Bob's Journal
Found 589 Articles.
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The Big Yawn About the Fed
Today is the market’s 7th anniversary of the 2009 stock index lows. Until recently, the seven-year stock market rise depended on easy Fed policies. Less than a year ago, a report that the Fed was about to raise interest rates would send panic through the markets but that no longer is the case. Last week, Chairman […]
The Markets so Far in 2017
The first two months of 2017 are behind us. Let’s take a look at how the main asset classes began the year. It’s quite a contrast from 2016, when all assets except government bonds were in freefall. U.S. stocks took most of the headlines in the first two months of 2017. You’re probably aware of […]
Rising Investor Confidence
A little more than a year ago on February 9, 2016, the global economy and markets hit an important turning point. You might remember that in early 2016, global markets other than for government bonds were in steep decline. Investors were convinced that we were on the cusp of a deflationary decline. China had a […]
The Rise in Investor Confidence
Since the Nov. 8 election, a surge of optimism has been reported in many surveys. We’ve seen it in the household surveys as well as the small business and manufacturing business surveys. I experienced that surge of optimism firsthand at the MoneyShow Orlando last week. The crowd seemed larger than last year. (Show sponsors reported […]
Investing amid the Uncertainty in Washington
Perhaps the most asked question by investors these days is: How do I adjust my portfolio for the new administration in Washington? We’re in a period of what I think is unusual uncertainty in the markets. Before considering any potential change in policies, uncertainty already was very high. As you know, we’re still dealing with […]
Finding Interesting Opportunities outside the United States
While investors are focused primarily on the U.S. economy and markets, they’re missing some changes in Japan and Europe. Let’s start with Europe. Many analysts have been negative about Europe for a while, especially since the “Brexit” vote last June when U.K. citizens chose to leave the European Union. But Brexit is going to be […]
Stocks are Surging. What About the Economy?
The strongest responses to the election have been in U.S. stocks, the dollar and sentiment surveys. Each has had positive responses, with the consumer confidence and sentiment surveys soaring. The business sentiment surveys also have been strongly positive since the election. Historically, certain actions follow changes in sentiment. Rising retail sales follow surges in consumer […]
Seeing a Key Time for Balance
“Asymmetric” best describes our current economic and market environments. In the current economy, we have decent, sustainable economic growth and an incoming government that has plans to increase that growth. But we also continue to have the large debt overhang from the boom period. Plus, the incoming Donald Trump administration has some plans that are […]
