Earnings for All Seasons While nature offers four seasons, Wall Street offers only one—four times a year. It’s called “earnings season,” and it can move the markets. So what is earnings season and why is it important? Earnings season is the month of the year that follows each calendar quarter-end month (January, April, July, and [...]
The Markets (as of market close July 15, 2016) Stocks continued to surge for the third week in a row as each of the indexes listed here posted significant gains by last week's end. The Dow gained almost 370 points and over 2.0%, and is substantially ahead of its 2015 closing value. The S&P 500 [...]
Choices for Your 401(k) at a Former Employer One of the common threads of a mobile workforce is that many individuals who leave their job are faced with a decision about what to do with their 401(k) account.¹ Individuals have three basic choices with the 401(k) account they accrued at a previous employer. Choice 1: [...]
The Markets (as of market close July 8, 2016) Equities continue to put the upheaval caused by Brexit in the rearview mirror as several of the indexes listed here are above their 2015 closing values. Of those indexes, only the Nasdaq and Global Dow remain below their end-of-year values. The S&P 500 exceeded its record [...]
Tips for Inflation In 2014, the country witnessed the historic appointment of Janet Yellen as Chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. She became the first woman to take the helm of the world's most influential central bank.¹ She and the Fed governors are tasked with adjusting short-term interest rates to [...]
The Markets (as of market close June 30, 2016) In the world of equities, the second quarter of the year was anything but dull. April saw the large-cap S&P 500 and Dow make marginal gains, with the small-cap Russell 2000 and the Global Dow leading the way for the month. The Fed left interest rates [...]
The Markets (as of market close July 1, 2016) The beginning of the week saw equities still reeling from the Brexit vote. However, the markets closed with a flourish, recouping all of the losses from the prior week. Each of the indexes listed here enjoyed positive returns by week's end with each index gaining over [...]
Common Financial Wisdom: Theory vs. Practice In the financial world, there are a lot of rules about what you should be doing. In theory, they sound reasonable. But in practice, it may not be easy, or even possible, to follow them. Let's look at some common financial maxims and why it can be hard to [...]
The Markets (as of market close June 24, 2016) The Brexit referendum vote sent a tidal wave of negative returns throughout the world's stock markets, including the indexes listed here. The large-cap Dow lost over 270 points on the week and, along with the S&P 500, dropped over 1.50% from the prior week. In fact, [...]
Rebalancing Your Portfolio Tip: Rebalancing Schedule. When to rebalance? There is no set rule. Some rebalance when their portfolio’s allocation is off by a specific percentage — say 5%. Others may be comfortable setting the target higher or lower. Everyone loves a winner. If an investment is successful, most people naturally want to stick with [...]
