Do Continuing Woes in the Housing Market Mean a Correction Is Coming?
Many investors remember the panic in financial markets that occurred in late 2008 as it appeared that financial markets were about to collapse. And they remember the role that mortgage-backed securities played in those fears, as securities that had been AAA-rated were found to be anything but. However, the collapse of the housing market didn’t take everyone by surprise,...
Are Gold and Stocks Really Negatively Correlated?
In investment circles it’s common to hear that stocks and gold are negatively correlated. That is to say, gold’s price increases when stock prices decrease, and vice versa. That’s why you’ll often hear the recommendation to sell stocks and invest in gold when stocks are doing poorly, and to sell gold and buy stocks when stock markets are doing...
President Trump’s Comments on Interest Rates Don’t Bode Well for the Economy
President Trump recently took on the Federal Reserve’s conduct of monetary policy, although not in a good way. Rather than criticizing the Fed for keeping interest rates too low for too long, he criticized the Fed for raising interest rates, complaining that in so doing the Fed has taken away America’s competitive edge against China and is erasing all...
What Will the Federal Reserve Do Next?
Last week’s hearing with Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell doesn’t inspire confidence that the Fed knows what it is doing. Much attention has been focused recently on the yield curve, the spread between 2-year and 10-year Treasury securities, which has become increasingly narrow in recent weeks. The spread is becoming so close, in fact, that it risks inversion, with...
Periodic Versus Lump Sum Investing: The Importance of Timing
It’s time once again to discuss the importance of timing when it comes to investing. Timing plays a role in investing success whether we like it or not, and it affects investing strategies. Because of that, your investing strategy may need to change depending on whether you’ve got a lump sum of money to invest or whether you intend...