Yesterday’s bounce was certainly short lived. Today the market continues what one pundit called a “death spiral.” As always this is just a gross over-reaction to gain some face time with the crowd over at CNBC. At times like this it’s easy to jump on the bandwagon and push the panic button. Unfortunately, that’s exactly … Read more
Welcome to 2016 The market is off to a very rough start to 2016 – to say the least. As always when the market misbehaves, the pundits and doomsayers are out front fanning the flames of panic. This is all emotionally driven volatility and nothing more than a continuation of what we saw last summer. … Read more
I don’t scare easily. This scares me! In case you missed it, and there’s no reason you wouldn’t, Stephanie Kelton, an economics professor at the University of Missouri, Kansas City, was appointed chief economist for the Democratic staff of the Senate Budget Committee. Why should you care? Well, Ms. Kelton is the cover girl for … Read more
The investing public is always being seduced into the latest investment fad because the people who invent these things have incredible marketing machines behind them. The two primal emotions of fear and greed are always present to get in the way of our better judgment. When we think we can make a free buck, greed … Read more
Do you remember learning about the Scientific Method back in science class? It has been described as the best way yet discovered for separating the truth from lies and delusion. The Scientific Method is a logical and rational order of steps by which scientists come to conclusions about the world around them. Sounds pretty smart. … Read more
What a difference a month makes. It wasn’t too long ago that it seemed the market was in freefall and there was a general feeling of doom and gloom in the market. Could this be the long awaited correction that the doomsayers had been predicting? Here we sit just a month later and the market … Read more
One of the most financially dangerous traps people fall into in the world of investing is getting married to a particular stock. You may be married now and not even know it. If you have a stock in your portfolio and would never think of selling it under any condition, than you’re probably married. We … Read more
It would seem that the fall is a terrible time for the stock market. At least that’s what I keep hearing from the pundits. Out of the top twenty largest percentage declines in the Dow, all but three occurred from mid-August through year-end. That’s 85 percent! No wonder people start to get a little spooked … Read more
How did your portfolio perform last year? If you’re like most investors you’re probably smiling. After all 2013 was a banner year for the markets. So you think you had a good year last year? Well, let me ask you this – compared to what? Just knowing what your return is doesn’t give you a … Read more
In investing as in sports, there are winners and losers. The only way to tell which side you’re on is to keep score. While that may sound like a simple concept many of us just don’t know how to read the box score. How do you measure performance when looking at your 401(k) or any … Read more