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...
Tag: Commentary/Opinion
Opinion: Elon Musk’s bid for Twitter spells trouble for Tesla investors — here’s why
For years, Elon Musk has used hype to prop up Tesla’s stock. It’s worked so well that other companies have followed his lead. But now we think the world has seen that the emperor has no clothes. The a...
This is how much you made if you bought into the oil crash 2 years ago
If you want to retire rich, the late, great Dan Bunting has some advice for you. “Always buy the market (i.e., stocks or even just the index) after a spectacular bankruptcy,” my old friend Bunting, a ...
‘The weight of this debt is crushing’: I’m 74, and a retired speech-language pathologist with a student-loan debt of $200K. Am I obliged to pay it off?
Dear Quentin, I have not seen anyone address student-loan debt for people over 70 years of age. I am a 74-year-old retired speech-language pathologist with a student-loan debt of $200,000. I’m on a ...
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 ...
As food prices hit an all-time high, more Americans have abandoned online grocery shopping and returned to supermarket aisles
More Americans are browsing again — in grocery-store aisles rather than online. With U.S. states abandoning mask mandates in public places, and more retailers dropping requirements for masks — and the...
I’m 61, left my job due to medical reasons, and made $150,000 from the sale of my home. I’d like to work for at least another 5 years. Can I still retire? If so, how?
Dear Quentin, I recently sold my house and had to leave my job due to a medical issue that was easily resolved, and I am now fine. I have approximately $150,000 in my checking account from the sale of...
Do I resist refinancing my $160,000 federal student loan at a lower rate in the hope there will be loan forgiveness? What are the chances it will happen?
I graduated from college in 2017 with more than $210,000 in federal student-loan debt thanks to out-of-state tuition, a master’s program, and not fully understanding this cost at that time. I’ve chise...
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...
Millennials have solved the retirement crisis
Wow. It looks like millennials have totally solved the retirement crisis. And it turns out it was a lot easier than anyone realized. The solution? Cryptocurrencies, of course. A new survey of 4,000 pe...
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...
Opinion: This simple change in words can dramatically increase retirement savings
In today’s increasingly complex financial world, individuals are faced with many competing financial priorities — from student debt to emergency healthcare expenses, just to name a few. As a result, n...
Opinion: The Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq have now suffered a ‘death cross’ — here’s why this could resurrect them
Reports of the U.S. stock market’s death appear to be greatly exaggerated. I’m referring to the dreaded “death cross” that has now appeared in the price charts of the three major U.S. stock market ave...
‘I can tolerate him for 7 months — at the most’: My husband and I live apart in the summer. Should I refinance my house and set up a joint savings account?
Dear Quentin, My husband of seven years owns a home in Minnesota, and has a mortgage. I own a home in Florida with no mortgage. We have no savings or retirement accounts. Should I pull my equity from ...
‘Is this a good deal, or should I run for the hills?’ My boyfriend of five years wants me to give him a $165,000 loan using his house as collateral
Dear Quentin, I would like your advice on giving a hard-money loan to the man I’ve been dating for five years. He pressed me on this issue three years ago. I didn’t do the loan then, and it was a seri...
Opinion: The economy is in much better shape than the headlines would tell you
Inflation is through the roof. There’s an oil crisis. A looming food crisis. You name it. War is raging in Europe. Russia’s president is starting to sound unhinged. And headlines are now linking him w...
Opinion: What would it take for U.S. oil companies to ramp up production? A lot.
Even with oil prices above $100 a barrel and gas prices averaging over $4 a gallon at the pump, frackers show little interest in ramping up output. Companies including Devon Energy DVN, +1.56%, EOG Re...
Opinion: Convinced the stock market’s next two years will be like the past two? Don’t bet on it.
Don’t fall into the trap of believing the U.S. stock market’s spectacular return over the past two years represents the new normal. Not only will the market’s return in coming months likely be a lot l...
Weekend reads: the slowing housing market and inverted yield curve signal a coming recession
It is human nature to fear missing out as prices skyrocket, But all bubbles burst eventually. Ian Shepherdson of Pantheon Macroeconomics predicts a 25% decline in U.S. home sales. What will that do to...
Stock market investors are in the danger zone. This all-weather investing strategy offers protection
We’re in a period of high inflation, with a war disrupting energy markets and the Federal Reserve raising interest rates. The murky outlook calls for a multiyear cycle of central-bank policy moves tha...
‘The graveyard shift is the most understaffed:’ I work as a waiter on the Las Vegas Strip. We are overworked, underpaid, and our drunk customers often don’t tip
Dear Quentin, I currently work at a fast-casual restaurant on the Las Vegas Strip. I have worked at the company for three years. I work at the busiest outlet of this restaurant in the world. During t...