Insights
Why is the Market Down?
The stock market had a good year in 2014, at least the medium and large U.S. stocks did. However, international stocks over the last 12 months dropped -6.7%, US small stocks were up only 3.5% and the Barclays US Govt/Corp [bond] trust returned just 3%. Now, at the end...
Investment Opportunity Related to Falling Oil Prices
If you've been paying attention at all lately, you know that gasoline prices are down substantially this year. While overall the prices of gasoline and oil are only partially related, in this case, they are very closely related. Prices for West Texas Intermediate...
Please Do Not Fail to Vote Today
U.S. citizens enjoy the privilege of affecting their government and choosing their leaders, something many, many people around the world can only wish for. Don't ignore this privilege and responsibility. When people with good morals and high convictions don't vote,...
Market Downturn
The stock market is finally going through a downturn after roughly two years of almost straight-line growth, at least in the S&P 500 Index and the Dow Jones Industrials. Small and mid-szie stocks and international stocks are already well in negative numbers for the...
Bill Gross Leaving PIMCO
This is not a trivial bit of industry information. Bill Gross has run not only by far the largest bond fund on the planet, but he is founder and CEO of PIMCO, which he built into a company that is the behemoth of the bond market, the largest and most widely respected...
8/19/14 – Amazing Israeli Tech Inventions
Israelis, 0.2% of the world population have won 22% of all Nobel Prizes. Israel leads the world in business startups. Here are two items worth reading that talk about recent Israeli inventions. The first is a short article on The 10 Most Innovative Israeli Companies....
6/26/14 – Vanguard Study on Retirement Plans
Vanguard has a study out giving information on "How America Saves." It only has data for the Vanguard plans but that is a fairly large sample, albeit obviously influenced by Vanguard products and policies. Data is for 2013 and was published in 2014. Here some tidbits...
Tuesday, 6/25/14 – Why You Should Consider Not Offering Target Date Funds in Your 401(k)
According to a recent survey, 85% of 401(k) plan participants are confused about their investment options. Because of that, participants guess, go strictly off recent performance, put a little in every option, ask another nonprofessional like a coworker or spouse, or...
4/18/14 11:39 AM – Short Summary of Best Credit Cards
You may know that I despise credit cards because of how much debt (read: bondage) they suck people into. However, for those that are disciplined, they can be a financially good deal. How about a card that pays you hundreds of dollars a year in cash? See the Nerd...
4/11/14 10:01 AM – In Time All Excesses Are Corrected
I am not a fan of the idea that market participants act rationally. An analysis of long-term market behavior does not bear that out at all. That idea was concocted in an academic setting far away from the day to day activity of the markets. Yes, new information is...
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