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Stock Markets and the Economy

Found 231 Articles.
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Bob’s Journal for 6/6/2019

June 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

May 30, 2019

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

May 23, 2019

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 […]

Why the Fed and the Markets Are in Conflict

May 22, 2019

The Federal Reserve successfully used its messaging ability to stem the economy’s decline and help investment markets. But what comes next? The Fed tightened policy too much in 2018. The effects were felt globally. Economic growth slowed and most asset markets declined. Market interest rates rose higher than the interest rates the Fed controls. The […]

Bob’s Journal for 4/25/19

April 25, 2019

Many investors misunderstand the recent changes in China’s economic policies, leading them to underestimate future growth. We recently added T. Rowe Price New Asia to some of our Retirement Watch portfolios, so it’s important to understand the changes. China tightened its economic policy about two years ago, because growth was higher than the country’s goals […]

Bob’s Journal for 3/28/19

March 28, 2019

Your retirement plan should assume inflation will be higher than the published numbers, whether you already are retired or still looking forward to it. The most widely cited measure of inflation is the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for all urban consumers. This measure generally has been declining since it peaked in the early 1980s. In […]

The Economy and the Stock Market – Our Three Likely Scenarios Updated

March 15, 2019

Is 2019 going to be like 2015? Or will it bring a serious bear market and perhaps a recession? In 2015, the U.S. labor market was strong, and the economy was growing. So, the Fed ended quantitative easing. As the year went on, the debt crisis in Greece roiled markets. China’s stock market took a […]

Will It Only Be a Correction or a Bear Market?

March 7, 2019

On Jan. 30, the Federal Reserve finally admitted it made a big mistake, but did the U.S. central bank take too long to realize it? The Fed tightened monetary policy aggressively in 2017 and 2018. In September 2018, it ratcheted up the rhetoric, telling investors to expect a series of interest rate increases through 2019. […]

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