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Weekly Market Insights: Stocks Rise Modestly Over Short Trading Week
Stocks edged higher over the four trading days last week, with the three major averages taking turns leading based on various economic and artificial intelligence (AI) news. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.45 percent–its best week since May–while the Standard...
Weekly Market Insights: Market Enjoys Gains, Reacting To Major Reports
Stocks notched a solid gain last week, driven by the Fed’s decision, May's inflation report, and Apple’s AI-related news. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose 1.58 percent, while the Nasdaq Composite picked up 3.24 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which...
Weekly Market Insights: Solid Week Despite Mixed Reports
Stocks rose last week despite conflicting stories from economic reports. The Dow Jones Industrial Average inched up 0.29 percent while the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index powered ahead 1.31 percent. The Nasdaq Composite led, picking up 2.38 percent. The MSCI EAFE...
Weekly Market Insights: Stocks Sag On Downbeat Economic Indicators
Stocks edged lower in the final week of May as fresh news on economic growth and inflation failed to inspire investors. Stocks Slide Markets shrugged off news that the Q1 Gross Domestic Product was revised lower to 1.3 percent from the initial estimated 1.6 percent....
Weekly Market Insights: Investors Anticipate Fed Rate Change
Stocks notched a solid gain last week in a mega-cap, tech-led rally bolstered by positive inflation news. Dow 40,000 The week began quietly as market averages traded in a tight range, awaiting fresh inflation news. On Tuesday, markets rose steadily throughout the day...
Weekly Market Insights: Stocks Rise, Anticipating Rate Cut
Stocks notched a solid gain last week as rate-cut expectations paced the rally as the Q1 earnings season wound down. Stocks Climb Steadily Monday opened with stocks picking up where they left off the prior Friday. Stocks were still basking in the afterglow of fresh...
Weekly Market Insights: Volatility, Uncertainty Rule the Week for Markets
Stocks notched a solid gain last week, rallying behind upbeat earnings, a dovish Fed, and mixed economic data. Stocks Pop, Drop, Then Rally Markets began the week with an upward bump as positive news from some mega-cap tech companies outweighed disappointing updates...
Weekly Market Insights: Despite Turbulent Week, Stocks Stage Comeback
Stocks staged a choppy comeback last week as investors cheered positive earnings, led by mega-cap tech stocks. The rally came to pass despite fresh data showing a slowing economy and increasing inflationary pressures. Stocks Bounce Back. Twice. Last week opened with a...
Weekly Market Insights: Fed And Middle East Conflict Diminish Stocks
Stocks fell for a third straight week, as Fed Chair Jerome Powell's mixed but upbeat message could not offset the anxiety caused by the Middle East conflict. Stocks Retreat Markets began the week rattled by further escalation in the Middle East over the weekend. A bit...
Weekly Market Insights: Stocks Startled By Inflation, Conflict
Stocks fell last week as investors sorted through conflicting inflation reports and assessed geopolitical tensions. Inflation Spooks Markets On Wednesday, the March Consumer Price Index (CPI) report rattled markets, revealing that inflation accelerated slightly more...
Weekly Market Insights: Fed Comments Stir the Pot for Stocks
Stocks dropped last week as investors focused on “what's next” for interest rates after mixed comments from multiple Fed officials. Fed Officials Weigh In Stocks struggled out of the gate again last week, ending Monday and Tuesday in the red on concerns that recent...
Weekly Market Insights: Stocks Narrowly Higher
Stocks were narrowly higher for the week as investors digested mixed economic news about consumer confidence. All three of the major averages posted gains for Q1 2024. Stocks Finish Strong Markets slipped for the first half of the four-day week as investors took a...
Weekly Market Insights: Fed Talk Boosts Stocks
Stocks posted their best week of the year, sparked by news that the dovish Fed decided to keep rates steady and signaled three rate cuts were still possible this year. Stocks Bounce Back As widely expected, the Fed left rates unchanged at the conclusion of its two-day...
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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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%...
Canaries in the coal mine!
Inflation and Other Hot TopicsWhen Your Dollar ShrinksThe best of financial planners must consider what happens to investors when their dollar begins to shrink. They planned on spending a certain amount per month in retirement, for example, but … oops …...