One key indicator of the economy’s health that economists and financial market observers look at is the yield curve. In particular, they look at the spread between the yield on 2-year Treasury bonds and 10-year Treasury bonds. As the difference between the yield on those two maturities narrows, the yield curve is said to be flattening. And in some...
There’s a tendency, when looking at economic data, to look at aggregate measures and use them as proxies to determine the health of the economy. When looking at job numbers, for example, it’s tempting to look at figures for the total number of jobs, number of employment openings, and the unemployment rate to figure out how healthy the economy...
One of the most popular investing strategies today, and one that’s growing more popular all the time, is passive investing. It’s a strategy that focuses on investing in low-cost funds that track popular stock indices, such as the S&P 500, the Russell 2000, the Wilshire 5000, etc. Rather than trying to beat markets through active stock-picking, the passive funds...
Last week marked the 242nd anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, which began one of the greatest experiments in liberty the world has ever seen. But while we can see with hindsight how successful the American Revolution was, there were a number of times when it came perilously close to failure. Learning their lesson, the Founding...
There are concerning new reports emanating from Europe that customers looking to withdraw large amounts of cash or gold from their banks are being denied. And while that is understandably frustrating for the depositors involved, it’s a worrying sign for all depositors everywhere. When the time comes to request your cash or your gold, do you know that you’ll...
One of the main concerns for most investors in retirement is remaining financially independent. Everyone wants to have enough money to retire on, and no on wants to run out of money. That would mean having to go back to work if you’re still young enough, or having to rely on the charity of family and friends if you’re...
With the Federal Reserve having raised its target federal funds rate for the past year and a half and showing commitment to slowly drawing down the size of its balance sheet, many have declared the era of easy money to be over. But that’s not really the case. Yes, interest rates will rise as the Fed tightens its policy,...
Recently released data from the Federal Reserve shows that the wealth of American households has surpassed $100 trillion for the first time. But are American households really better off? Much of the wealth of American households isn’t immediately liquid, being held in the form of financial assets such as stocks, or tied up in the value of housing. As such,...
Despite the unsustainability of the 2016-2018 stock market run, many bullish analysts and investors still think that there is room left for markets to rally. The unease of the past few months that has seen the Dow lose over 2,000 points from its all-time highs is, to their minds, just a temporary correction, a speed bump on the way...
The Dow Jones dropped over 400 points in early trading to start the week, on renewed fears of a heightened trade war. The European Union began its implementation of tariffs on $3.2 billion of US imports on Friday. President Trump responded by threatening a 20% tariff on imports of European cars, and an insistence that any tariffs or barriers...