![Jill on Money [ Archive]](http://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59efbd48d7bdce7ee2a7d0c4/1510342916024-TI455WZNZ88VUH2XYCA6/JOM+Blue+and+White.png?format=1500w)
Late last week, we learned that the U.S. budget deficit widened to $984.4 billion in the fiscal year ending September 30, its highest level in seven years. The Trump administration and the Congressional Budget Office expect the deficit to rise over $1 trillion in the 2020 budget year, which began October 1 and the CBO estimates that the deficit will stay above $1 trillion over the next decade.
An administration in a seemingly constant state of chaos, escalating threats with North Korea, uncertainty over Iran, the potential unwinding of NAFTA, the dismantling of key components of the Affordable Care Act…and stock markets continue to rise. The MSCI World Index of large and mid-cap stocks from 23 countries hit an all-time high on Friday, as stock indexes in the US, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Germany, the UK and New Zealand all reached multiyear or record highs last week.
