Retirement Watch Weekly
Some Stock Market Valuation History
This post goes into some detail comparing current stock trends and valuations to those of the 2000 bubble era. Its bottom line is that the situation today isn’t anything like 2000. It doesn’t mean stocks have to rise from here, but the point is that despite today’s high valuations we don’t have a bubble situation. […]
The Post-Election Markets Change Course
The major market moves that occurred immediately after the election are either reversing or pausing. The moves right after the election looked a lot like panic buying and short-sale covering. Many investors were surprised by the election results, and unexpected news always accompanies these sharp changes in market trends. The moves also weren’t accompanied by […]
Good News About Becoming Older
Much has changed about aging in the U.S. over the last few decades, especially in the U.S. Most people haven’t kept up with the changes and still have a false view of things. This article points out some of the changes and how they have saved Medicare money and will save more in the future. […]
Sharing Tips on Forecasting
Earlier this week, we all engaged in our bad habits for the last time as our New Year’s resolutions went into effect. There will be no more smoking, drinking to excess, wasting time, being mean to children and animals, and so forth. We also established new habits of eating better, exercising more, being nicer to […]
For Those Turning 80
The essayist Joseph Epstein is turning 80 years old and, naturally, wrote an essay about it. It has some wit, insight, and, of course, grumpiness. Some of the reflections are personal, while others generational. My generation grew up with memories of the country’s one good war—World War II—hummed the sophisticated music of the Gershwin brothers, […]
Opportunities for Phased Retirement
More and more companies are giving employees a choice in addition to continuing to work full-time or retiring full-time. The phased retirement plans allow a long-term employee to switch to part-time work. That allows the worker to ease in to retirement and maintain the structure and social contacts of work. It also lets the company […]
Looking Forward to 2017
We could have a very interesting year in the markets in 2017. We are in one of those rare periods when investors, analysts and economists are in general agreement about the outlook. For the most part, they are optimistic about economic growth, and that in turn makes them optimistic about earnings and stock prices. They […]
Managing Portfolios Amid Political and Market Volatility
Just hours after the Nov. 8 U.S. election results were known, Wall Street’s analysts and economists decided they knew exactly what a Donald Trump administration would mean for the economy and markets. Investors agreed so readily that the first two years of Trump policies already seemed to be reflected in the markets within the first […]
