This Fund Crushed Investors’ Nest Eggs — How to Dodge the Same Fate
In investing, it pays to follow the old adage from Warren Buffett: never put your money in anything you don’t understand — especially if no one can explain it. We’ve seen the consequences of ignoring that advice play out with a mutual fund called the Infinity Q...
What a 52% Used Car Price Surge Means for Families
As the Federal Reserve continues telling consumers inflation isn’t a problem, those in need of an affordable used car are seeing a problem. Used car prices are rising. Affordable used cars have long been a tool for changing the economic security of a family. Used cars...
Low Rates, Huge Demand: Buy This Surging Homebuilder Now
Settling down and owning a home is part of the American dream. It used to be the benchmark for making it in the United States. When borrowing was tight, and interest rates were high, owning a home was reserved for those with strong credit and outstanding finances. But...
King of Beer, Dethroned: BUD Stock Looks Flat
I’ll admit my alcohol consumption might have spiked a little in 2020. The two months when I was marooned on the farm in Peru under lockdown were especially rough. I didn’t have much else to do, and it helped drown out the screams of my children, the sound of my wife...
Money & Markets Watchlist
Dump This Dividend Now! No. 1 Stock and Sector to Avoid
Dividends are my shtick. I love dividend investing. I love it almost to a fault. I’ve missed out on profitable opportunities over the years because I stubbornly refused to buy stocks that didn’t come with a good yield. But I hate utility stocks as dividend plays. That...
This Fund Crushed Investors’ Nest Eggs — How to Dodge the Same Fate
In investing, it pays to follow the old adage from Warren Buffett: never put your money in anything you don’t understand — especially if no one can explain it. We’ve seen the consequences of ignoring that advice play out with a mutual fund called the Infinity Q...
Low Rates, Huge Demand: Buy This Surging Homebuilder Now
Settling down and owning a home is part of the American dream. It used to be the benchmark for making it in the United States. When borrowing was tight, and interest rates were high, owning a home was reserved for those with strong credit and outstanding finances. But...
King of Beer, Dethroned: BUD Stock Looks Flat
I’ll admit my alcohol consumption might have spiked a little in 2020. The two months when I was marooned on the farm in Peru under lockdown were especially rough. I didn’t have much else to do, and it helped drown out the screams of my children, the sound of my wife...
One Rule, Two Perks: Win Three Times on a Single Trade
Following this one rule will make your investing simpler, not to mention more lucrative: Only buy assets that are already going up. Said another way, you should limit the buying opportunities you’ll consider to stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that are in an...
Earnings Edge: Social Media Juggernauts Report (FB & TWTR Analysis)
This week is jam-packed with corporate earnings. We get reports from 170 of the S&P 500 companies over the next five days. Electric vehicle juggernaut Tesla Inc. (Nasdaq: ) kicks us off after the bell today with what is probably the...
Gold Is Ready to Rip Higher — Here’s Why
This edition of The Bull & The Bear is all about gold! The stock market took a huge hit when the COVID-19 pandemic ramped up in March 2020. Between March 4 and March 11, the S&P 500 tanked 12% into a bear market. On March 12, the index fell another 9.5%. It...
FAANG Earnings Galore: What to Expect for Q1 Numbers
This is a huge week on the earnings calendar, with several big-name, particularly FAANG, companies set to report quarterly numbers. Investors will also get a glimpse into consumer optimism — a telltale sign of an economic recovery. Here’s more of what to look for in...
The No. 1 Commodity This Year Is … Lumber?
I had a contractor send me a quote for a bathroom remodel. Let’s just say my jaw hit the floor. The quote came in about three times higher than I expected. So, I called a second guy. He was cheaper … but not by much. Getting anything construction-related done costs a...
Buy Into the Core of Cryptos With One Blockchain ETF
It’s been the biggest financial news for months. It’s not the S&P 500 … or COVID-19 recovery plays. It’s not even tech stocks. It’s cryptocurrency: Bitcoin. Ethereum. Litecoin. Polkadot. Yes, even dogecoin. All of these digital currencies languished in 2020 only...
This Bull Market Just Gave a Rare Signal
Over the past year, major stock market averages made large moves in the bull market. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is more than 80% above its March 2020 low. In the past 12 months, the Dow is up about 50%. A move of that size is not unprecedented, but it is rare....
Johnson & Johnson Eyes Earnings Beat; Oil Demand Surges
This week, we’ll get a look into the quarterly earnings of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: ). Investors will also see insight into the crude oil inventory in the U.S. Here’s more of what to look for in the week ahead on Wall Street: On the...
