Bob's Journal
Found 589 Articles.
Get access to our full article archive by subscribing to Retirement Watch and Retirement Watch Spotlight Series.
Inside the Confidence Numbers
Consumer confidence and sentiment are extremely positive. Let’s take a look behind the headline numbers. If you’ve been following these reports regularly, you’ve seen the steady increases in Consumer Sentiment, as reported by the University of Michigan and Consumer Confidence as reported by The Conference Board. While both numbers have increased, the Consumer Confidence numbers […]
The Dow vs. the Rest of the Market
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) quietly shot past all the other benchmarks in October, and no one expected that. The DJIA is the benchmark most quoted by the media, but it takes a lot of abuse from academics and financial professionals. The DJIA reflects the limits of technology at the time it was created […]
International Markets Still Set the Pace
U.S. stocks beat most international markets recently, but non-U.S. stocks are likely to resume the outperformance they delivered for most of the last 18 months. U.S. stock indexes have been setting record highs all year and are on pace to establish a record for most new highs recorded in a calendar year. The S&P 500 […]
The Dollar Bounces Back
The reversal in the U.S. dollar is the big news in the markets. The dollar soared after the election but began a steady decline in January that didn’t stop until recently. At one point, the dollar was down almost 10% for the year against a basket of major currencies. That was its longest and steepest […]
Whipsawed by Economic Surprises
This year has been a case study in the dangers of adjusting one’s outlook and portfolio based on the latest economic data. Most economic data are what the statisticians call “noisy.” It is based on estimates and incomplete information. Also, short-term factors can influence a month’s data. The data often are subject to later revisions, […]
The Stock Market Rotation
There have been sharp changes in the stock markets. Those who focus only on the headlines and indexes missed those moves. September unquestionably has been full of surprises for investors. First, September is supposed to be the worst month of the year for stocks. Yet, we have a gain of more than 1% in the […]
The Fed Makes another Historic Move
The markets are hoping and expecting that the Fed’s next moves will be boring. Investment markets largely were controlled by central banks from the time the Fed began its “extraordinary measures” in 2009 until it ended quantitative easing in 2014. In quantitative easing, the Fed purchased securities in the open market to inject cash into […]
Reviewing History’s Most Hated Bull Market
Here’s a big “thank you” to all of you who voted for “The New Rules of Retirement” as the best retirement book. Seniorhomes.com informed me that we were successful. Thanks to you, Seniorhomes.com named my book the winner. As a further thank you, I am providing what I hope is a highly useful weekly update. […]
