Volatile Year Ends With A Whimper
The Dow Jones Industrial Average is made up of 30 large, well-known companies. It is the best known and oldest of the many yardsticks that measure stock market performance. While not necessarily a household name, the S&P 500 Index—as its name implies—is made up of 500 larger U.S. companies. It captures about 80% of the […]
Read ArticleConor McGregor: “Mystic Mac” And Market Forecasters
Conor McGregor, the recently crowned UFC Featherweight champion has taken the world by storm after his 13 second knockout of Jose Aldo who had successfully defended his belt for years and seemed unbeatable. The uber confident McGregor from Ireland is notorious for having his pre fight predictions outside of the ring coming true inside the […]
Read Article10 Smart Year End Planning Moves
The end of the year is fast approaching, and now is the perfect time to review items you might want to consider as you get set to enter 2016. Investment and financial planning Review your income or portfolio strategy. Are you reaching a milestone in your life such as retirement or a change in […]
Read ArticleMarket Trends
Market Commentary Let’s not forget that the biggest determinate of the success of bullish strategies (buying stocks, ETFs, mutual funds) is the market itself. Most things trend with the market. Markets always move around — but a series of higher highs and higher lows is a sign of a strong trend. #1 shows us the last […]
Read ArticleThe Seasons of the Market
The Clouds Part We have seen an interesting turn of events for the market, one that favored the bulls and rewarded those who did not abandon the strategies we recommend. Notably, upward momentum came in a month that historically has a ghoulish reputation. But as we point out shortly, reputation and reality do not always […]
Read Article2015 Q3 Review: Mindfulness And The Big Picture
Every week I participate in a discussion group that is currently reading and discussing the Majjhima Nikāya, or Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha. The discussion is led by an American Monk who was previously a Zen practitioner. Recently we were discussing the topic of “Mindfulness” and I realized that it has many practical applications […]
Read ArticleAn Investment Roadmap
The Fed Blinks The September meeting at the Federal Reserve was eagerly anticipated by analysts, economists, and short-term investors because there was the real possibility that central bankers would finally boost the fed funds rate for the first time in almost 10 years. In case you missed it, the Fed chose not to raise rates […]
Read ArticleThe Dragon And The Big Bang Theory
This brief two-part summary covers two areas of interest: China and investor behavior. The first is China, which is on every investor’s mind, and explains how to invest there while avoiding most of the problems you’re hearing about. The second is a personal essay on having a successful investing mindset from a Hollywood executive producer, […]
Read ArticleDon’t Sweat the Headlines
Volatility Can be Managed In last month’s market commentary, we talked about looking past scary headlines. It’s easy to say when stocks are holding up or moving higher, but a jarring correction may create uneasiness. We are reminded of a comment by John Bogle, retired CEO and founder of the mutual fund giant, The Vanguard […]
Read ArticleHow to Read the Panicky Market
Some of the most entertaining times to be a long-term investor are those periods when short-term investors are looking over their shoulders for an excuse to sell. They’re convinced that the market is going to go down before they can get out, and so they jump on any bad news that comes across their Bloomberg […]
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