The Markets (as of market close March 23, 2018) Volatility is the catchword when describing the market lately. Investors had better buckle up for a bumpy ride from here on, at least according to indications from the Chicago Board Options Exchange (Cboe) Volatility Index®, which attempts to provide a forward-looking expectation of price fluctuation in [...]
The Markets (as of market close March 16, 2018) Market volatility has been fueled by investor concerns of accelerating inflation. However, last week's Consumer Price Index, retail sales, and Producer Price Index reports showed inflationary trends in February were subdued. Nevertheless, stocks posted weekly losses, possibly resulting from investor fears that the administration's trade policy [...]
Don't Delay: The Potential Benefits of Starting to Save Now For long-term investment goals such as retirement, time can be one of your biggest advantages. That's because time allows your investment dollars to do some of the hard work for you through a mathematical principle known as compounding. The snowball effect The premise behind compounding [...]
The Markets (as of market close March 9, 2018) Last week's jobs report appears to have quelled investor fears, at least for the time being. Each of the indexes listed here posted impressive weekly gains, led by the tech-heavy Nasdaq and the small-cap Russell 2000, each of which gained over 4.0%. While the February employment [...]
Due Date Approaches for 2017 Federal Income Tax Returns Tax filing season is here again. If you haven't done so already, you'll want to start pulling things together — that includes getting your hands on a copy of your 2016 tax return and gathering W-2s, 1099s, and deduction records. You'll need these records whether you're [...]
The Markets (as of market close February 28, 2018) Despite some positive economic signs, rising consumer confidence, and favorable corporate earnings reports, February marked the end of the 10-month winning streak for the benchmark indexes listed here. Concerns over rising inflation and interest rates triggered a notable sell-off early in the month and pushed volatility [...]
The Markets (as of market close March 2, 2018) Trade wars: That was the ominous phrase that spooked many investors toward week's end, as President Trump announced plans to implement a tariff of 25% on steel imports and 10% on aluminum imports. While no one can say for certain whether such tariffs will actually materialize, [...]
The Markets (as of market close February 23, 2018) For the second week in a row, stocks closed the week ahead. Each of the benchmark indexes listed here ended the holiday-shortened week with marginal gains, led by the Nasdaq, which climbed 1.35%. While equities may have advanced modestly, volatility was prevalent during the week, as [...]
What's Your Money Script? Money is power. A fool and his money are soon parted. A penny saved is a penny earned. Money is the root of all evil. Do any of these expressions ring true for you? As it turns out, the money beliefs our families espoused while we were growing up may have [...]
The Markets (as of market close February 9, 2018) OUCH! That's probably the most apt way to describe investor sentiment about the stock market over the past couple of weeks. Despite a strong close last Friday, each of the benchmark indexes listed here lost significant value for the week. Volatility is running rampant, marked by [...]
