
00:09:02
kind of been the story this whole year.
00:09:04
were supposed to have rate cuts coming
00:09:06
up, but maybe not. And now they're even
00:09:09
talking about possibly increasing the
00:09:11
rates, which I don't think is going to
00:09:12
happen there either. So again, this is
00:09:15
like a wait and see situation. Number
00:09:17
four is huge in AI, and this is Nvidia.
00:09:20
Nvidia reached the $4 trillion market
00:09:23
cap, rallying the NASDAQ multiple times
00:09:25
this past week. Other AI themed techs
00:09:28
also propelled markets even as trade
00:09:30
concerns simmered. that tech space is on
00:09:32
fire. But be very, very careful. This is
00:09:35
the time where a lot of people FOMO in
00:09:37
because they don't want to miss it and
00:09:39
they think that, okay, everything's
00:09:40
good. There's the green light now. But
00:09:42
this is the time statistically that most
00:09:45
people actually lose the most amount of
00:09:46
money when they're buying in at the top,
00:09:48
like the tiptop. This is for sure the
00:09:50
riskiest time to get into those specific
00:09:53
investments. So, make sure and do your
00:09:54
research there. Number five, asset flows
00:09:57
and global rotation. Despite tariff
00:10:00
worries, US equities remain up 6%
00:10:03
year-to date, while international
00:10:05
markets like MSCI, EF, and emerging
00:10:08
markets have outperformed in quarter 2.
00:10:11
Investors are rotating into bonds and
00:10:13
foreign stocks with some capital exiting
00:10:16
US markets. The VIX fear index, VIX, hit
00:10:20
a fivemonth low on Wednesday, while the
00:10:23
bond market equivalent, MOVE, is near
00:10:26
its lowest for the year. It's all so
00:10:28
interesting this year. Honestly, this
00:10:30
has been super fun taking my university
00:10:32
students through this historical time
00:10:36
that we're kind of going through right
00:10:37
now with the market shifting so heavily
00:10:40
with these policies and things coming
00:10:42
out of the White House and then what's
00:10:44
going on with the Fed. It's just pretty
00:10:46
cool to show them that all of this is
00:10:48
connected and the market is definitely
00:10:50
emotional. People were freaking out
00:10:52
thinking that the USA was never going to
00:10:54
recover and that literally this crash
00:10:56
could be the biggest crash in our
00:10:58
lifetime. And that was literally about
00:11:00
three months ago and now we're
00:11:01
surpassing all-time highs pretty much
00:11:04
everywhere in every part of the market.
00:11:06
I do think that we have a couple of dips
00:11:08
coming our way. So stay tuned and I will
00:11:11
keep you informed. For now, watch either
00:11:13
of these two videos. Keep you going
00:11:15
strong in your investing journey. And
00:11:17
remember to keep investing simplified.