It is always a stockpicker’s market. You just have to pick the right stocks. If you picked the so-called Magnificent Seven last year—a group of highflying, mostly tech stocks that powered the S&P 500 index to a 24% gain—you looked in the mirror and beheld a genius. This year, it might be wise to avoid … Read more
U.S. inflation cooled in October, which some investors took as a strong signal that the Federal Reserve is done raising interest rates. This optimism fueled demand for long-dated Treasuries, which drove the price of the largest U.S. long-dated bond exchange-traded fund higher. The $49.2 billion iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (ticker: TLT) closed Tuesday … Read more
This year has posed an unusual array of challenges for investors, and more could be in store. The major stock market indexes are still up in 2023, powered by a narrow slice of technology stocks, but have been losing ground rapidly. Bond yields have risen sharply, topping 5% on some government debt. The economic outlook … Read more
September is here, and that can mean only one thing—it’s time to give up and go home. Or maybe not. There’s a lot to like about September. Temperatures are cooling, days are getting shorter but not too short, kids are going back to school, and the leaves are getting ready to turn. For the stock … Read more