• Quote of the Week
  

"The secret of getting ahead is getting started." - Mark Twain

• 4 Things To Know About Inflation

  
  Inflation is here, but to what extent? What exactly is inflation? Is it "transitory"? How do we combat it? These are some questions that are being asked more frequently, so Austin wrote about the topic in a recent blog post, and we will have more to come on this topic in the future. Check it out below!

• Traffic Ticks Up At Yellowstone

During a summer when hundreds of thousands of people traveled to National Parks, Yellowstone National Park set an August record when it hosted 921,844 recreation visits, according to park officials. The record comes on the heels of a milestone in July, when it received the most recreational visits (over 1 million) of any month in Yellowstone history, according to The New York Times. Grand Teton National Park, Glacier National Park, Zion National Park, and Arches National Park have also experienced record crowds. Yellowstone has hosted more than 3.5 million visits this year, a 40% increase from the same period last year. One thing I found as I was exploring this topic: Last year, three visitors were sentenced to two years' probation and banned from Yellowstone after they tried to cook a chicken in one of the thermal hot springs. That's one boiled chicken I would pass on!

• Intuit To Purchase Mailchimp

  
  On Monday, Intuit, the company that owns TurboTax and Credit Karma, announced it will be purchasing the email marketing company, Mailchimp, for $12 billion in cash and stock, according to CNBC. Intuit, which will be making it's largest acquisition to date, said it will use the acquisition to accelerate growth with small business clients. The purchase price of $12 billion will be the largest ever for a company that received no outside funding.

• Retail Sales Rose 0.7% In August

While retail sales were positive in August, it's notable because analysts were expecting a decline of around 0.7%. Retail sales are now up 15.1% versus a year ago. According to First Trust, 10 of 13 major categories were positive in August, with internet and general merchandise stores leading the way due to back-to-school shopping. The weakest category was automobiles, as supply chain issues continue to impact the industry. Sales are now up 17.7% versus February 2020, which was pre-COVID.

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