The S&P 500 is up over 14% so far this year. But job growth is slowing and Trump tariffs are starting to drive up prices in numerous sectors. Is the economy heading for a fall? Are we nearing a market peak? Is this a good time to sell stocks? Investors ask themselves these kinds of…
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It seems that federal government shutdowns are becoming more frequent. Perhaps it’s a consequence of the decline of the collaborative process in a nation that’s becoming increasingly polarized politically. Whatever the reason, investors undoubtedly would like to know how the current shutdown might affect their portfolios. I wish I had the answer. But we can…
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The year 2021 might be remembered as the year of the incautious investor. Non-fungible tokens (NFT) and Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPAC) were all the rage, bitcoin ETFs were on the verge of breaking out, and everyone was buzzing about the unexpected price surges of GameStop and AMC Theaters, the two so-called meme stocks. In…
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A well-diversified investment portfolio should at least include bonds as well as stocks. And in the case of bonds, you will discover that there are more sub-asset classes than there are for stocks. Today I’m focusing on bonds issued by foreign governments. One of the challenges with those kinds of bonds is that as a…
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A number of readers of my previous article on Trump’s tariff war asked about the best places to invest during the current situation. Let’s explore the various stock markets and sectors to see which ones might make the most sense to take advantage of at this time. We’ll start with those areas that are most…
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You’re probably familiar with mutual funds. They are arguably the most common type of investment choice for 401(k) and other retirement accounts. But ever since the first exchange-traded fund (ETF) appeared in 1993, investments into ETFs have been steadily overtaking those into traditional mutual funds. Why is this happening? Are ETFs better than mutual funds?…
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