Uncertainty Over President Trump’s Tax Reform Plans
President Trump claimed today that rich Americans will “not be gaining at all” from his proposed tax reform plan. That runs counter to many analyses of the tax reform plans he campaigned on as a candidate, which found that the rich would in fact benefit. The devil, of course, is in the details, but this statement leads to speculation...
The United States’ Ever-Growing Debt Bubble
The national debt when Bill Clinton took office in 1993 was $4.188 trillion. By the time he left office in 2001, it was $5.727 trillion, an increase of 37 percent. As profligate as that seemed at the time, it has been overshadowed by even greater subsequent debt increases. By the time President George W. Bush left office in 2009,...
Shakeups Coming at the Fed
Federal Reserve Board Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer unexpectedly announced his resignation last week. He will resign from the board in October, meaning that President Trump will now be able to appoint at least 4 of the 7 members of the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors, thus making an immediate impact on monetary policy and potentially impacting monetary policy for...
How Much Does Your 401(k) Plan Cost?
Fees charged on 401(k) plans have been falling for years, but that decrease has slowed down recently. The average 401(k) plan expense ratio is now 0.41%, down from 0.52% in 2013 and 0.42% in 2016. Lower fees are important to investors for a number of reasons. The primary advantage of lower fees is that you lose less money from your...
Renewed Talk of Currency Wars in Aftermath of Jackson Hole Meeting
In the aftermath of the Kansas City Fed’s annual Jackson Hole conference, there has been renewed discussion of a potential currency war. Central banks responded to the financial crisis by pumping trillions of dollars worth of liquidity into the financial system. It wasn’t just the Federal Reserve that engaged in those policies of quantitative easing – the Bank of...
The Many Advantages of Investing in Gold
If you’ve ever read mainstream financial advice, you’ll notice that gold is hardly ever mentioned as an investment asset. At best, you might find some advisers who recommend holding 4-5% of a portfolio in gold, or more likely in a gold ETF or gold index fund. Most advisers look down their noses at gold, repeating the old saying that...
US Stocks Stumble Out of the Blocks Post-Labor Day
US stock indexes tumbled today, posting their worst losses in nearly three weeks. There were a wide number of reasons for the fall, starting with the slide in financials. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped by 234 points, with 55 points of that loss coming solely from the drop in Goldman Sachs’ share price. Bank stocks overall were down...
Is Your Retirement Portfolio Crash-Proof?
Many Americans put money into their retirement accounts and never bother doing anything more than briefly looking through their annual statements. They are the very definition of passive investors. But in the event of a market crash, those passive investors will lose significant amounts of their savings. Given that stocks and bonds are well into bubble territory right now,...
Retirement Accounts Are Doing Well, But Rocky Times May Be Ahead
Retirement accounts of American workers have benefited greatly this year from the stock market’s successes. Many nearing retirement age are undoubtedly viewing their portfolios happily and making plans for how they’re going to use all that money. But with dark clouds of a financial crisis on the horizon and the potential for a war in Asia, they shouldn’t treat...
Break Out of the Paycheck to Paycheck Lifestyle
Nearly a decade after the financial crisis, American workers are still facing financial difficulties. Rather than getting better, their financial situation is actually deteriorating. Nearly 78% of full-time workers report that they live paycheck to paycheck, up from 75% last year. And 71% of all workers report that they are in debt, up from 68% last year. Thankfully, it’s...