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Weekly Market Insights: Stocks End Summer with Gloomy News
Rising bond yields and fears of a government shutdown hammered stocks last week, with technology shares bearing the brunt of the retreat. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 1.89%, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 dropped 2.93%. The Nasdaq Composite index tumbled...
Weekly Market Insights: Will The Fed Raise Interest Rates?
Concerns that the Fed may raise interest rates soured investor sentiment, sending stocks lower in a holiday-shortened trading week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.75%, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 declined 1.29%. The Nasdaq Composite index dropped...
Weekly Market Insights: September Stocks Open In Positive Territory
Falling bond yields–spurred by weak economic data–helped lift stocks to weekly gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 1.43%, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 gained 2.50%. The Nasdaq Composite index increased 3.25% for the week. The MSCI EAFE index, which...
Weekly Market Insights: Stocks Retreat; Powell Talk Goes Hawk
Stocks fluctuated last week, jostled by fitful bond yields and headline news, before ending strongly following Fed Chair Powell’s comments on the monetary outlook. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.45%, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 gained 0.82%. The...
Weekly Market Insights: Stocks Weather Summer Storm Of News And Indicators
Stocks extended their August declines last week as higher yields and weak economic data out of China soured investor sentiment. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 2.21%, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 retreated 2.11%. The Nasdaq Composite index backtracked...
Weekly Market Insights: Summertime Blues for the Markets
Positive inflation data failed to lift stocks from their August doldrums last week as economic data and a ratings downgrade soured investor sentiment.The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.62%, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 slipped 0.31%. The Nasdaq Composite...
Weekly Market Insights: Stocks Raise White Flag to Bad News
Stocks retreated last week as bond yields increased following the Treasury's announcement indicating “a larger-than-expected funding need” and a downgrade in the federal government’s debt rating. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1.11%, while the Standard &...
Weekly Market Insights: Stocks Advance And Retreat On Mixed News
Stocks moved to the rhythm of earnings season last week, initially rising on positive earnings surprises and faltering later in the week on key earnings disappointments. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 2.08%, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 added 0.69%. The...
Weekly Market Insights: Bad News for Bears; Good News Buoys Markets
Better-than-expected updates last week on consumer and wholesale price inflation buoyed investor sentiment, driving stocks higher and lower bond yields. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 2.29%, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 increased 2.42%. The Nasdaq...
Weekly Market Insights: Stocks Stumble with CPI on Deck
Rising concerns about further rate hikes sent stocks lower to kick off the second half of trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 1.96%, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 retreated 1.16%. The Nasdaq Composite index surrendered 0.92% for the week. The MSCI...
Weekly Market Insights: Economy Continues Upward Trend
Stocks posted gains for the week to close out a stellar month, aided by positive economic data and reports that all major banks had passed the Federal Reserve’s annual stress test. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 2.02%, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 rose...
Weekly Market Insights: Stocks Take Summer Break, Month Remains Strong
Stocks took a breather last week as investors digested the previous week’s surge and the month-to-date solid gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 1.67%, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 fell 1.39%. The Nasdaq Composite index dropped 1.44% for the week. The...
Weekly Market Insights: Stocks Climb After Fed Pause
Stocks climbed last week as reassuring inflation data boosted investor hopes that the rate-hike cycle was nearing an end amid fresh economic data pointing to continued economic resilience. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.25%, while the Standard & Poor’s...
Questions To Ask A Financial Advisor
The recent volatility in the stock market has again become a wake up call to many investors.
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Advised Brokerage Accounts Are Better Diversified, Reports Schwab
The report highlights the benefits of working with an advisor. In general, participants who had professional help were more diversified across all of their holdings
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Where is Your Best Place to Retire?
The best place to retire in the United States is in dispute. There’s no formal debate, but a review of reliable publications showed surveys have named different states and cities as the “best” place to retire.
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Documenting Your Possessions in Case of Disaster
It’s better to protect yourself now and document your possessions rather than trying to do it after something has happened. A home inventory will give you an accurate recording of your assets for insurance purposes and give you a better idea of how much homeowner’s insurance you need to ensure proper coverage.
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Unused Vacation Days Can Be Costly
Would you give up a share of $62 billion? If your answer is no, then you may be a member of the relatively small group of Americans (36 percent) that takes all of the vacation days available to them each year.
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Red Flags for Tax Auditors
No one wants to see an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) auditor show up at his or her door. The IRS can’t audit every American’s tax return, so it relies on guidelines to select the ones most deserving of its attention.
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Six Steps To Financial Independence For Women
Financial independence: Whether you enjoy it or dream about it, it’s a common term that you’ve probably seen in magazine ads, TV commercials and billboards. But what really does financial independence mean, exactly?
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Understanding Credit Reporting
To qualify for the best loans at the lowest rates, borrowers must qualify financially and are scored by lenders using a computerized model for evaluating credit risk, developed by Fair, Isaac, and Company, known as the FICO score. Learn more
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Organizing Your Financial Records and Emergency Forms
Would someone be able to find your important papers during a crisis if you became ill, injured, or incapacitated? It’s a good idea to make sure a trusted family member or friend knows where to find your personal documents.
