In October we examined how the outcome of November’s Presidential Election might impact future stock market returns in the United States. If you will recall from the article, stocks have performed slightly better under Democrat Presidents than under Republican Presidents historically. The same data revealed that investors’ returns were even better when they were invested during all Presidential administrations, regardless of…
Social Security benefits represent a salient component of most retirees’ retirement income strategy. For most American retirees today the two most important sources of retirement income are withdrawals from their own retirement savings and their monthly Social Security benefit. As such, it is imperative to be aware of new developments with Social Security and its associated retiree healthcare program, Medicare….
“Has it been four years already?” That questions is a popular refrain heard frequently as our nation readies itself for our next Presidential election on November 3rd. As expected, the looming election has garnered the attention of news and media outlets for the past few months with an ever-increasing focus on the November 3rd decision date. The 2020 Presidential election…
The economic downturn that began earlier in 2020 resulting from the Coronavirus outbreak has led to a period of economic contraction that some economists are calling a recession. The fallout of the pandemic has been disjointed, leaving some Americans struggling to pay their bills, while other Americans are largely unaffected financially. Whether or not the downturn turns into an actual…
If you are having a hard time making sense of what is going on in the economy and financial markets right now, you are not alone. The past four months have taken investors on a dizzying rollercoaster ride, making it difficult to make heads or tails of economic data and financial market movements for investors and analysts alike. While there…
As many industries and economic sectors shut down earlier this spring in concerted efforts to reduce the spread of the coronavirus, many economists opined that the U.S. economy faced a certain recession. Recessions are generally defined as two consecutive quarters of negative growth in U.S. production. But other criteria may also be utilized to declare a recession, including a sharp…
As the number of confirmed Coronavirus cases nears 2.4 million in the United States, the virus has extracted a heavy toll in terms of deaths, hospitalizations, job loss and economic malaise. As devastating as Covid-19 has been the past four months in terms of loss of human life and economic conditions, it may be minor in comparison to the potential…
The widespread economic uncertainty caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has taken a crippling toll on national and local economies alike. As businesses and employers around the country wrestle with the fallout of closures, layoffs and furloughs the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, better known as the CARES Act, was signed into law on March 27th, 2020 to…
2020 began with the promise of continued strong economic and financial performance and a hint of uncertainty surrounding the November Presidential election. The nation’s unemployment rate was near sixty-year lows, and labor force participation rates were near sixty-year highs. The longest bull market in U.S. history was still running, despite concerns by some investors and analysts that it was getting…
For many investors, the greatest impediment to financial success is their failure to control two powerful emotions: fear and greed. Fear and greed can distort investors’ perceptions of current economic conditions and financial markets, while diverting their attention from longer term financial goals. Of the two emotions, fear is probably the more difficult to control for most investors and can…