The Fed’s Nonexistent Inflation Policy Isn’t Good for Stocks
Inflation appears to be rising. In the most recent report, the Consumer Price Index jumped 2.6% compared to a year ago. This is higher than the Federal Reserve’s target of 2%, but the Fed believes inflation is high right now because of the math. When comparing prices...
Biden’s Afghanistan Withdrawal: What It Means for Oil Prices
President Joe Biden plans to raise gas prices. That’s not exactly what he said this week, but his Afghanistan withdrawal will lead to higher gas prices. Biden is withdrawing from the country by September 11, and other countries with troops in Afghanistan are expected...
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What a 52% Used Car Price Surge Means for Families
As the Federal Reserve continues telling consumers inflation isn’t a problem, those in need of an affordable used car are seeing a problem. Used car prices are rising. Affordable used cars have long been a tool for changing the economic security of a family. Used cars...
This Isn’t the Black Death: Watch Out for Inflation Risks
As the end of the pandemic in the U.S. comes into sight, it’s time to consider what could come next. A year of lockdowns has created pent-up demand among consumers. That could lead to a spike in inflation as consumers rush into the market and increase spending....
Home Prices Aren’t on a Sustainable Path
“How much house can I afford?” This the most important question in the real estate market. Every potential buyer wants to know how much they can afford before they start looking at homes. Before 2000, the answer was easy. Real estate agents and mortgage brokers told...
Retail Sales Forecast a Summertime Economic Boom
Retail sales reached a record high last month. According to the Census Bureau, retail sales reached $619.1 billion in March, up 9.8% compared to the previous month and a 27.7% increase compared to March 2020. There were month-over-month gains in every category...
White House Says to Ignore Economic Data “Quirks”
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has acknowledged that inflation will increase in the coming months. In calculating inflation, this year’s prices will be compared to prices a year ago. In 2020, the economy shut down. Now that consumers are returning to stores and...
Employees Are Happier Than Ever
Recent data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York shows that employees are happier than ever by some measures. Every four months, the Fed completes a survey about economic expectations. The survey includes questions on retirement plans and employment...
It’s Not Always Wise to Buy During War
Traders like to cite the age-old maxim that “the time to buy is when there’s blood in the streets.” With war drums beating in Ukraine, now could be a good time to review this advice. This phrase has been heard on stock exchanges for more than 200 years. Legend has it...
The Great Retirement Debate: Roth IRA vs. Traditional IRA
We have about a month until tax returns are due. It’s time to make those last-minute tax moves. Naturally, one of the best (and easiest) moves to make is to top up your IRA or Roth IRA for the year. For tax year 2020, you can contribute up to $6,000 to an IRA or Roth...
Self-Employed Taxes: Legally Shed Thousands Off Your Bill
Last week I shared some of my favorite ways to take an ax to your tax bill. And the good news, of course, is that we have an extra month to do it. The IRS extended the tax filing deadline to May 17. We’re all obligated to pay income taxes. It is, alas, the price we...
Protect Your Nest Egg: 3 Tax Tips for the Extended Season
You might have seen the news that the federal income tax filing deadline was extended to May 17. If you’re like me — it still feels like mid-January, and I’m wondering where the past two months went — that’s good news. It gives us a little more time to do some...
3 Simple Tips to Become a Humble Investor
Once in a while, I read something that I wish I had said myself. https://twitter.com/BrianFeroldi/status/1368664500849635328 To summarize Brian Feroldi’s tweet, the correction we’ve seen in tech and growth stocks might be finished. Or, for all we know, this may be a...
3 Ways to Invest Your Stimulus Check
Chances are good you’ll get a stimulus check in the coming days. Nearly 160 million Americans can expect checks of up to $1,400 after President Joe Biden signed off on the latest $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package recently. I don’t know how much sense the stimulus...
Buffett’s Annual Letter: Wise Words for Your Retirement
Warren Buffett recently issued Berkshire Hathaway’s (NYSE: ) annual letter. And as with every edition the Oracle of Omaha has penned over his six decades at the helm, you can bet that millions of investors are picking over every word...
Fear the Bear: The Dangers of a Buy-and-Hold Nest Egg
The market “always” rises 8% to 10% per year over time. You’ve heard that for most of your adult life. You’ve read it in glossy financial planning literature your financial advisor gives you. You’ve seen it in Vanguard mutual fund commercials. The problem with the...