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5 Benefits of Working in Retirement
In the past, retirement has been portrayed as an ending, a grand exit from your years in the workplace. But the rules are shifting.
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The Drawback Of Target Date Mutual Funds
If the majority of fund management won’t even invest in their own target-date retirement funds….why should you?
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Just How Safe Is An Insurance Company, Really?
When you think about the car you drive, the house you live in, the health plan you use and the life insurance policy you have, it’s not a stretch to say insurance is an intrinsic part of our daily lives.
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Credit Freeze - You should consider it!
It’s been over a year since Equifax, one of the three largest credit reporting agencies in the U.S., revealed they’d been hacked.
What did you do to protect your data?.
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Should Parents Pay for College Tuition?
It’s a pricey question.
College Board estimated the average cost for full-time, in-state students who live on campus at four-year public colleges or universities during the 2017-18 school year is $25,290.
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Just Say NO to Pie Charts!!
Pie charts look nice coming out of a color printer, but they can’t help manage investment risk
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An Investment Advisor’s Blueprint To Making Solid Financial Decisions
A common mistake people make is to give up what they want most for what they only want right now. Pick which goals in your life are most important to you, and make achieving those goals your utmost priority. Then…
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Enjoy Life. Hire Someone To Watch Your 401K
Have you ever thought you’d be happier if you could just pay someone else to do watch your company 401K retirement plan account?
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The 7 Rules of Investing
From 1977 through 1990, Lynch ran one of the most successful mutual funds ever, posting an average annual return of 29%.
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Considering A 401K Rollover?
What to do with an old 401K?
One great thing about a 401K retirement savings plan is that your assets are often portable when you leave a job.
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Have You Checked Out Our Retirement Planning Library?
While retirement planning can seem intimidating, it’s never too early or too late to start preparing for the future.
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Common Financial Terms
We have compiled a list of important financial terms. If you don’t speak personal finance, don’t worry—we’re here to help.
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Special Message
Bonds CAN’T Fall Any Lower… Or Can They?What once was considered a “safe” investment has taken a drubbing in 2022. As of yesterday (June 06, 2022) the AGG (US Aggregate Bond Index) has fallen 10.42% 1. Just for the record, a 10% drop is recognized as an...
Memorial Day
Friends,Memorial Day is a time for Americans to honor and remember those who lost their lives while serving in the armed forces. Veterans will think back on the men and women who served alongside them who gave the ultimate sacrifice for their country and...
Signs on the Horizon
A Strange World All around us we see the same thing: weirdness. According to a client of mine, a McDonald’s on Interstate 81 posted a sign in the window: Apply Inside … Work Today! So anyone with a pulse can walk in off the street and get a job at...
Important Market Update
Dear friends and clients,You’ve heard about it on the news, you’ve felt it at the grocery store and at the gas pump, you’re having to deal with it every day. It is inflation.We didn’t hear much about it in the news or feel its impact until very recently....
Q1 2022 Update
Ehhh, What's up Doc?Just two years ago, media had zero coverage of inflation as a topic of interest. Now, multiple stories appear every day about how inflation is affecting the global economy, consumers, and business.In many ways, the economy is like a...
SPECIAL EDITION MARKET UPDATE
April 12, 2022Our Mission Is To Create And Preserve Client Wealth Some Scary Grains of Truth The Pain … Perhaps we need to brace ourselves. A slew of reputable sources are painting bleak pictures. Not just of the U.S. economy. But of the global economy....
Special Update
All,You undoubtedly have heard reports that the world’s supply of wheat and corn are in jeopardy due to Ukraine and Russia both missing this season’s planting window for obvious reasons (click the link above to read more details). Did you know that Russia...
Happy Holidays from Research Financial Strategies
Traditional Holiday FaresWhether you celebrate Christmas, Chanukah, or Kwanzaa this December, the festivities wouldn’t be complete without the scrumptious foods that make up our personal traditions. Before you reach for another helping of mashed potatoes...
Special Edition – oil and gas prices going UP!
$200 Oil TrifectaCold - Supply - ChangeThree ForcesThe weather, Mideast supply, climate change—these three forces could combine to give us oil costing $200 per barrel in the not-so-distant future. And the first two—weather and supply—could very well give...
Special important safety notice
Dear Friends, Recently, I have been reading about a sharp increase in auto break-ins in my neighborhood and in several around me. As the COVID-19 variant surges back to levels last seen in March 2020, you can expect to see a rise in crime. Car thieves now...
The Legacy of Labor Day
Athlete and CEO Tyrone Ross Jr. often says, “Legacy is greater than résumé.”1Ross frequently shares pictures of his nieces and nephews with this saying, noting the work he does and the success he has is all to lay a path for the next generation to do...
Special Market Update
A Whole Flock of CanariesBack in 1911, British coal miners started taking canaries into the mines. Because of the bird’s sensitivity to carbon monoxide, an ill or listless canary would give miners warning. The practice continued until 1986.[1]So began the...
LITHIUM !!!
LithiumThat’s a Drug, Right?Yes, But It’s Also the Next Investment IdeaEverybody has probably heard of Lithium as a drug. It helps those who suffer from bipolar disorder. But not everyone has heard about Lithium as the next big thing for investors.Up 26%...