Here’s how to craft student-loan forgiveness in a way that cuts out those who don’t need help

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York on Thursday released new analyses on student loans, with one blog post focused on who would benefit from various approaches to canceling such debt — as well as eac...

Fed chief Powell backs moving more quickly on interest-rate hikes

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell on Thursday joined the chorus of U.S. central bankers who want to move faster on raising interest rates. “It is appropriate in my view to be moving a little more...

As Putin eyes a date to declare victory, here’s a Ukraine scenario that could slam stocks by another 10%

Stocks are set to get a major bump on Thursday, thanks to blowout results from Tesla, which go some way in easing the sting over Netflix disappointment. With earnings sharply in focus for now, market ...

‘The Fed always screws up.’ This forecaster sees inflation peaking and U.S. stocks in a bear market by summer

Keith McCullough, founder and CEO of Hedgeye Risk Management, has been bullish on gold, silver and utilities since the start of the year, when his investment-research firm’s economic models turned bea...

Why you should retire with more money than you need

I’m frequently asked some variation of this question: Can I afford to retire? The question seems simple, but it’s trickier than you might think. The simple answer is: It depends on how much you need f...

What the rising probability of a ‘growth scare’ means for the stock market, according to Citigroup

Recession worries are working their way into equities, according to Citigroup. A “mild recession in 2023” could lead to a drop of about 20% for the S&P 500 index from its late March high of around...

Why consider the Dow transports when they point to a slowing economy? Because these 7 stocks are cheap

The Dow Jones Transportation Average has long been considered a good forward indicator of the direction of the U.S. economy. With early signs that an economic slowdown is coming, this might be an obvi...

Financial Face-Off: Should you use your tax refund to buy I bonds or crypto? One of these options could get a 9.6% return. Let us explain.

Hello and welcome to Financial Face-off, a MarketWatch column where we help you weigh financial decisions. Our columnist will give her verdict. Tell us whether you think she’s right in the comments. A...

Bond Rout Promises More Pain for Investors

The worst bond rout in decades shows few signs of abating, threatening further pain for both investors and borrowers. Battered by high inflation readings and sharp messages from Federal Reserve offici...

Recession fears and the stock market — Is it too late to play defense?

Recession fears are on the rise as the Federal Reserve gears up to fight inflation. Many stock-market investors are already playing defense and may wonder if those strategies have more room to run. Bu...

Municipal Bonds Are Down So Much That They’re Buys Again

Text size Al Drago/Bloomberg A funny thing happened in the past week, as news emerged of inflation hitting a four-decade high. A few strategists started looking a bit more positively on bonds, or at l...

Recession is `the most likely’ outcome for U.S. economy, says Larry Summers

Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, whose out-of-consensus views about the risks of persistent inflation have come true, is reiterating his concerns about a potential U.S. downturn: He now says a...

Why the stock-market rally may be nothing more than ‘wishful thinking,’ according to Morgan Stanley CIO

Listen to the bond market. That is the advice from Lisa Shalett, chief investment officer at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, warning that recent resilience in stocks could be “nothing more than a be...

Three value stocks that can provide safety as interest rates rise

Stocks have been on a rocky road this year, as investors have tried to anticipate every possible move by the Federal Reserve to combat inflation. Value strategies have held up better than growth strat...

The silver lining of surging inflation: I-bond yields should climb above 9%

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. –Want to lock in a greater-than-8% return with U.S. Treasurys over the next 12 months? Of course you would, especially given the higher-than-expected inflation numbers reported this ...

‘Calamity’ may be coming, stock-market setup similar to 1999: Jeffrey Gundlach

 A “calamity” may be coming for markets, potentially in 2023, Jeffrey Gundlach, chief executive officer and chief investment officer of DoubleLine, warned Tuesday on stage at the Exchange ETF conferen...

S&P downgrade indicates Russia headed for historic default

The credit ratings agency Standard & Poor’s has downgraded its assessment of Russia’s ability to repay foreign debt, signaling rising prospects that Moscow will soon default on external loans for ...

