...
Clubber: “Pain.”
And then we have the famous prediction of more than 100 years ago from either Henry Poor, a founder of Standard & Poor’s, JD Rockefeller, or JP Morgan himself on what stock prices ...
The fourth quarter (Q4) of 2023 was an about face from the first nine months of the year. Just about every asset class was up almost the whole time and investors were optimistic. This, after investors ...
Well, here we are and it’s less than three weeks until the start of 2024. This year has flown by. Don’t they all. The markets have thrown us a few curveballs but (knock on wood) the year seems poised to ...
... huge and it is, but what’s interesting is that according to JPMorgan fewer than 4% of American households bought a home last year. This suggests that the increase in mortgage rates from below 3% a few ...
It’s getting to be that time of year so this week I’m updating an earlier post relating to harvesting losses. Even though core bonds have turned positive for the year, this second year in a row of relatively ...
... up a bit too. The positive performance hasn’t been evenly distributed and this can lead to some head scratching when looking at your investment performance.
For example, here’s a chart showing the year-to-date ...
The stock market just had its best week of the year last week and bonds also performed well. I call your attention to that because it seems like it’s been a while since the markets had a good week. That ...
... find equilibrium post-Covid. The bond market is expecting rates to come down a bit in the second half of next year, but not dramatically. Higher interest rates make borrowing more expensive, but how long ...
... impact your bottom line.
While I’m not a Medicare expert, I’ve learned in my years working with clients that there are common threads to the various problems people report having. These often start with ...
... for longer than anticipated. This theme was prevalent during the quarter and helped push down market sentiment.
Here’s a roundup of how major markets performed during the quarter and year-to-date, respectively: ...
Deciding to take a lump sum instead of ongoing pension payments is challenging. One option gives you a nice big check with all the associated possibilities and the other option promises years of much smaller ...
It seems as if a recession has been right around the corner for many months now, if not a year or so. First a recession was inevitable given the run-up in inflation we saw last year. Then it was imminent ...
... albums were just about perfect. Anyway, here’s a Tuesday morning toast to JB. He's most certainly resting in peace.
Snippets from Bespoke…
- The national average of a 30-year fixed rate mortgage is ...
... to refresh existing bank instructions, or to establish new ones, as needed.
Since we’ll be using two separate custodians this year you will receive two sets of tax forms next Spring. These will be available ...
... some of the details.
As you may recall, we talked about buying I Bonds when inflation was peaking a year or so ago. I also bought some back then partly as an experiment because my preference is for investments ...
... benefits are based, in part, on a Full Retirement Age (FRA) that depends on your birth year. For example, those born in 1954 or earlier have an FRA of 66 and this tapers up by month to those born in 1960 ...
... time running races from marathon distance and longer, often in mountainous terrain. All my years of running inspired a sense of adventure but, admittedly, I was turning into a one trick pony. I enjoy paddling ...
... will raise interest rates yet again, so no midsummer slowdown anytime soon.
Additionally, we keep edging closer to the date when Schwab fully absorbs the custodian I’ve been using for nearly ten years, ...
... their 40’s, for example, woefully behind the curve with about $106,000 in their 401(k) as of earlier this year, according to tracking updated annually by Fidelity. Maybe they’re close to Schwab’s “comfortable” ...
... performance so far this year amid fears of higher interest rates and consternation about the federal government potentially defaulting on its debt. In short, it was another eventful quarter for investors ...