Author Archive
2008 Economic and Investment Outlook
The economy faces serious challenges in 2008: 1. New home sales are at a 16 year low and may go lower; 2. Inflation will be high for the next few months as energy and food prices work their way through the economy; 3. Retail sales will be weak, as evidenced by the […]
Surviving A Recession
When the major stock market averages declined by 10% from their 2007 highs on Monday, we were in official market correction. Sentiment is negative owing to the economic back drop of, at best, tepid growth according to the Fed, or a recession.
Consumers twenty-five credit binge fueled by home equity loans, credit cards arriving in […]
A Euro, A Yen, A Buck Or A Pound-Currency Fluctuation Explained
Or a Yuan. (My apologies to all you Cabaret fans.) As a mutual fund or ETF investor you need to be aware of the currency risks you’re taking when investing internationally. Is your fund hedged against the dollar or not? Do you want your fund to be hedged or not? […]
Danger: Recession Ahead Proceed with Caution
The Dow, S&P and NASDAQ are touching their lows for the year, down some 8% - 9%. The definition of a market correction is a 10% decline. A 20% decline is to be expected if there is a moderate recession or the expectation of one. Are we headed for a recession? Let’s […]
The CIA’s Guide To International Investing
The world’s second biggest economy is Japan (behind the good ol’ USA). China, India, and Brazil have economies growing at upwards of 10% annually. That’s a lot faster then the roughly 2.5% expected US growth over the next year or so (absent a recession, of course). Together those three economies almost equal […]
Making Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) Work for You
Exchange traded funds are index funds which have advantages over open-end index mutual funds. ETFs trade all day long on the stock exchanges, may be purchased through any broker, have lower fund expenses than mutual funds, and have less likelihood of generating unwanted taxable gains than mutual funds.
There are a number of […]
The ABCs of Exchange Traded Funds
Every investor should consider Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs). The younger brother of open-end index mutual funds is growing up fast and showing greater versatility. ETFs are open-end index mutual funds that trade like stocks (and closed-end mutual funds).
There are three legal structures of ETFs: Open-end mutual fund (the difference […]
Investing In Energy Funds
It’s hard to believe with oil approaching $100 per barrel, but the U.S. will consume over 1 billion (that’s 1,000,000,000) more gallons of gasoline in 2007 than in 2006.
As a certain President once said, we are energy junkies. We keep craving more regardless of the price. Ask yourself this: […]
Indexing for Passive Aggressive Investors
Let’s dispel the notion once and for all that index funds are only for passive investors. Sure, the original index funds tracked the S&P and were meant for investors who either believed you couldn’t beat the market or didn’t want to try.
Since their beginning, index funds have expanded their breath. You can […]
Mr. Greenspan’s Investments
In The Age of Turbulence, Alan Greenspan outlines his vision for the world, and particularly the United States, between now and 2030.
He chose 2030 because that’s when the last of the baby boomers reach age 65 - retirement. And the impact the baby boomers have on the world’s economy as they shift […]