The housing market is running hot. Can the Fed cool it before it crashes?

When the “Bond King” Bill Gross sat down recently with Barry Ritholtz for an episode of “The Big Picture” podcast, the billionaire investor and PIMCO founder took a pretty skeptical view of who might ...

The Fed’s plan to rapidly slash its balance sheet is out. Here’s what happens to money in the system.

Minutes of the Federal Reserve’s March meeting released on Wednesday detailed plans for shrinking its nearly $9 trillion balance sheet to help cool U.S. inflation running at 40-year highs, but tricky ...

Opinion: Want to beat the stock market over the next decade? Add bonds to your portfolio

The death of the 60/40 portfolio has been widely accepted as growth and technology stocks overwhelmed gains in fixed-income securities since the end of the financial meltdown over 10 years ago. Howeve...

Fed primed to jack up interest rates in 1/2-point steps if inflation stays high

The Federal Reserve signaled its plans to increase a key U.S. interest rate by 1/2 percentage point steps at upcoming meetings if inflation remains high or gets even worse, according to minutes of the...

Fed must ‘inflict more losses’ on stock-market investors to tame inflation, says former central banker

So much for the Fed put. “‘It’s hard to know how much the U.S. Federal Reserve will need to do to get inflation under control. But one thing is certain: To be effective, it’ll have to inflict more los...

These income strategies can help protect your stock investments from inflation and a recession

There is always uncertainty in the stock market, but the deflationary cycle that helped feed tremendous gains over the past several decades has ended. Two related strategies can give you downside prot...

Markets are hankering to find out the Fed’s plan to shrink its $9 trillion balance sheet. They should get their wish Wednesday

Markets have been craving information about how the Federal Reserve plans to shrink its massive $9 trillion balance sheet. They will get their wish Wednesday when the Fed releases minutes of its March...

Get ready for a ‘new world order’ that drives stocks and bonds: BlackRock

It’s an end of an era. That’s BlackRocks Inc.’s BLK, +1.62% Tony DeSpirito, chief investment officer in the U.S. fundamental equities division of the world’s largest asset manager, telling investors t...

U.S. economy will fall into a recession this summer, as inflation eats into consumer spending, former Fed official warns

Higher inflation will force consumers to limit their spending by so much that the economy will slump into a recession by the July-September quarter, former Federal Reserve Governor Lawrence Lindsey sa...

CEO of Robinhood rival shines fresh light on what retail investors are doing. Wall Street needs to pay attention.

From the start of the COVID-19 pandemic two years ago, a newish crowd of retail investors emerged, pouring extra cash into equity markets and steering Wall Street into places they never dreamed, such ...

Here’s how much a 40-year mortgage would save you each month vs. a 30-year loan. And the ultimate cost.

The U.S. home-financing market has been dominated by the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage loan for decades. Now some key players in the U.S. housing market think it is time to give home buyers the option o...

U.S. stock futures steady early Monday as traders weigh prospect of more sanctions on Russia

U.S. stock index futures were little changed early Monday as traders weighed the prospect of further sanctions on Russia over the war in Ukraine. After the S&P 500 index posted a third straight we...

Fed’s Williams says could begin reducing balance sheet as soon as May meeting

The Federal Reserve may begin reducing its balance sheet as soon as its May 3-4 policy meeting to address the level of U.S. inflation that have become “particularly acute,” New York Fed chair John Wil...

Is a yield curve inversion a foreboding sign for mortgage rates? Does it really signal a recession? Economists weigh in.

For a moment this week, the bond market flashed a signal that some associate with impending recessions. Home buyers need not worry just yet, according to economists. On Friday, the 2-year rate, which ...

What 10% inflation could look like for junk bonds: BofA

What happens to companies financed in the booming high-yield or “junk-bond” market on the off chance that U.S. inflation pegged at 7.9% in February soars to 10% and stays there? That’s a question Oleg...