Bob's Journal
Found 589 Articles.
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Bob’s Journal for July 27, 2023
Producer Prices Near Deflationary Levels, Consumer Price Inflation Remains High Producer prices increases have slowed to almost 0% while consumer price increases remain high. The Producer Price Index (PPI) for June increased only 0.1% after declining 0.4% in May. Over 12 months, the PPI increased only 0.1%. The core PPI, which excludes food and energy, […]
Bob’s Journal for July 19, 2023
IRS Issues New Guidance on RMDs The IRS isn’t ready to issue final rules on the changes made to required minimum distributions (RMDs) under the SECURE Act and other recent legislation, but it issued new short-term guidance last week. RMDs were changed in significant ways the last few years. One major change is that the […]
Bob’s Journal for 7/13/23
4 Reasons Index Funds Beat Most Actively-Managed Stock Funds A minority of actively managed stock mutual funds beat the indexes or index funds. That’s well-known. Most people say the difference is due to the higher fees and expenses of actively managed funds. Higher costs are a factor, of course, but it’s not the only reason […]
Bob’s Journal for July 6, 2023
Without AI, Stock Indexes are Down 2% This Year The S&P 500 Index is up 16.79% so far in 2023, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 is up 39.14%. But those gains are because of a remarkably few stocks, and those stocks are closely connected to artificial intelligence (AI). The rest of the market isn’t doing […]
Bob’s Journal for 6/29/23
Five Overlooked, Underestimated Expenses That Can Derail Retirement Many people’s greatest retirement fear is running out of money, and they develop plans designed to make that unlikely. But those plans often overlook expenses that frequently are underestimated and can drain a nest egg over time. Most people are aware of the potential for significant medical […]
Bob’s Journal for 6/22
The Rise in Noneconomic Spending and What It Means to You We’re in an age when noneconomic spending by businesses and governments is increasing, and that will have significant economic consequences. For many years, businesses spent and invested primarily to reduce costs or increase productivity. Results of that were a productivity boom, rising profits and […]
Bob’s Journal for 6/15/23
Don’t Overlook This Key Factor When Considering Retirement Relocation A long-neglected factor to consider when choosing a residence is becoming more and more important to those who relocate in retirement. Because too many people don’t consider that factor, it’s causing a lot of financial pain. The overlooked factor is homeowner’s insurance, something that most people […]
Bob’s Journal for 6/8/23
The Stock Indexes Are Misleading Investors The S&P 500 is up 12.11% so far in 2023, but many investors didn’t earn those returns because only a few stocks contributed to the index’s gains. In the month of May, the S&P 500 had a 0.25% return. But the 10 largest stocks in the index had a […]
