Business Margins Get Squeezed, Senior Loan Officer Survey & Motor Vehicle Sales Remain Strong

In this episode of the Planned Solutions Podcast, the recent increase in consumer prices has made headlines, but the larger increase in producer prices has largely been ignored. When producer prices increase faster than consumer prices, it puts downward pressure on business profitability. This could negatively impact business earnings reports, as it has in past similar periods, or it could lead to businesses passing on more of the commodity price inflation they are currently experiencing if they get to the point where they cannot eat the lion's share of the higher prices. A healthy economy requires access to credit for businesses that seek to expand and hire, and for consumers who may leverage future earnings to make large purchases now. Therefore, the health of the lending markets, as gauged by the Senior Loan Officer Survey, can offer some insight into the health of the economy and future trends that may improve or diminish the pace of economic growth.Two major industries in the US can be bellwethers of the pace of economic growth: the home-building industry and the motor vehicle industry. Currently, the motor vehicle is posting good results with the total value of motor vehicles and parts shipments up 9.5% year-over-year, reaching a record of over $73 billion a month. Despite high interest rates and increasing inflationary pressures, these good results may signal that the US consumer remains resilient. Plus, a look at the Planned Solutions Incorporated Office Bulletin Board - Planned Solutions had another two-day business development session with our business consultant, Lori Frasier. In an effort to grow smarter and to maintain the cultural aspects that have made us unique while continuing to add new people and scale, we have engaged Lori to make sure we are being intentional in the decisions that we make. The two-day session included a morning with Chase to review a Leadership Circle assessment (similar to a 360 leadership assessment) and discuss gaps in leadership skills as well as areas of strength that can be capitalized on. This was followed by an afternoon session with the Planned Solutions Leadership Team (Chase, Daryl, Joel, Shannon, and Katie) to review the progress thus far on key initiatives and how it can be communicated more effectively, and how to find efficiencies through scale rather than just growth. Finally, the second day involved the whole office and focused on naming and continuing Planned Solutions Core Values and how these values can be protected while still making room for growth and change. To subscribe to the Personal Finance Review (the written form of all the content we discuss on the podcast), please e-mail ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ ⁠ Planned Solutions, Inc.ADDRESS: 1130 Iron Point Road, Suite 170, Folsom, CA 95630 PHONE: ⁠(916) 361-0100⁠ or ⁠(800) 750-2111⁠E-MAIL: ⁠⁠[email protected]⁠m⁠ FAX: (916) 361-0191WEBSITE:⁠www.PlannedSolutions.com