Tariff announcements and projections are producing an outsize impact on equity prices, as investors try to predict how trade policy will play out over the next several months and years, and the effect on…
Industries Where Tariffs Could Hit Hardest
Smaller companies are likely to see a negative impact from new tariffs. The reliance on imported products by small companies throughout various industries has risen over the past few years. It is more difficult for…
Consumers Borrowing at Record Pace
U.S. outstanding consumer debt unexpectedly surged by the most on record in December 2024, reflecting massive increases in credit card balances and non-revolving credit. Total credit jumped $40.8 billion after…
Typical Homebuyers Are Getting Older
The age of a typical homebuyer in the U.S. jumped to an all-time high of 56 in 2024. Data released by the National Association of Realtors revealed that the share of first-time homebuyers fell to…
More Workers Think They'll Be Unemployed
The Federal Reserve has two primary objectives. The first is to ensure price stability, largely through monetary policy interventions. And the second is to maintain a healthy and robust labor market by…
Total U.S. Debt as % of GDP Projected to Surpass 100% By 2025
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projects that Federal debt held by the public, measured as a percentage of national GDP, will rise above 100% by 2025. Debt held by the public was…
China Is Exporting More & Making Cheap Products Cheaper
China is flooding global markets, including the U.S., with cheap exports across various industries. Chinese factories are producing far more goods than the domestic market can absorb, resulting in…
Faster Trade Settlement is Imminent
Your stock and bond trade settlement time is about to get much faster.
When an investor buys or sells publicly traded securities including stocks or corporate and municipal bonds, the price is locked in and contractually…
A Time for High-Yield Bonds
Now is the right time to consider an increased allocation to high-yield bonds.
An investment portfolio is typically constructed as a combination of equities and fixed income securities, allocated as appropriate given…
Put the Right Assets in Your Tax Shelter
Traditional and Roth Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) can offer exceptional tax shelter benefits for long-term investment assets. The pre-tax (traditional) and post-tax (Roth) accounts both allow investments to grow…
Even with Bitcoin's Price Jump, Know the Risks
Cryptocurrencies have recently seen a broad resurgence in price, as Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) hit the market in mid-January and traders placed bullish bets that demand would outpace supply. Amid a backdrop of…
Growth and Stability With Mid-Cap Stocks
The headline number for stock performance revolves around the S&P 500 Index, which represents 500 of the largest U.S. publicly traded companies. This can be a useful large-cap stock index for investment…
Increased Contribution Limits for IRAs and 401(k)s
Investment accounts like Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) and 401(k)s provide an exceptional opportunity for investors to save and build wealth. These tax-advantaged investment vehicles offer both…
There are Some Reasons to Avoid High-Yield Savings
Saving money in bank accounts and certificates of deposit (CDs) is a much more attractive proposition than it was a couple of years ago, thanks to a steep increase in interest rates. As the Federal Reserve…
Buying a Home is Now Far More Expensive Than Renting
Every day, families and individuals across the country face the decision regarding whether to buy a home or to rent. While many factors contribute to that decision, one major consideration is the comparative…
Portfolio Income Strategies Back on Track
The ultra-low interest rates of the past decade produced a noticeable casualty: the 4% retirement withdrawal rule. In a nutshell, the rule says that a retiree who depends on income produced by an investment…
Earnings Season Implications for Investors
As companies report their financial results for the second calendar quarter of 2023, investors have the opportunity to see the recent impact that several macroeconomic factors and industry-specific catalysts…
Potential Regulatory Risks in International Investing
Investors often use various mutual funds and exchange-traded funds focused on international markets to achieve investment portfolio diversification across geographic regions. Such funds can offer beneficial…
The Benefits and Challenges of Diversification
There’s a saying in finance that “there’s no free lunch, aside from diversification.” The underlying meaning is that nearly everything in investing requires a trade-off. If you want to position your portfolio…
Why the Market Cares About a U.S. Default
The U.S. is getting precariously close to a technical default on its sovereign debt, potentially within the next month. The U.S. government, like most governments, runs an annual budget deficit by spending more…