Bob's Journal
Found 589 Articles.
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Bob’s Journal for 6/23/22
Behind the Headlines of the Social Security Report The annual report from the trustees of Social Security was released in early June. The headline of most media stories was that the trust fund was estimated to last a year longer, until 2035, than was estimated last year. But the details of the report are what […]
Bob’s Journal for 6/16/22
Medicare Premiums Might Decline in 2023 Medicare beneficiaries were surprised in late 2021 by the announcement that the Part B premium would increase by 14.5% for 2022 from 2021’s level. They might receive another, but a very different, surprise in late 2022. The Part B premium for 2023 might be lower than 2022’s premium. Part […]
Bob’s Journal for 6/9/22
Social Security Trust Fund Is a Little More Solvent The Board of Trustees of Social Security issued its latest annual report last week and estimated the retirement trust fund will last one year longer than was estimated last year. While the pandemic recession in 2020 was worse than anything the trustees had anticipated in previous […]
Bob’s Journal for 6/2/22
How Investment Markets Have Changed Over the last four decades, investors came to believe certain relationships and trends in the markets were inviolate and permanent. Investment rules and strategies were developed around these relationships. It’s time to reconsider those beliefs. Historic bull markets in stocks and bonds began in 1982. The Federal Reserve changed its […]
Bob’s Journal for 5/26/22
The Stocks that Led the Market Indexes Higher are Leading Them Down in 2022 It always is interesting to look into the details of the stock market indexes to identify the stocks and sectors steering the indexes. It is especially interesting to do so after big market moves. You’re probably aware that after the pandemic […]
Bob’s Journal for 5/19/22
Capture Safe 9.62% Yield Now The best deal in the investment world continues to be Series I Savings Bonds issued by the U.S. Treasury (known as I bonds). A new I bond purchased today will carry a yield of 9.62%. You can buy I bonds at this rate through October 22, 2022. The bonds carry […]
Bob’s Journal for 5/12/22
The ‘Fed Put’ Has Expired For many years, investors believed in the “Fed Put” and profited from that belief. Investors need a new strategy. Since early 2009, the Fed relied on the wealth effect to support the economy. If prices of assets such as stocks and homes were high and rising, heads of households seemed […]
Bob’s Journal for 5/5/2022
Medicare Could be Changing Without Action by Congress Become familiar with these terms and acronyms, and look for them in any communication from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) or involving Medicare late this year or early in 2023. There’s the Accountable Care Organization (ACO) and the medical care model it is part […]
