These 10 stocks in the S&P 500 lost $4.2 trillion of investors’ money during the first half of 2022

The first half of 2022 is over, and good riddance for investors: The S&P 500 Index declined 20.6%. Below are two lists of the worst-performing stocks in the S&P 500 SPX, -0.88% this year. Firs...

‘I wouldn’t be successful at my job without her’: My friend cleans, cooks and cares for my child. I pay her $50 a day. Am I taking advantage of her?

I’m a working-from-home mom and my supervisors have no intentions of bringing me back to the office at this time. In order to actually get work done, I have pieced together childcare using the help of...

Opinion: Sell Exxon Mobil and other energy stocks before these headwinds hit prices once again

Energy stocks have been the star investment this year. Now it’s time to sell them and electrify your portfolio before investors once again focus on the industry’s long-term headwinds.  There are a hos...

This veteran money manager has seen it all. And these 19 dividend stocks pass his rigorous quality screen right now.

Lewis Altfest’s time in the finance industry spans seven decades. He has some words of advice for investors who aren’t used to stomach-churning stock-price moves. He founded Altfest Personal Wealth Ma...

Wall Street’s favorite stock sector has potential upside of 43% as we enter the second half of 2022

At the midpoint of 2022, investors are looking at a remarkable change in stock valuations. The S&P 500 SPX has declined 20%, but the benchmark index’s forward price-to-earnings valuation has falle...

Opinion: Early retirement in 3 steps: Follow the ‘Cashing Out’ couple’s road map to financial freedom

A couple of months ago, our five-year-old son was relieved to find out that he could have two best friends. For weeks he’d been stuck in an innocent adolescent triangle where both kids wanted him to b...

Commentary: Bitfinex Market Analysts Say Bitcoin Will Stay Under Continued Pressure

The Terra collapse in early May triggered a crash in the market with flagship currencies, Bitcoin and Ethereum drooped to a new low. Though a Chainalysis report stated the decline in the tech market a...

Here’s how much your Social Security check is likely to go up next year

Good news — sort of. If you’re retired or just about to retire, next year’s Social Security checks are likely to see one of the biggest bumps on record as a result of surging consumer prices. The aver...

3 big problems with Congress’ new retirement reforms

A new set of reforms to America’s retirement tax and savings plans passed a key hurdle in Congress last week. Variously known as the SECURE Act 2.0, the EARN Act and the RISE & SHINE Act, the meas...

You’ll know the bear market is nearing an end when anxious investors push the ‘panic’ button

The end of the bear market is not close. That’s according to a contrarian analysis of stock market sentiment: the U.S. stock market hasn’t yet experienced the extreme pessimism seen at major bottoms. ...

Here’s how you can compound dividend stocks to double the S&P 500’s return

Companies announce dividend increases all the time, but here’s one that points to a simple investing strategy that can lower your risk and make you a lot of money over the years. Maybe it isn’t so exc...

Opinion: Jerome Powell is the worst Federal Reserve policy maker in my lifetime

In the history of the Federal Reserve, the most revered chairmen are William McChesney Martin, Paul Volcker and Alan Greenspan. All gained their reputation by decisive monetary policy action at times ...

These dividend stocks yield at least 5% and have plenty of room to raise payouts

This year’s stock price declines make for an increasing number of stocks with high dividend yields of at least 5%. Below is a screen that highlights 29 that appear to be able to raise their payouts co...

Here’s how much the average working boomer has saved for retirement

Three news items that say a lot about the retirement crisis facing Americans and what we can do about it—if we want to. The first is a survey of 1,000 working Americans conducted recently showing much...

Meet the ‘unluckiest’ stock market investor of modern times

If you’re thinking of pulling your 401(k) out of the stock market, or you’re too terrified to invest more, you need to meet my friend Betty Badluck. Poor old Betty has had the worst luck of any stock ...

Commentary: Bitfinex Market Analysts On Bitcoin And Ethereum’s Rebound 

After going through one of the worst sessions, the global crypto market appears to move towards recovery as Bitcoin rebounds to $20,000 after dropping to a new low in its history over the weekend, as ...

Why retiring this year could be a ‘worst-case’ scenario

This is an urgent update for anyone who has recently retired, or who is hoping to retire shortly, and who was expecting to follow one of those simple, time-tested rules for spending down their money d...

