After seeing markets close at or near an all-time high in late 2021, 2022 is off to a rough start. Interest rates are set to rise, inflation has been more persistent than initially forecast, Omicron put a damper on the holiday season, new geopolitical risks are looming, and Washington’s Covid stimulus measures appear to be drying up. Read more
What Does Gamestop Teach Us About Investing?
The short answer is not much. The more nuanced answer is that it shows what happens when too many people pile into the stocks of small, thinly-traded stocks (i.e., low daily volume traded). Too much demand relative to supply pushed the prices of stocks like Gamestop far beyond what their underlying fundamentals warranted. Read more
Elections and the Stock Market
The 2020 election is arguably one of the most important elections in a lifetime. Much is at stake: management of the pandemic, the economy and on-going racial strife, trade relations with China, and election integrity and its impact on our democracy. Many investors are wondering how this election might impact the stock market. Read more
What’s Up With the Stock Market?
With the Nasdaq, Dow and S&P 500 indices hitting all-time highs recently, you might be wondering if the stock market has become completely untethered from reality. After all, we’re still in the midst of a global pandemic that has resulted in a sharp rise in unemployment, millions of struggling businesses and individuals and a sharp contraction in Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Two adages might help explain this apparent disconnect: Read more
Coronavirus and Your Portfolio
As news of the coronavirus stokes fear and uncertainty on a variety of fronts, it is only natural to wonder if you should do something to your portfolio to account for the news. In most cases, the answer is a resounding NO! Here’s why. Read more
What to Do When the Going Gets Rough
October has been a tough month for stocks, with many indices down almost 10% in the past month and some of the high-flying tech stocks down 20%. With the recent activity in the stock market, it seems a prudent time to review some evidence-based tenets of wise investing. Read more
Is the Stock Market Rigged?
Recent media related to Michael Lewis’s new book “Flash Boys” and an opinion piece in the New York Times titled “The Hidden Cost of Trading Stocks” might cause the ordinary investor to wonder if they should even bother investing if the playing field is so uneven.