by P.J. DiNuzzo October 18, 2013 A Collective Yawn The stock market reaction to the 16-day government shutdown and threat of a default on all U.S. government budget obligations (Social Security checks, interest payments on government bonds, payments under contract to suppliers and contractors, etc. etc.) was stunningly mild. In fact, despite all the dire […]
by P.J. DiNuzzo October 22, 2013 Tax Reform Delayed Did you notice anything missing during the partisan squabbling that led to the government shutdown and debt ceiling brinksmanship? Why was nobody talking about reforming our tax laws, which have gotten so complicated that professional tax preparers are taking courses on how the 3.9% healthcare tax […]
by P.J. DiNuzzo December 20, 2013 Let the Taper Begin The Federal Reserve Board has made its long-awaited announcement that it will begin to scale back ("taper," in WallStreetSpeak) its QE3 stimulus program. The last time the Fed even mentioned starting to taper back, last Fall, global stock markets and bond investors panicked and sent […]
by P.J. DiNuzzo January 9, 2014 A Year to Remember The U.S. stock market punctuated an extraordinary year with gains on the last trading day, moving many of the American indexes to record highs on the final trading day for only the sixth time in history. Despite all the uncertainties that we faced (the […]
by P.J. DiNuzzo January 30, 2014 Bogus Effect This time of year, we often find ourselves reading about the "January Effect," which is sometimes described as a predictable way to forecast returns, and sometimes as a way to know whether this is, or is not, a good year to invest and make some money. Unfortunately, most […]
by P.J. DiNuzzo January 30, 2014 Has a Correction Started? Does it Matter? On Monday, the U.S. markets dropped roughly 1% of their value, and Europe and Asia were down by similar amounts the following day. The market (the S&P 500) then fell 2.1% on Friday in a sickening lurch. This combination was enough to […]
by P.J. DiNuzzo February 2, 2014 Such a Deal… When you think of U.S. government bonds, the word "creativity" isn't always the first word that springs to mind. Yes, the government created inflation-indexed securities back in 1997 for investors who wanted to get a guaranteed returns above the constantly-tinkered-with (and probably not indicative of actual rising […]
by P.J. DiNuzzo February 20, 2014 GDP Growth vs the Markets You've probably heard economists and especially wise investors say something like "short-term, the stock market is like a voting machine, but long-term it acts like a weighing machine"–a quote attributed to legendary value investor Benjamin Graham. But what does that mean and how does […]
by P.J. DiNuzzo February 27, 2014 What about myRA? Chances are, you've heard about the new myRA retirement savings program that was proposed by President Obama during his State of the Union speech. But what is it, and how does it relate to the array of other retirement savings options you already have–including, of course, […]
by P.J. DiNuzzo March 4, 2014 20 things you probably don't know about the Russian incursion into the Ukraine Our hearts and prayers go out to the people of Ukraine, as they undergo both an internal political crisis and what appears to be military intervention from Russia. For people of a certain age, the current […]
