Today's Cheat Sheet is brought to you by Web Success Agency:
http://websuccessagency.com/

 

Most US financial markets closed today what’s next?:

Bottom Line:  The stock market and most related financial markets (all out of New York) are closed or will be by noon today.  The bond market will open as usual today and will be closed at noon.  The commodities markets are closed…  And those markets are just part of the story. 

We’re still in earnings season and most companies that were set to report earnings are now postponing earnings until the stock market reopens.  That sets us up for a potentially frantic situation in the financial markets at whatever point they do reopen. 

http://www.cnbc.com/id/49589936

 

Biggest hack attack on a state yet – what you need to know:

Bottom Line:  This is a hack attack nightmare.  If you filed a tax return in South Carolina from 98 to present this is a very real situation for you.  The State of South Carolina was hacked by a foreign entity and more than 3 million Social Security numbers were compromised.  The state is offering credit monitoring free for a year for all of those affected but that’s not going to solve this situation for those compromised.

While hopefully this is isolated to South Carolina, we can’t take for granted the prospect that it isn’t.  Authorities still don’t even know where it came from specifically let alone finding the right way to combat it from happening again.  This is why it’s so important to have protection in advance of an attack if you can afford to do so.

Without protection not only would you likely go for a longer period of time without knowing your Social was stolen – you’d be on your own now trying to figure out what to do.  A good ID protection service has personnel in place to guide you through the process and lawyers available to defend your situation (and advise it if needed).  In a serious situation it’s the closest thing to peace of mind you can have.

http://gizmodo.com/5955367/hackers-just-stole-over-3-million-social-security-numbers

 

Economic impact of Sandy:

Bottom Line:  By the time Sandy has finished spinning its way through the north east the following will have occurred:

  • 33 of the entire U.S. population will have been impacted directly
  • 10% of all retailers will have been directly impacted by this storm
  • 100% of all storm insurance policies will be impacted

The first two points are a lot to consider and certainly will have a direct economic impact to our economy.  I want to drill down on the last though. 

In recent years the numbers of re-insurance companies (the companies that insure your insurance company) have been dramatically reduced as the numbers of catastrophic events have mounted.  The net effect is that we don’t have to be directly hit by a storm to have our insurance premiums rise in cost as a result.

With storms like Sandy, you’ll have the cost of re-insurance that is charged to your insurance company rise.  Your insurance companies will then turn around and ask for an increase the following year.  In some cases if they don’t get the increase they think they need to remain profitable, they’ll pull out of the state (we’ve seen that too). 

http://www.cnbc.com/id/49587601

 

If you’re flying this week – check in advance:

Bottom Line:  By now you certainly know that any flights to the north are likely cancelled but you may be surprised by many others that are affected.  For example cancellations out of Palm Beach International at the time of this posting are:  Chicago, Oklahoma City, San Antonio.  Not cities that have to worry about Sandy but cancelled nevertheless.  We’re experiencing the systemic effect of planes that can’t fly out of the northeast not being available for those flights. 

The net of it all is that before you fly anywhere this week you should check in advance to ensure your plane is actually still scheduled to fly to your intended destination. 

http://www.pbia.org/guide/departures.aspx

 

Fiscal cliff equals 11%+ unemployment:

Bottom Line:  Last Friday I saw a report from an economist that was suggesting 12% unemployment rate if we do go over the “Fiscal Cliff”.  That caught my attention.  So I went searching for more information on estimates for unemployment if we were to go over the cliff.  The survey says… 11%.

So two months from now we are actually set to go over the cliff and the estimate if we do is a 33%-50% increase in unemployment if we do according to conventional wisdom.  83% of economists don’t think that will happen but I certainly know we’re not ready for it as a country if we do. 

Keep in mind that at the peak of the recession 3-4 years ago we had unemployment peaking just around 10%.  This would be considerably worse than that situation was at its worst.  I do not want to cause you to worry or panic, but it literally takes an act of Congress and the President for this not to happen.  That’s not exactly comforting to me.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2012/10/27/gdp-business-spending/1660881/

 

All versions of iPad Mini sold out for initial delivery:

Bottom Line:  The demand for the new Mini iPad has been intense to say the least.  We had an early indication after the announcement that it would be a hit and the pre-orders didn’t disappoint.  All Mini iPad’s available for 1st day delivery (Nov. 2nd) are now sold out.  Some cynical people might argue small supplies to create that effect without strong demand but that’s not been the case.  Just as Apple can’t make the iPhone 5  fast enough to keep up with demand, Apple has been pumping out new products as fast as they can.

http://allthingsd.com/20121026/so-what-was-that-you-were-saying-about-the-ipad-mini-being-too-expensive/?reflink=ATD_yahoo_ticker