Investments

A long-held axiom among professional investors says that diversifying a portfolio by adding international stocks helps to reduce risk and enhance returns. But as the world’s developed economies in Asia and Europe have become more tightly entwined, critics have argued that global investing’s allure has declined because stock market patterns in major markets have converged. Rex Sinquefield, who helped develop […]

Stock markets worldwide have been rallying for nearly two years now. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index hit a low of 676 on March 9, 2009 and has risen ever since. In late February it was in the 1330 range. Yet the average investor doesn’t seem to trust the trend, and plenty of professionals are skeptical as well. Worries over […]

As decision makers we spend a lot of time wallowing in the past. We project recent trends forward, expecting things will pretty much go on as they have been. Unfortunately, this tendency, termed “recency bias” by cognitive psychology, often does not give you a good guide to the future. Nowhere is this more true than in the investment markets. Here […]

Low interest rates at the bank and scary volatility in investment markets has created a market for shady high yield investment programs (HYIPs) that prey on unsophisticated investors, warns the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, which regulates U.S.securities firms. If you or someone you know are offered a high yield investment that claims to provide safety, liquidity, and above-market interest rates, […]

Savers have been frustrated by super-low short-term interest rates since the 2008 financial crisis forced central banks worldwide to slash rates. Despite forecasts that government stimulus spending and rising national deficits would spark inflation and higher rates, inflation and interest rates have remained stubbornly low. What is a saver who wants a decent interest rate to do? The chart of […]

One of this country’s preeminent financial economists and historians believes the stock market is a great buy today. In fact, when compared to similar periods over the last 200 years of stock market history, all of the unsettling events of recent years have contributed to the market’s positive prospects, says Jeremy J. Siegel of the Wharton School and author of […]

On May 6, the stock market suffered a massive drop in stock prices that took the Dow Jones Industrial Average down by 1,000 points in a matter of minutes before recovering much of the loss. Although market participants and federal regulators still cannot explain what happened, some popular new investment vehicles’ exchange traded funds, or ETFs—have lost a bit of […]

Investors who own a typical stock and bond portfolio don’t have to go too far to find a handy diversifier. Shares of real estate investment trusts are traded on the major exchanges just like any other stock. However, unlike other stocks that represent ownership of companies, REITS offer ownership in commercial real estate. They give shareholders access to a steady […]

Many investors are worried about the declining position of the United States in the global economy. The dollar has been on a long-term downtrend, federal budget deficits and international trade deficits keep going up, and the country has lost many of its basic industries to overseas competitors. While disconcerting, these trends offer plenty of opportunity to an investor because their […]