Dotcom Bubble 2.0 Is Here: Are Your Retirement Savings Protected?
The dotcom bubble of the late 1990s tapped into the euphoria surrounding the then-new internet. Internet commerce was in its infancy, but the possibility of ordering goods online and having them delivered right to your door intrigued a great number of people. The sky seemed to be the limit when it came to tech companies, as everyone wanted to...
How to Open an Individual 401(k) Without an Employer
For decades most people assumed that they would find a job after college, work hard for 30-40 years, and retire comfortably with a pension. But that assumption has long since gone by the wayside. Pensions are largely a thing of the past in the private sector, job stability is not what it used to be, and retirement saving is...
Are Rating Agencies Complicit in the Creation of the Corporate Debt Bubble?
The corporate debt bubble that threatens to burst and take down the economy is an enormous but highly underrated problem. With corporate debt issuance over 50% higher than before the last financial crisis, corporations are in far worse financial shape than they were a decade ago. Yet despite that financial weakness, very few corporations thus far have been downgraded...
Pessimistic Investment Outlook Means Millennials Will Have to Save More to Retire
With the dotcom bubble having burst in spectacular fashion in 2000, the housing bubble having resulted in the financial crisis in 2008, and now the everything bubble on the verge of bursting, it’s no wonder that many investors have been shy over the years about investing in stock markets. While they can make major gains on the upside, the...
The Corporate Debt Bubble: Companies Spending More on Buybacks Than They’re Earning
The massive corporate debt bubble that exists in the United States today is perhaps one of the most under-reported pieces of financial news there is. Even when you do hear about it, it’s as though trillions of dollars of corporate debt is something ho-hum, so ordinary that it doesn’t deserve a second look. But the size of corporate debt...
Dutch Central Bank Affirms the Importance of Gold
Most central banks will publicly denounce gold role in monetary affairs, claiming that it is an outdated relic of a bygone era. While central banks gave up on maintaining a constant gold price by the early 1970s, they still attempted to control gold’s price through coordinated sales through the late 20th and early 21st centuries. But every now and...
401(k) Contribution Limits: Everything You Need to Know
With the demise of pension plans, 401(k) plans have become the most popular employer-sponsored retirement plan in the United States. Employees in the United States have trillions of dollars saved up in 401(k) plans, helping them to get financially prepared for retirement. The major benefit of 401(k) investment plans is their tax-advantaged status. Employees can contribute to their 401(k) plan...
The Advantages of a Gold IRA Over a Gold ETF
We’ve already gone over why investing in a gold ETF isn’t a great idea. But if you want to invest in gold and realize that an ETF has drawbacks, how do you invest in gold? Investing in gold through a gold IRA is the clear choice, as it offers numerous advantages over ETFs. 1. Tax Advantages The first advantage gold IRAs...