The federal government will allow you to save nearly 10% more for retirement in 2023. But it’s not likely that many will take advantage of the tax break. The simple reason: Most people don’t make enou...
Tag: Commentary/Opinion
‘From Bambi to Godzilla.’ Strategist David Rosenberg skewers the Federal Reserve as he sees a 30% hit to home prices and the S&P 500 returning to an early 2020 low
The last time David Rosenberg shared his outlook for the U.S. stock market and the economy with MarketWatch, in late May, it was depressing enough. Rosenberg is the widely followed president and chief...
Opinion: Liz Truss is out — why that might be good for your 401(k)
The British pound rose on the news that Liz Truss was standing down. (It’s now the best performing currency of the last month, if you can believe). The interest rate on British government bonds fell. ...
Do you have problems with the IRS — or does the IRS have a problem with you? Read this before you act.
How do you deal with a problem like the Internal Revenue Service? And how do you deal with your own tax problems as they pertain to the IRS? To be clear, I’m not talking about major problems like righ...
These 27 stocks can give you a more diversified portfolio than the S&P 500 — and that’s a key advantage right now
You probably already know that because of market-capitalization weighting, a broad index such as the S&P 500 SPX, -0.80% can be concentrated in a handful of stocks. Index funds are popular for goo...
Opinion: This musician retired after making $170 million in the stock market. Now he’s sharing his secrets.
When a retired Boston Pops clarinetist gave $100 million to Boston University’s medical school last month, everyone focused on his unusual backstory. Edward Avedisian ended his career as an accomplish...
Opinion: Don’t have $13 million? The lifetime estate- and gift-tax exemptions for 2023 still matter to you.
The wealthiest families in the U.S. will get a bit of inflation-adjusted relief from the IRS in 2023, with the lifetime estate-tax exemption increasing to $12.9 million for individuals, up from $12.06...
How to save a bundle on your tax return
This is Part Two of our list of suggested year-end strategies. Part 1 discusses gaming the federal standard deduction, and managing capital gains and losses. The tax environment is getting friendlier ...
Opinion: Bernanke’s Nobel prize is harmful because it rewards faulty thinking on how banks actually work
The Nobel Memorial Prize awarded to Ben Bernanke, Douglas Diamond and Philip Dybvig is controversial, to say the least. Mainstream economists are generally delighted that the Nobel Committee has at la...
This is how high interest rates might rise, and what could scare the Federal Reserve into a policy pivot
The stock market’s reaction to the latest inflation report Thursday underlined just how confused and fearful investors are. The S&P 500 SPX, +2.60% plunged as much as 3% shortly after the open as ...
Opinion: $22 billion in I-bond sales can’t be wrong. Why you may want to buy them even when their rate resets soon
I-bonds’ sky-high interest rate is poised to fall to 6.48% when they reset next month, according to industry experts. Still, that would be the third-highest level since they were sold in 1998. Though ...
Opinion: Five sentiment indicators are telling us it’s time to buy stocks, especially this one group
If you are positive on the direction of the stock market and feeling lonely about it, that’s actually a good sign. Historically, whenever most investors are extremely negative, the market is a buy. I’...
Opinion: The stock market is in trouble. That’s because the the bond market is ‘very close to a crash.’
Don’t assume the worst is over, says investor Larry McDonald. There’s talk of a policy pivot by the Federal Reserve as interest rates rise quickly and stocks keep falling. Both may continue. McDonald,...
Opinion: Florida’s insurance rates have almost doubled over five years, yet insurance companies are still losing money — and the reason is more insidious than hurricanes
Hurricane risk might seem like the obvious problem, but there is a more insidious driver in this financial train wreck. Finance professor Shahid Hamid, who directs the Laboratory for Insurance at Flor...
Opinion: How you can save $60k for a home down payment without risk or waiting forever
Yes, starting from zero and trying to save a bit each month will take a while. To put together that princely sum, you’d have to save $500 a month for around nine years in a high-interest savings accou...
Opinion: One of the most reliable stock market indicators — short-interest ratio — is near a record high, and that’s a bearish omen
Joe Raedle/Getty Images The bulls are grasping at straws when they celebrate the recent increase in short-selling volume. They mistakenly believe that short interest — the percentage of a company’s sh...
Opinion: Disney’s ESPN is aiming for a potential pact with DraftKings. The better bet for investors is FanDuel, which has a few aces in the hole
It can be maddening when other people don’t see the world the way we do. In the stock market, this kind of misalignment can be a source of great wealth. I was thinking about that kind of contrarian ap...
Weekend reads: How the Fed’s punishing policy can set you up for massive gains in the stock market
During a long bear market, investors’ moods can be so bleak and muddy that they cannot envision better times. But they always come. Warren Buffett has shown repeatedly over the decades how to enhance ...
Opinion: Could there be a stock market rally? Probably. Would it be the end of the bear market? Probably not.
The stock market’s low for the year on the last day in September is likely to be breached in this bear market, according to a contrarian analysis of market timer sentiment. That’s because at no point ...
Here’s how much retirement income you can buy today for $100,000
I come bearing good news for those who are recently retired, who are about to retire soon, and for anyone else who wants a secure income for the rest of their life. It’s not amazing news, so don’t bre...
Opinion: Inflation is going to fall just as fast as it rose, and that’s investors’ cue to enter the stock market
When central banks, most notably the Federal Reserve these days, move too aggressively on interest-rate increases, things break. Believe it or not, this is bullish in the twisted thinking of Wall Stre...
10 energy stocks that are analysts’ favorites as OPEC makes oil-production cuts
The OPEC+ group of oil-producing countries has agreed on a drastic cut to the global supply. The speculation has helped oil reverse its recent declines. And that means it’s time to take another look a...
Opinion: Stock market bulls have a new story to sell you. Don’t believe them — they’re just in the ‘bargaining’ stage of grief
Might the bear market’s losses at its recent low have gotten so bad that it was actually good news? Some eager stock bulls I monitor are advancing this convoluted rationale. The outline of their argum...