Issues
I was both amazed and encouraged by the great turnout I received for my workshop at last week’s MoneyShow. And if you were among the nearly 400 attendees who came to see me speak, I’d like to …
We are caught in the grips of a great war! It is not a traditional land or sea war with tanks and battleships. Nor is it an anti-terrorist, guerilla war for hearts and minds. Rather, it is war of a third kind — pitting government bureaucrats against millions of investors …
While our federal deficit explodes and U.S. stocks sink, I’ve been actively meeting our readers on my personal blog to share ideas on how to build the optimal growth portfolio in trying times like these …
The debt problems in Dubai threw a wrench in the happy-go-lucky risk trade of last year. And since then, the perception of the state of the global economy has been unraveling. All of the sudden, the world …
I just got back from my first lengthy vacation in years — to New York, London, and Paris. I enjoyed many fine meals and fun nights out with friends. I got to see everything from the Rosetta Stone and …
Energy is big business here in Texas. Just about everyone in the state knows someone in the industry, if they aren’t employed in it themselves. In fact, energy is big business everywhere! Crude oil, …
The stock market does not turn on a dime. At least historically that’s been the case. Take Japan as an impressive example … At 10,300 the Nikkei is now 74 percent below its all time high of December …
Last week I told you about some of Washington’s latest ideas on “fixing” Social Security. And the very next night — as part of his first State of the Union address — President Obama referenced some of his own …
The next contagion is beginning to spread around the globe. It is unexpected on Wall Street, misunderstood in Washington — and very dangerous. It could sabotage the plans of the U.S. Treasury, the Federal …
Without careful thought and planning, my concern for most investors is simple: They could face pandemonium in their portfolios! I don’t want that for you, and that’s why I have been devoting …
The Fed met this week on monetary policy. It was a bit of a snoozer. What wasn’t a snoozer, however, was what they’ve included in their recent monetary policy statements regarding currencies …
I sincerely hope you’re spending some time each day over at my personal blog. If you’re looking for extremely valuable investing insights and ideas from your fellow investors and yours truly, it’s …
These days, the financial industry’s locus of power can’t be found in London. It’s not in New York City. Frankfurt? Tokyo? Davos, Switzerland? Nope, nope, and nope. The real decisions that impact …
The old saying says, “Don’t believe everything you read.” While this is good advice, investors today have a bigger problem: News that is accurate but irrelevant. I see this all the time as I track the …
Hedge funds and the managers who run them have been getting a lot of publicity lately — and not of the flattering kind. We have massive Ponzi schemes, equally massive losses and outsized systemic risks …
I take retirement matters very seriously, which is why I’m constantly on the alert for any hint of a change coming out of Washington. And make no mistake: There have been times when I agree with new …
Never before have we seen such a stark contrast between our economy here at home … bogged down by chronic unemployment and massive debts … and other markets and economies around the globe …
The heyday of the Bush-Obama bailout frenzy is coming to an end. The bailout’s base of public support, tenuous from the outset, is collapsing. Its chief architects — Treasury Secretary Geithner and Fed Chairman Bernanke — are politically dead …
In December I wrote a Money and Markets column making the case for a bottom in the dollar. And since then the evidence supporting that thesis has grown. I also said there are plenty of ugly currencies …
From its intraday high to this morning’s low, the Dow has lost over 430 points just in the last three trading days … breaking through critical support … raising the specter of AT LEAST a big …
Do you remember the days of easy credit? It doesn’t seem that long ago when we “benefited” from loose lending standards in the credit card industry. It seemed like every day there were multiple credit …
Today I’d like to tell you about a sector that is deeply intertwined with economic recovery. I’m talking about transportation. We live in a mobile society, even if we are in the internet age. Not only do …
During the past few years you have most likely read about Japan’s so-called lost decade or its so-called deflationary malaise. And you may have heard warnings that the Japanese experience might be the …
I just landed in Newark, New Jersey this morning after 23 days travelling throughout India … and it feels good to be home! Despite the many problems in our country today, we should never take for …
Washington has so thoroughly botched its supervision of the banking industry that 200 banks are likely to fail this year — easily surpassing last year’s 140 bank failures … inevitably involving the greatest …
Pair trading is a popular stock-trading strategy. It gives you the opportunity to capture a dislocation between two stocks by taking a long position in one stock and simultaneously taking a short …
I talked in last week’s column about how our Federal Reserve won’t raise interest rates until the cows come home. But you can’t say the same thing about many central banks overseas … The men …
You might think the wild markets of the last year would have made ETF sponsors slow down a bit, but they kept on cranking out new products — some great, some not. By my count, a total of 136 …
From the start of the economic and financial crisis that began in 2007, I made it clear that this was not a garden variety recession. Instead, I said, it was the aftermath of the bursting of the largest …
The term “relative returns” refers to returns as compared to a benchmark index. Most money managers, such as mutual funds, will aim to produce returns that beat a benchmark, e.g. the S&P 500 or the …
After poring over news and charts this weekend, I must say that, even though this is precisely what we’ve been forecasting for many months, I’m still in a state of amazement. Never before in my …
The UK economy is in a tough spot … it’s the only major economy that has yet to emerge from recession. It’s running the largest budget deficit of any industrialized country. And its central bank has …
There’s a real debate waging on Wall Street. Just like that famous scene from the 1974 movie Chinatown, where Faye Dunaway’s Evelyn Mulwray goes back and forth saying “She’s my daughter …
Everyone is making 2010 forecasts. So today I’ll jump on the bandwagon and share one of mine with you: In 2010 you’ll hear a lot more about the “Next 11.” The Next 11 (N-11) is a list of fast-growing …
As a group, mutual fund managers are as good a contrarian indicator for the stock market as they come. History shows that they hold relatively high cash levels at the beginning of a bull market. Then …
When we were first planning our trip to India, my wife — and all her family members — insisted that I make an effort to go see the Taj Mahal …
If you think 2010 is going to bring investors a carefree, nonstop ride to glory, think again! Profit opportunities abound, and we intend to be among …
For the better part of 2009 the U.S. dollar was the world’s most hated currency. But it’s looking increasingly likely the tables could turn in 2010. And the euro could take over that unenviable title …
On behalf of the entire Money and Markets family, we wish you a New Year that brings health, wealth and peace to you and your loved ones …