‘I feel bad that I’ll be taking most of his income’: I make twice what my boyfriend does. He pays me $300 in rent, but I want him to pay $800. Is that fair?

Dear Quentin, My boyfriend and I have been together seven years, and in that time I bought a house. I used my own savings and spent about $10,000 on renovations. My house is a three-bedroom family hom...

Four value-stock picks from a fund manager who steers clear of the energy sector

Jensen Investment Management follows a simple rule for initial screenings of stocks: Companies need to have achieved returns on equity (ROE) of at least 15% annually, for at least 10 consecutive years...

These 16 stocks in the S&P 500 crumpled at least 9% a day after the Fed raised rates

One day after U.S. stocks got a reprieve as the Federal Reserve lifted its target range for short-term interest rates by 0.75 percentage point, inflation fears built a new wall of worry to send U.S. s...

Fed’s biggest rate hike since 1994 means millions more homebuyers may be priced out of the housing market

Pity those first-time house buyers. On Wednesday, the U.S. Federal Reserve raised the benchmark interest rate by 75 basis points to a 1.5% to 1.75% range, the biggest increase since 1994 as it tries t...

Opinion: ‘The stock market is not going to zero’: How this individual investor with 70 years of experience is trading the bear market

Not many investors can claim a lifetime of stock-market success. Warren Buffett of Berkshire Hathaway BRK.A, -1.94% BRK.B, -1.39% comes to mind, of course, but what about Warren Kaplan? Who? Kaplan is...

3 moves retirement savers can make now to profit from the stock market turmoil

Every crisis is an opportunity. The massive turmoil on financial markets so far this year is no exception. Here are three things that every middle-class American can do with their 401(k), IRA or other...

Opinion: Those who buy stocks the day the S&P 500 enters a bear market have made an average of 22.7% in 12 months

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Good news, investors: Wall Street is holding a sale, offering stocks at 20% off! You’re not interested? That just means you only talk the talk about being a contrarian investor, bu...

Opinion: ‘Liquidation panic’ has taken over the stock, bond and crypto markets — and this may be the beginning of the end

The U.S. stock market is experiencing a liquidation panic where everything is getting sold. The good news is such panics usually don’t last long. Analysis from Rob Hanna of Quantifiable Edges suggests...

Opinion: As tech melts down, a truth remains: Semiconductors are eating the world

Everyone’s favorite trade in the stock market, technology, has gone the way of the dodo. Oil and value stocks are all the rage. But one part of technology — semiconductors — is vital not only to the t...

Crypto crash FOMO? ‘I missed the bus on Bitcoin, but now feel like my time has come. Is it time to go big or go home? I have another 25 years of a boring 9-to-5 job, and I just want out.’

I read a letter from a reader last year who was suffering from crypto FOMO, and I have been following the crypto markets ever since. I felt like I missed the bus on Bitcoin, but now feel like my time ...

‘The goal is never to seek the top’: The wild, hair-raising ride of a 30-something investor who battled against NFT hackers and dodged the crypto crash

Vinny Zane has a taste for life — and an appetite for risk. The 38-year-old teacher and father of a 2-year-old son on Brooklyn’s Coney Island got into crypto in 2017 with $4,000 worth of Bitcoin, and ...

‘I respect every profession equally, but I feel like so many people look down on me for being a waitress’: Americans are tipping less. Should we step up to the plate?

I read your article about tipping. I’ve been serving and bartending for almost 16 years now, since I was 18. Waiting tables is so hard on your body, and a lot of people don’t appreciate all of the wor...

These 19 large-cap stocks have now dropped at least 60% from their 52-week highs

The latest inflation figures on June 10 were worse than expected and the effect on stock prices was brutal. A list of stocks in the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq-100 Index that have fallen at least 60% f...

‘I’m being taken advantage of by my own husband’: I pay all the bills and gave the down payment for our home, and all he does is buy stuff and contribute to his 401(k)

I’m being taken advantage of by my own husband. I have been married for almost 10 years. When my husband and I were first married, he convinced me to stop working after the first year or so, which I r...

Opinion: Inflation is making everything we buy more expensive, and once stagflation hits things could get even worse

Last month I examined the culprits that are causing global inflation, including rising interest rates, persistent supply chain issues (China locking down cities), and climbing energy and fertilizer pr...