Monday’s big down day was a harsh reminder of how markets actually can produce volatility. It was the worst day of the year for the Dow and only the second drop of 1% or more for the S&P 500 Index in just over two months. As we noted recently in Three Things That Worry Us, there […]
LPL Research Midyear Outlook 2021: Picking Up Speed is designed to help you navigate the risks and opportunities over the rest of 2021 and beyond. While the speed can be exhilarating as economic growth accelerates, it can also be dangerous. Midyear Outlook 2021 looks ahead for opportunities but also watches for new hazards created by the reopening. With the […]
Social wellness refers to the relationships you have and how you interact with others. It involves building and maintaining positive, supportive relationships and fostering meaningful connections. If you prioritize becoming socially well, you will enjoy less stress, a more robust immune system, and a healthy heart and endocrine system. How social wellness relates to financial […]
Despite the economic shock of the coronavirus pandemic, American workers and retirees remain largely optimistic about their financial prospects for retirement. In its annual Retirement Confidence Survey conducted in January 2021, the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) found that 80% of retirees and 72% of workers were either very or somewhat confident in their ability […]
To quote the great Frank the Tank from Old School, “We’re going streaking!” Although Frank had another idea, stocks have been streaking in some historic ways, both near-term and longer-term. Let’s start with the more recent action. The S&P 500 Index was recently higher seven consecutive days for the first time since last August, but […]
The Federal Reserve Bank (Fed) has been doing all they can the past few days to calm the fears over last week’s hawkish Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting. Fed Chair Jerome Powell testified to Congress that inflation is indeed transitory, and he isn’t considering hiking rates yet, until there is an actual inflation or imbalances. New York Fed […]
As nearly everyone knows by now, inflation has soared the past few months, with the May Consumer Price Index (CPI) coming in at 5.0% year-over-year, the highest since 2008, while the core CPI (excluding energy and food) was 3.8%, the highest since 1992. The Bloomberg consensus is calling for 3.4% headline CPI this year, which […]
Young adults starting out in life, especially newlyweds, need insurance. But what kind? As a start, a good term life policy likely is a smart move. Other types of insurance may not be. And as they age, what other varieties of coverage make sense? A good deal of misunderstanding surrounds insurance protection planning. Consider a […]
An annuity is a contract between you, the purchaser or owner, and an insurance company, the annuity issuer. In its simplest form, you pay money to an annuity issuer, and the issuer pays out the principal and earnings back to you or to a named beneficiary. Life insurance companies first developed annuities to provide income […]
At the end of 2015, Congress permanently extended the rule allowing taxpayers to exclude from taxable income certain individual retirement account (IRA) distributions made directly to a qualified charity. Otherwise known as qualified charitable distributions, or QCDs, such transfers can provide individuals who were already planning to make a charitable gift with several tax benefits. […]
