Years ago, I stayed in a hotel on the Las Vegas strip where a message flashing on the big screen out front said “98% wild slots.” The sign was telling the public that the hotel’s slot machines paid out 98 percent of the money they took in, reducing the “house edge” to 2 percent. By …
I was asked this week for the best investing tip I could come up with for these wild times. My answer had nothing to do with the war in Ukraine, rising prices at the gas pump, the likelihood of interest rate increases or the stock market being off more than 10 percent and in correction …
Investors are struggling to put their finger on what has changed about the stock market of late. Yes, there’s war, the highest inflation we’ve seen in 40 years, the persistent promise/threat that interest rates are rising and more. Those economic and geopolitical events have driven the market down by more than 10 percent this year, …
The value of Bitcoin has dropped roughly 30 percent since it was announced last fall that Matt Damon was becoming one of the faces of Crypto.com. It’s not the actor’s fault, of course, but it’s not what anyone expected when the site released ads starring the Oscar-winning actor. For proof, consider this exchange from characters …
Freo, my golden retriever, turned 13 recently. That’s old for his breed. As he has aged, our relationship has changed. These days, it’s me waking him up every morning excited for the new day; on walks, it’s him letting me go off leash and wander while he keeps a close eye on me and awaits …
If you spent December reading or listening to the financial experts making forecasts for the year ahead, you could draw five conclusions about what to expect in 2022. We’ll see heightened inflation, higher interest rates, increased volatility, slower growth and lower investment returns. The specific predictions weren’t uniform or in complete agreement – it’s hard …
Wander through a cemetery and you’ll frequently see phrases like “forever in our hearts” or “You will always be remembered.” The cemetery of mutual funds is devoid of such loving reminiscences, but if you look at the latest monuments – to funds that passed in 2021 – you will see a number of recurring descriptions, …
If New Year’s resolutions were called what they really are – self-improvement chores or promises to do something differently – no one would ever make them. The problem is that most of these promises for personal change never get accomplished. Typically, resolutions are forgotten by the time February rolls around. Self-improvement, however, is an ongoing, …
Walking my dog through the neighborhood last week, I came upon a friend who gave me his standard greeting for these occasional chance walk-bys: “What do you like in the market right now?” He knows I’m not handing out stock tips, but he usually follows it up by name-dropping, or we’ll spend a few moments …
Janet, a grandmother from New Orleans, wants to give a little something extra this year for the holidays, but doesn’t want to go to the mall to get it. She’s not shopping online for it either. She wants to buy her six grandchildren stock. “I saw something that said that a gift of stock is …
