Bob's Journal
Found 392 Articles.
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Bob’s Journal for 8/12/21
Consumer, Business Spending Strong and Likely to Remain Strong Recent reports showed household spending has been strong, but it might be stronger and more sustainable than the data show. Household spending, as measured by the Personal Consumption Expenditures report, rose by 1% in June and was well above the pre-pandemic spending level. Some economists expect […]
Bob’s Journal for 8/5/21
What Inflation Means for Medicare and Social Security Beneficiaries The numbers won’t be final for a few more months, but it looks like this year’s rise in inflation will affect beneficiaries of Medicare and Social Security. Social Security, as you know, gives beneficiaries an annual cost of living adjustment, or COLA. The COLA is based […]
Bob’s Journal for 7/29
Today’s Great Inflation Debate Are the recent high inflation rates transitory, as the Federal Reserve says, or are we at the beginning of a long inflationary period, perhaps one like the 1960s and 1970s? That’s a major debate among economists and market watchers. Regular readers of Retirement Watch know that, over the last few years, […]
Bob’s Journal for 7/22/21
Junk Bonds Aren’t ‘High-Yield’ Now The Federal Reserve’s monetary policy achieved at least one of its goals. The policy pushed investors out of safer investments into more risky ones in search of higher yields and returns. High-yield bonds typically offer yields well above those of treasury bonds and other safe income investments. Usually, the excess […]
Bob’s Journal for 7/15/21
Some Notable Events That Grabbed My Attention This Week I recently had the pleasure of being the guest of Stan Haithcock (Stan the Annuity Man) on his podcast “Fun with Annuities.” We discussed tax and retirement legislation being considered in Congress, Social Security, digital currencies, a bit about annuities, of course, and more. You can […]
Bob’s Journal for 7/8/21
Threats to Earnings and Profit Margins Increase Profit margins have been at historic highs in recent years, and stocks are priced with the expectation those margins will continue and perhaps increase. Investors should examine the threats to those margins. For example, representatives from 130 countries agreed on July 1 to impose a 15% minimum corporate […]
Bob’s Journal for 7/1/21
New Regulation Means Less Financial Advice for Individuals The Department of Labor’s “fiduciary rule” apparently is causing a number of registered investment advisors to decline to give clients advice on what to do with their retirement accounts. The Department of Labor regulates qualified retirement plans. Over the years, rules covering financial professionals who give advice […]
Dow 36000: It Keeps Coming Close
Some of you remember when the book Dow 36,000 was released in 1999. The subtitle to the book was “The New Strategy For Profiting From The Coming Rise In The Stock Market,” and it was written by James K. Glassman and Kevin A. Hassett. The authors had the bad timing to publish their book when […]
