Bob's Journal
Found 464 Articles.
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Bob’s Journal for 7/3/19
Several interesting and important data points caught my attention this week and merit your attention. You might have seen reports noting that this month, the U.S. economy set a new record. The 121-month recovery since June 2009 is the longest period the economy has gone without a recession. The previous record was set from March […]
Bob’s Journal for 6/27
It is a good idea for investors to keep an eye on the market performance of semiconductor companies. I don’t recommend using only one indicator to assess where the market is likely to head, but the semiconductors have a good history of tipping us off to market and economic downturns. This makes a lot of […]
Bob’s Journal for 6/20/19
Central banks might have to be very creative to maintain economic growth in the next few years. Global markets jumped Tuesday after European Central Bank (ECB) President Mario Draghi indicated more monetary stimulus was likely on the way. Only a few months ago, the ECB president was talking about ending the bank’s asset purchase program […]
Bob’s Journal for 6/13/2019
In order to learn what’s been happening in the economy and what investors expect to happen in the future, conduct a survey of recent returns for different investments. Let’s start with bonds, which do well when inflation is either low or falling and when economic growth is declining. Long-term treasury bonds rose 12.42% in the […]
Bob’s Journal for 6/6/2019
Federal Reserve officials must be dizzy from the numerous policy changes that they’ve made the last few years. Investors and markets are being taken along on the ride. Only last September, Fed officials were making it clear that they wanted to raise interest rates to near historic averages within the next few years. They believed […]
Bob’s Journal for 5/30/19
The conflicts between the United States and China are escalating and having stronger effects on markets. When the conflicts began less than two years ago, markets would react. The reactions often were to presidential tweets but the effects on the markets weren’t lasting. Subsequent news reports, interviews or other tweets convinced investors that the two […]
Bob’s Journal for 5/23
The first-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) estimate led many investors to believe that the economy is stronger than it really is. The estimate indicated that GDP grew at a 3.2% annualized rate in the first quarter. That’s a big jump from the 2.2% rate of the fourth quarter of 2018. A major reason for the […]
Bob’s Journal for 5/16/2019
The latest annual report from the Trustees of Medicare and Social Security sparked a lot of discussion, but many of the conclusions people made are wrong. Every year, the trustees of Social Security issue a report to Congress and the public on the financial status of the program and its trust funds. You can find […]
