Stock Markets and the Economy
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The Hibernation Economy Starts to Wake
Volatility has been a hallmark of the markets in 2020, and that isn’t going to change for a while.After years of extremely low levels, this year volatility in stocks, bonds, gold and other investments soared to levels com-parable only to the financial crisis and a few other extreme periods. Traders and investors who depend on […]
How to Weather the COVID-19 Storm and Its Aftermath
The coronavirus pandemic dramatically changed the economy and markets in only a few months. It also altered the retirement plans of many people. This month’s Retirement Watch Spotlight Series is a detailed look at the many changes brought on by the pandemic. I discuss how you should respond to them and how you shouldn’t respond. […]
Welcome to the Hibernation Economy
We’re not in a recession or depression. We’re in a great hibernation.Economic downturns usually are triggered by tighter monetary policy or speculation that creates major imbalances. Occasionally, an external shock to the system, such as the coronavirus pandemic, causes the economy to decline.That, in many ways, is the good news. Governments ordered the decline economic […]
The Hibernation Economy: The Novel Coronavirus Pandemic and Your Finances
In this month’s Retirement Watch Spotlight Series, I take a detailed look at the coronavirus pandemic, how the government is responding to it and its effects on the economy and your retirement finances. There’s a lot that’s new in the pandemic. The newness creates more uncertainty and increases market volatility. But there’s also much that […]
Investors Finally Find Things to Worry About
Investor complacency finally was broken in late February. In the 11 years since the bull market began, investors ignored a lot of reasons to sell stocks, especially in the last few years. We never know what will begin a market correction or bear market. We do know that when markets climb for so long, become […]
How to Navigate the Gap in This Market Cycle
Did we skip a phase or two in this investment and economic cycle? It looks like we did, and investors should notice what happened. Indeed, a typical investment and economic cycle has four main phases. There’s peak growth, which is followed by a decline. The decline ends in a trough, which is followed by a […]
The Big Surprises of 2020
Many investors entered 2020 thinking they can sit back and enjoy low-risk returns. The thought is understandable but wrong. A major cause for optimism is that the Federal Reserve and other central banks made clear they won’t tighten the money supply for a long time. The central bankers are willing to err on the side […]
The Fed’s New Paradigm and Your Retirement Finances: Investment and Economic Review December 2019
The Federal Reserve and other central banks around the world recently made a dramatic change in their outlook and policies. Most investors still haven’t grasped the significance of the change and why it was made. In this edition of the Retirement Watch Spotlight Series, I explain in detail why central banks have sharply reversed their […]
