Retirement Watch Weekly
Are Emerging Markets Cheap?
Emerging economy stock markets have been down for a couple of years, and they had another sharp leg down early in 2014 that led the global markets lower. The question for investors now is, are emerging market stocks cheap? Some investors apparently believe they are, because the equities rose over the last couple of weeks. […]
Collectibles Investing – What Goes Up…
On a regular basis, there are reports of sharp price increases in nonconventional assets, such as art and collectibles. Unfortunately, those reports often mislead people into thinking the prices will only rise. The fact is, markets for these assets are very thin and subject to change on a whim. Consider this update on classic American […]
A Fresh Look at Emerging Markets
The emerging markets have led the global market slide in 2014, but those markets were in trouble in 2013 when the U.S. and Europe were doing fine. The media like to simplify things, so most headlines indicate that the Fed is causing the problems in the emerging markets. Not so fast, says this article. While […]
Medicare Advantage and Obamacare
If you’re in a Medicare Advantage plan (about 25% of Medicare beneficiaries are), you’ve already seen the negative effects the Affordable Care Act is having. But there is a lot more to come. About $156 billion over 10 years is expected to be shifted from Medicare Advantage plans to help fund the increased coverage and […]
The Mystery of Gold Prices
Many people have suffered trying to make a profit investing in gold. Its price movements defy most people’s theory of how the world works. The Federal Reserve increases its balance sheet to $4 trillion and gold rises for a while, but then sinks like a stone as the Fed continues to buy assets. Nicholas Johnson […]
A Few Fresh Investment Insights
Most of you probably haven’t heard of James Montier. He’s with the investment firm GMO and before that was with a prominent international financial services firm. He’s fairly well known among institutional investors because of some novel investment insights he’s had, always backed by research. His research product always is provocative and fun to read. […]
To Those Waiting for the Best Time to Invest
A lot of people still have most of their portfolios in cash. They were scared by the market decline of 2008 and moved to cash. They’re waiting for the best time to invest. Even after stock indexes more than doubled, they’re still waiting. That’s why I like this post that argues against waiting for “the […]
The Latest Retirement Magic Number
How much money do you need to save for retirement? It’s an easy question that’s hard to answer. It involves predicting the future, so a number of assumptions have to be made about the future. How long you’ll live and the rate of inflation are not the least of them. The latest work on the […]
