You read a lot about job creation and governmental policies, especially in this era of lingering, lagging economic growth, especially from political figures who are hoping to get elected based on their policy prescriptions. Republican candidates like to talk about the growth of jobs during Ronald Regan’s presidency, while Democrats tout the presidential terms of […]
In case you hadn’t noticed, the S&P 500 index reached record territory yesterday, and the Nasdaq briefly crossed over the 5,000 level before settling back with a more modest gain. At 2,137.6, the S&P 500 finished above the previous high of 2,130.82, set on May 21, 2015. We’ve waited more than a year for the […]
The Next Big Thing to Worry About that you’ll soon be reading about in the financial press is Italian banks. Some Italian banking stocks fell more than 30% after the Brexit vote on fears that the Eurozone will experience weaker-than-expected economic growth. Worse: the Italian banking system now reports that nearly $400 billion worth of […]
Before there was “Brexit” there was another painful economic divorce, when the British citizens of the American colonies decided to “Amexit” the British Empire in the 1770s. The Economist magazine took statistics from that era, including long-term government bond yields and stock prices, to see what the “Amexit” shock looked like from an economic standpoint […]
In the wake of the so-called “Brexit” vote in the United Kingdom, and the possibility (though not the certainty) that the U.K. will leave the European Union, you’re likely reading a lot of alarmist stories about the vote’s impact on the U.S. and your portfolio. Don’t believe half of what you read. Here are some […]
It certainly feels like we’re in a bear market, what with the surprising “Brexit” vote in the UK, the dismal first few days of the year and increased volatility across the board. So it may come as a surprise that the second quarter of 2016 eked out small positive returns for many of the U.S. […]
The joke among futurists is that flying cars are 20 years in the future and always will be. But a company called AeroMobil has recently demonstrated an elongated, road-ready flying vehicle with stowable wings that can navigate both city traffic and the airspace between landings and take-offs from the world’s airports. Meanwhile, a company called […]
The White House Council of Economic Advisers has released a report showing a long-term decline in the share of American men ages 25-54 who are participating in the labor force (see first chart), to the point where the U.S. now has one of the lowest male labor force participation rates in the world (see second […]
Tracking the performance of your investments can get confusing, due to the various ways of calculating returns. Whether you prefer to use a calculator or spreadsheet software, the following discussion will help you use and calculate common measurements of investment performance to truly judge your investment results. Determining Rate of Return Probably the most basic […]
Yesterday’s vote by the British electorate to end its 43-year membership in the European Union seems to have taken just about everybody by surprise, but the aftermath could not have been more predictable. The uncertainty of how, exactly, Europe and Britain will manage a complex divorce over the coming decade sent global markets reeling. London’s […]
