2018 First Quarter Market Report Is the bull market finally over? For the first time in nine calendar quarters, the U.S. investment markets delivered a negative overall return. It was only a slight decline, but the decline reminds us that markets can and do go down from time to time. After starting the year strong, […]
Crytpo-Crash Last year, it was hard to turn on your computer without reading about the dramatic rise in cryptocurrency values, or see advertisements for ways that you, too, could participate in this get-rich-quick opportunity to buy virtual money that is backed by no government on Earth. It’s almost always the case that when an investment […]
Social Security, Where Budget Cuts Lead to Terrible Service These days, trying to apply for Social Security benefits, or getting straight answers about what your best claiming strategy might be, is frustrating at best. Recently, Max Richtman, president and CEO of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, illustrated the problem in vivid […]
Currencies and Protectionism There is no question, if the Trump Administration’s steel and aluminum tariffs lead to carefully-targeted tit-for-tat retaliations against American products around the world, the resulting trade war scenario would be terrible for the global economy. Many analysts have dismissed this escalating protectionist future as unlikely, saying that cooler heads are likely […]
The History of Bond Rates—Past as Prologue? Although stocks get the most attention, bonds are significant contributors, both to your total return on your portfolio, and also to the prices of every other investment. Bonds compete with stocks and real estate for investment dollars; when their yields are high, it causes a shift in demand […]
The Future of Retail Chances are you know there is a sea change going on in the retail industry. But you may not realize how far and how fast the online tide is rising. Singularity University founder Peter Diamandis invites you to recall the powerful retail networks created by Sears, J.C. Penney and Macy’s. Since […]
Uneven Erosion You’re routinely told that inflation is your worst long-term enemy to your financial health. Inflation gradually, slowly reduces the value of your retirement dollars, which is why, if your money sits in your mattress, it will buy less when you take it out than it did when you put it in. But inflation […]
IRMAA’s Rise Higher income retirees cannot be faulted for thinking that Washington has a hand in their pocket. In 2018, the Medicare Access And CHIP Reauthorization Act lowered the threshold on which Medicare recipients pay an income-related monthly adjustment amount (IRMAA) to their Medicare Part B premiums. Previous to this year, the highest premium kicked […]
Worker Wealth Decline You hear a lot about the so-called “trickle-down effect” that lower corporate taxes will trigger, and also a lot about the decline in wealth of the middle class of American workers over the years. A recent Harvard Business School report suggests that there HAS been an erosion in the income of American […]
Downturn for What? On Tuesday morning, Wall Street traders woke up to something they haven’t experienced much of lately: actual market volatility. One trader posted an image of his Bloomberg terminal at the market opening (re-posted here), which showed an immediate scary-looking plunge in U.S. equities as the opening bell rung. By the end of […]
