Bob's Journal
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Bob’s Journal for 2/22/2024
What the Key Inflation Indicators Are Saying Consumer price inflation is at or near the Fed’s target. Or is it? Economists and analysts debate the best way to measure inflation and argue over its true level. It is an important discussion today because investors’ inflation expectations fuel changes in interest rates and prices of stocks […]
Bob’s Journal for 2/15/2024
Federal Debt Projected to Steadily Increase, But at a Slower Rate The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) issued its latest budget and economic forecast last week. It has some good news, but mostly bad news. The good news is the federal budget deficit, as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP), is projected to decline every […]
Bob’s Journal for 2/8
The Case for Being 100% Invested in Stocks During Retirement The investment principles most people follow are wrong, according to a recent academic paper. We should always be 100% invested in stocks, 50% in U.S. stocks and 50% in international stocks, according to the researchers. Standard investment advice is that people should have diversified portfolios […]
Bob’s Journal for 2/1
What You Can Learn From Jay Leno’s Estate Planning Problems Former “Tonight Show” host Jay Leno recently petitioned a court for conservatorship of his wife’s estate. Multiple news reports said the petition stated that Mavis Leno was diagnosed with dementia and is unable to make decisions about her estate and other matters. The court action […]
Bob’s Journal for 1/25
What You Should Know About the New Medicare Prescription Drug Spending Limit This year marks the beginning of the phaseout of unlimited out-of-pocket prescription drug spending for Medicare beneficiaries in the “catastrophic zone” of prescription drug spending. The rules apply only to those who have Medicare Part D prescription drug insurance. Those in Medicare Advantage […]
Bob’s Journal for 1/18
Can Artificial Intelligence Improve Investment Returns? Artificial intelligence, or AI, became mainstream in 2023. Businesses increased their use of it, and investors sought ways to invest in AI. But can using AI as part of the investment process improve your investment returns? A number of investment firms, including some exchange-traded funds (ETFs), have been developing […]
Bob’s Journal for 1/11
Lessons About Estate Planning in 2023 from Celebrity Deaths The rich and famous have a lot of resources available to them and should know better. Yet, they often provide the best examples of estate planning missteps to avoid. Some celebrities who passed away years earlier had longstanding problems with their estates that weren’t resolved until […]
Bob’s Journal for 1/4
The Year-End Rally Was Global U.S. stocks finished 2023 with a powerful rally that garnered a lot of attention. But most other markets around the world did as well or better. The S&P 500 gained 11.64% in the last three months and 3.95% over the last month of the year. The MSCI World Index, excluding […]
