Bob's Journal
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Bob’s Journal for 6/11
The U.S. economy entered a recession in February, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER). The prior economic expansion had been the longest on record, when using data going back to 1854, as it lasted for 128 months. Economists and investors have long since accepted the NBER’s Business Cycle Dating Committee as the […]
Bob’s Journal for 6/4/20
Some Notable Events That Grabbed My Attention This Week I’ll make a live presentation at a MoneyShow’s Virtual Event next Wednesday, June 10, at 10:20 a.m. EDT, when I talk about “Important Recent Changes in IRAs and Other Retirement Planning Strategies You Must Know.” My Eagle Financial Colleague, Bryan Perry, and about 60 other investing […]
Some Notable Events That Grabbed My Attention This Week
We’re starting to see the secondary effects of the pandemic. One surprising effect is higher prices for beer and soda, as explained in an article in The Wall Street Journal. These drinks literally have bubbles, and those bubbles usually are generated using carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is a byproduct of ethanol production. Ethanol is produced […]
Bob’s Journal for 5/21/20
Some Notable Events That Grabbed My Attention This Week More Worries About Social Security’s Solvency I’ve been writing for a while that the pandemic is going to have a serious, long-term affect on the solvency of Social Security. Others are crunching the numbers and agreeing. Earlier, I cited a study from the Center for Retirement […]
Bob’s Journal for 5/14/20
Some Notable Events That Grabbed My Attention This Week Many Americans seem to expect a fast economic recovery, but the data indicate the downturn already is steeper than many people realize. Most respondents in surveys seem to expect a “V-shaped” recovery once the stay-at-home orders are lifted or eased. For example, the Small Business Optimism […]
Bob’s Journal for 5/7/20
Investors May Be Misreading the Effects and Trends of the Pandemic Investors could be misreading some of the effects and trends of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Many people piled into health care stocks and similar investments at the start of the pandemic. Their expectation was that many health care companies would benefit from all the […]
Bob’s Journal for 4/30/20
Major Changes Are Coming to Long-Term Care Insurance Major changes in long-term care insurance are slipping through unnoticed, and that’s causing people to miss opportunities. For several years, I’ve been recommending hybrid long-term care insurance (LTCI) policies instead of traditional LTCI. Hybrid policies are annuities or life insurance policies that provide long-term care benefits. The […]
The Coronavirus Pandemic Will Wield Serious Effects on Social Security
The coronavirus pandemic is going to have some serious, long-term effects on Social Security’s solvency. The U.S. trust fund that helps pay benefits to non-disabled Social Security beneficiaries is scheduled to run out of money in 2034, according to the latest Annual Report from the Trustees of Social Security released April 22. The date the […]
