Well, the strength of the US economy surprised everyone once again on Friday. We learned that the unemployment rate fell to 3.7% in November, average hourly earnings grew by 0.4%, and 199,000 more jobs were added when economists were expecting around 185,000.
The fate of the S&P 500 is increasingly resting on whether a handful of the biggest technology companies can parlay artificial intelligence investments into even higher profits.
Chinese stocks staged a sharp recovery in afternoon trading, with a spike in volumes for an exchange-traded fund tracking state-owned shares fueling speculation of government buying.
It’s a lose-lose situation for US stock investors next year, according to Marko Kolanovic, JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s chief market strategist.
US household wealth declined in the third quarter by the most in a year on a drop in the value of stock holdings.
When it comes to commercial real estate, a lot of attention is obviously paid to offices. But it's not the only sector facing strains.
Jeremy Grantham is a famous bubble hunter, quick to point out speculative excess on Wall Street and beyond.
Against the odds, the Federal Reserve’s effort to guide the US economy to a soft landing — reducing inflation without causing a recession — seems to be working.
It should be no surprise that Bitcoin sold for over $44,000 this week, more than double its March 13 price. Going back to 2014, it has taken the cryptocurrency an average of nine months and 21 days to double; the milestone came 28 days early this time.
Artificial intelligence holds far-reaching consequences for modern economies. Many of the jobs we are asked to do will change; a lot of them might disappear altogether.
Stock markets will suffer in the first quarter of 2024 as a rally in bonds would signal sputtering economic growth, according to Bank of America Corp.’s Michael Hartnett.
A tough year for banks has left shares cheap, but Wall Street analysts are still hesitant to declare it’s all-clear for the sector as concerns over credit markets loom.
Bond traders who powered a ferocious rally in the $26 trillion US Treasury market are about to find out if they’ve gotten ahead of themselves.
Early last year, critics — and there were many — said the Fed was woefully behind the curve on inflation, and that the only way it could win the battle was to push the economy into a damaging recession by raising interest rates very high, very fast.
Would you gamble your life savings on a few hands of blackjack? Probably not.
Homebuyers have suffered some severe whiplash in recent months. After all, when mortgage rates hit 8% in late October, it was reasonable to think the housing market would stay on ice throughout the winter.
The sizzling global bond rally stalled on Thursday ahead of a key US jobs report, with a slump in Japanese debt adding to the nerves of Treasury traders already fretting that yields had dropped too far.
Stock investors are turning to roughed-up corners of the market from small caps to value shares as they seek out bargains with the S&P 500 Index riding a five-week winning streak and soaring almost 9% since the start of November.
The Treasuries market took another leg higher on Wednesday, as a slowdown in private-sector job creation further encouraged traders to bet on US interest-rate cuts ahead of broad labor-market data due Friday.
US mortgage rates fell to the lowest level in almost four months last week, spurring the biggest demand for refinancing since February.
The notoriously saturated $7.7 trillion ETF industry is this year poised for the second-highest number of closures, as the pandemic-era day trading boom fizzles out.
The federal deficit is already high at 6% of GDP. But if a recession hits – as Jeffrey Gundlach fears will happen next year – unemployment will rise, and the deficit and the interest the government pays on it will cripple the economy.
Student loan interest rates are different depending on whether you have federal student loans or private student loans. The short explanation is that federal student loans are a better deal.
The US Supreme Court heard arguments on Tuesday over a dispute over a $14,279 tax bill — and the slightly more consequential question of what counts as income under the federal tax code, a definition the Biden administration would like to expand.
“BUY BTC.” The logo stamped on this week’s leaked version of the Grand Theft Auto VI trailer, depicting a faux glamorous world of speedboats, supercars and “shoot-em-ups,” was well timed.
There are plenty of high-performing private investment vehicles in India, but it’s the few that are being set up for dubious purposes that may bring harsher regulatory scrutiny to the country’s most rapidly expanding asset class.
Jesse Livermore scanned trendlines. Warren Buffett sought a margin of safety. Peter Lynch bet on growth rates. In the long history of markets, trading systems and investment formulas hold an honored place.
Apollo Global Management Inc.’s Marc Rowan said it’s getting harder for active managers to beat indexes in public markets and that it is easier for investors to find alpha in private markets.
MetLife Inc., the biggest US life insurer, downplayed concerns about the faltering commercial real estate market amid signs that occupancy is starting to recover.
What is the best way to go into performance-review discussions so team members share their experiences and are not worried about their futures?
Treasury yields resumed their downward slide — with the benchmark 10-year note’s falling to the lowest level since Sept. 1 — after the latest sign of labor-market cooling bolstered bets that a Federal Reserve shift to policy easing isn’t far off.
If Mike Tyson were speaking to a group of investors, what he may have been saying is that everyone has a financial plan until life throws a “punch.”
The message coming from Wall Street is that investor optimism is running dangerously high.
How do you get financial information to make sense to people who aren’t numbers-minded? How do you become the advisor who helps complicated things make sense without making people feel stupid or overwhelmed?
Taiwan’s economic and financial decoupling from China has deepened with the near-collapse of what was once the world’s largest Chinese bond exchange-traded fund market.
If you don’t have all your expenses covered through scholarships and grants, consider student loans to fill in the gaps. If you’re exploring federal aid, Stafford loans are an option.
How might stocks and bonds perform during the pause and eventually when the Fed cuts rates?
Don’t waste your money on lead-generation programs, white-label content, or consultants who overpromise and fail to deliver.
Big central banks are going to keep shrinking their balance sheets next year, pulling money out of the financial system, even if the fight against inflation looks to be won and interest rate cuts begin.
The $1.6 trillion private credit market is enjoying a “golden moment,” in the words of one Blackstone Inc. executive, as banks retreat from risky lending and investors flock to funds offering double-digit returns on corporate loans.
Market rents in the US are, depending on which measure you look at, either rising slowly or falling outright. Home purchase prices, after a slight dip last year, are climbing again.
One of the big winners from the sudden furious rally in the US bond market: Bill Gross.
Unlike with a 401(k) plan, you can withdraw as much as you want from your 529 plan at any time. But your 529 plan withdrawal could hit you with severe tax penalties if you use it on nonqualified expenses.
Banks using generative artificial intelligence tools could boost their earnings by as much as $340 billion annually through increased productivity, according to consultants hoping to help the industry adapt in this fast-moving area.
India is once again leading flows into US exchange-traded funds tracking emerging markets, boosting one of the most popular trades in 2023 as declining US yields and a weakening dollar turn investors toward assets in the developing world.
Don’t look to US stocks for big gains next year — or for at least the next decade. That’s the bold take from Stifel Nicolaus & Co.’s Barry Bannister, one of a few Wall Street strategists who predicted the rally in the first half of 2023.
Recency bias is too ingrained within us as human beings to ever go away regardless of the evidence. As advisors, we must learn to manage it.
December’s whipsaw opening shows investors may be concerned November’s epic rallies went too far, too fast in anticipating a near-perfect soft landing for the economy.
Including one or more charitable trusts as part of a testamentary estate plan is a creative and powerful way for clients to achieve multiple goals in one estate planning vehicle.
If you shift your mindset to become a financial doctor to your prospects, you no longer have to dispense information or advice pre-sale to prove yourself.
