Retirement Investing
Bob Carlson offers his expert opinion on where to invest your money so that you can get through retirement safely and securely
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Dear Reader (November 2018):
Almost everyone uses heuristic techniques. Unfortunately, the ways many people use them in their finances diminishes financial security. Heuristic is a fancy word for a short cut or rule of thumb. A formal definition is that it is a practical method for solving a problem, one that is not guaranteed to be optimal or perfect. […]
The Limits Of Forecasting
As Hurricane Florence approached and then pummeled the mid-Atlantic coast, Elaine and I studied weather forecasts. We weren’t expecting a direct hit from the storm, but a lot of rain and strong winds were possibilities. Each time the storm shifted, so did the forecasts. During the week, forecasts for our area shifted from three to […]
Making Plans as a Turning Point Approaches
The tumble in global markets that took hold in October was widespread, leaving few investments untainted. Because we strive to be diversified and hold assets with margins of safety, many of our positions held up better than the market indexes. We won’t need to clean house in our portfolios this month, because we haven’t been […]
Markets Are Reacting to Tighter Money
One of the best-returning periods ever for financial assets is ending. Beginning in 2009, global central banks pumped money into the markets in an attempt to boost economic growth by increasing wealth. It largely worked. A traditional balanced portfolio of 60% U.S. stocks and 40% U.S. bonds had one of its best nine-year periods ever. […]
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Major Transitions Are Taking Place in China
China deserves a lot of investors’ attention these days. China would be important at any time because it’s the world’s second-largest economy. However, China’s recent weakness and unique problems make it an important subject. Right now, there are major transitions taking place in China. It has too much debt, both public and private. The government […]
It’s the Economy vs. the Fed
How long will economic growth increase in the face of the Federal Reserve’s tighter monetary policy? Economic growth has increased despite the Fed’s actions because of tax cuts, reduced regulation and other factors. Second-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) growth exceeded 4%, shocking many economists. The Small Business Optimism Index from the National Federation of Independent […]
Check Your Estimated Tax Payments, Withholding
This year, it’s especially important for retirees and near-retirees to double- and even triple-check their estimated tax payments and withholding to avoid penalties. Checking your tax prepayments before the end of the year always was important, but it became more important in recent years. I reported in our February 2017 issue that estimated tax underpayment […]
Are Equities Joining a Global Trend?
The decline in U.S. stock indexes in the last week or so could mean those equities are finally joining a global trend. Most assets have negative returns for the year. Before the decline began from record highs on Sept. 20, we had some warning signs. The major U.S. indexes were hitting new highs, but significant […]
