Could Corporate Tax Cuts Mean More Jobs?
Given the possibility of a fall stalemate over federal budget negotiations, it is understandable that President Obama returned to his vision of a grand bargain...
Pension Questions After Detroit Bankruptcy
In the wake of Detroit’s fiscal problems, current and future pension recipients across the country are wondering about the stability and amount of their promised incomes.
8/12/2013 Weekly Economic Update
The big three all traded lower last week. The Dow went -1.49% to settle at 15,425.51 Friday, the NASDAQ went -0.80% to end the week at 3,660.11, and the S&P 500 went -1.07% to wrap up the week at 1,691.42.
8/5/13 Weekly Update
On Friday, the S&P 500 settled at 1,709.67 – its highest close ever – thanks to a 1.07% weekly advance. The Dow closed at 15,658.36 Friday, the NASDAQ at 3,689.59; they respectively gained 0.64% and 2.12% last week.
7/29 Weekly Update
While the S&P 500 lost 0.03% across five days last week to settle at 1,691.65 Friday, the DJIA (+0.10% to 15,558.83) and NASDAQ (+0.71% to 3,613.16) pulled higher. Gold settled at $1,321.70 on the COMEX Friday, oil at $104.70 on the NYMEX.
How Much Health Care Reform Will We See by 2014?
President Obama noted the possibility of “glitches and bumps” along the way to the ACA’s full implementation. They are evident now...
Weekly Update for 7/22/2013
A 0.71% weekly advance took the broad benchmark to 1,692.09 at the closing bell Friday – it had never settled higher. While the NASDAQ pulled back 0.35% last week to 3,587.61, the Dow wrapped up the week at a fresh high of 15,543.74 after a 0.51% gain across five trading days. The CBOE VIX settled at just 12.56 Friday.
7/15/2013 Weekly Update
Last Wednesday, Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke lifted stocks by noting that the U.S. economy needed “highly accommodative monetary policy for the foreseeable future,” adding that the current 7.6% jobless rate “overstates the health of the labor market.” Remarks like these didn’t exactly suggest the Fed would scale back its asset purchases soon. The June Fed policy meeting minutes showed...
How Impatience Hurts Retirement Saving
From 1993-2012, the S&P 500 achieved a (compound) annual return of 8.2%. Across the same period, the average investor in U.S. stock funds got only a 4.3% return. What accounts for the difference?
The FED Perturbs the Markets
On June 19, the Federal Reserve let investors know that “easing without end” will eventually end, perhaps as early as mid-2014. Wall Street had anticipated such a signal, but investors still reacted emotionally to the news, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average ceding all of its May and June gains in less than two market days. (The index fell 206 points on June 19 and 354 points on June 20.) Bears see the air quickly coming out of the rally; bulls think the rally will pause during the turbulence, then resume.
7/8/13 Weekly Update
1-year delay in health-care mandate, 195k more jobs in June, big gains in the market last week...
7/1/2013 Weekly Update
Q1 GDP revised significantly downward, great real estate numbers, solid week & quarter for equity markets
Where Did Inflation Go?
QE1 and QE2 did boost inflation in the short-term; in fact, one of the things that prompted QE2 was the Fed’s concern about deflation in 2010. Yet inflation has lessened since QE3 started.
Understanding the Markets
If you stopped most people on the street, you’ll find they have only a hazy understanding of what most financial and economic terms signify or reference. If you’ve ever been left dizzy by the jargon of the financial world, here is a brief article that may help clarify some of the arcana.
6/24/2013 Weekly Update
Last Wednesday, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke shared the central bank’s vision for winding down its current aggressive easing effort – the potential tapering of QE3 by late 2013, and the end of the program by mid-2014 if economic conditions permit. Wall Street reacted abruptly – the Dow sank more than 550 points in less than two trading sessions. In the near term, the Fed will keep buying $85 billion in bonds per month and maintain interest rates at near-zero levels.
6/17 Weekly Update
Economic headlines & outlook as well as weekly financial tip, quote & riddle - see if you can figure it out...
Living Longer - June "Outside the Box"
Ever wonder if there is a secret to happiness? Dan Buettner is a longevity expert who has long studied what it takes to live to be 100. Not surprisingly, he’s found that...
Weekly Economic Video Update for 6/10/13
Last week's news, interesting factoid about interest rates, what I'm watching this week...