Global selloff. Quick comeback. Investors boomeranged from stocks to safe havens and back as trade tensions between the United States and China intensified last week. The Economist reported: “On August 1st President Donald Trump warned that he would soon impose a 10 percent levy on roughly $300bn-worth of Chinese goods that have not already been […]
Tariffs strike again. The Federal Open Market Committee completed what it called ‘a mid-cycle adjustment’ with a quarter-point rate cut last week. Some investors were unhappy when Fed officials implied there would not be another reduction this year. They’d been hoping for at least one, reported Barron’s. Despite the disappointment, investors settled and U.S. stock […]
Americans are passionate about taxes. We have reason to be. In recent years, Americans have spent more on taxes than on food, clothing, and housing combined.1 The Tax Foundation estimates Americans will pay $3.4 trillion to the federal government and $1.8 trillion to state and local governments in 2019.2 If you believe you’re paying too […]
It has been said there are two sides to every story. Just look at world financial markets. Stock markets and bond markets are telling very different stories. In the United States, stock markets were blue ribbon winners last week. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rebounded to a record high. The Nasdaq Composite also set […]
The Markets Did last week mark the start of a new policy for the Federal Reserve? The U.S. Federal Reserve has a reputation for providing little transparency about the timing and direction of potential rate changes. That reputation was challenged last week. In back-to-back speeches, two of the three most influential members of the Federal […]
Last month we shared the triple tax benefits of Health Savings Accounts (HSA) to help save for future healthcare costs. But how do you access the funds for out-of-pocket medical expenses once you’ve started saving? Like all qualified savings plans, you need to play by the IRS rules to enjoy the tax benefits and avoid […]
The bulls are running. Last week, the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index set a new record, closing above 3,000 for the first time. Other major U.S. stock indices also finished at record highs, reported Barron’s. Company fundamentals, investor sentiment, and geopolitics all have the power to push stock prices higher. However, according to Financial Times, […]
What will the Federal Reserve do now? There was unexpected economic news last week. On Friday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced 224,000 new jobs were added in June, which was more than analysts had anticipated. The gains were offset a bit by reductions in April and May employment estimates. However, overall, the pace of […]
In the infamous words of Mortimer Snerd, “Who’d a thunk it?” 1 After U.S. stocks dropped sharply during the last weeks of December 2018, investors were not optimistic about the future. Early in January 2019, the State Street Investor Confidence Index dropped to its lowest point since 2012, and the American Association of Individual Investors […]