First Trust COVID-19 TRACKER
First Trust Portfolios has done an excellent job of providing many additional data points regarding the progress we have made in the fight against COVID-19. We hope this helps in your understanding of the economic and market recovery underway. Click on the image below for addition detail.
How to Protect Yourself Against Identity Theft
Massive computer hacks and data breaches are now common occurrences — an unfortunate consequence of living in a digital world. Once identity thieves have your information, they can use it to gain access to your bank and credit card accounts, make unauthorized transactions in your name, and subsequently ruin your credit. Now more than ever, […]
Caring for Your Aging Parents
What is it? Caring for your aging parents is something you hope you can handle when the time comes, but something you probably hope you never have to do. Caring for your aging parents means helping them plan for the future, and this can be overwhelming, both physically and emotionally. When the time comes for […]
2019 IRA Contribution Deadline Has Been Extended
Due to the coronavirus tax filing extension, there’s still time to make a regular IRA contribution for 2019. You have until your tax return due date (not including extensions) to contribute up to $6,000 for 2019 ($7,000 if you were age 50 or older on December 31, 2019). For most taxpayers, the contribution deadline for […]
Reopening The Economy
This commentary touches on the following subjects.: Reopening the Economy C19 Infections, Hospitalizations, Deaths Vaccine Development Monetary Policy and Fiscal Stimulus The Bifurcated Stock Market It has been 84 days since the U.S. stock market started the C19 market sell-off. During that time a great deal of new information has come forth to help us […]
Market Update, Monday the 30th
First, some good news in the number of new cases. The John Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center reported a drop in the total number of daily cases from 67.4k cases on Friday to 59.4k on Saturday. We now know that President Trump has extended the social distancing guidelines in the U.S. until the end of April. The newest […]
The Coronavirus Stock Market Panic
Stock markets continue to be under pressure today after the U.S. announced additional travel restrictions with Europe. The number of confirmed cases continues to be very small, the health impact minimal and the death rate tiny according to the John Hopkins Coronavirus resource center. It appears this will become a very manageable situation. We need […]
The Price of Oil and the Stock Market
Another impactful development pushing the price of stocks down Monday morning was the recent surprise drop in oil prices. Crude oil saw its price decline by 24% on Monday. That is a massive move for the worlds most demanded commodity. On balance, lower prices will be good for the global economy. However, price shocks are […]
COVID-19 and the Stock Market
Stock markets are in a tailspin this morning due to COVID-19 concerns. The stock market has dealt with many epidemics (SARS, MERS, Bird Flu, Ebola, etc.) in the past few decades none of which have led to a sustained market decline. Here is a look at the historical market returns 6 & 12-months after the occurrence of […]
Coronavirus & U.S. Stocks
Monday’s market selling was aggressive, closing near the day’s lows after trying to rally earlier in the trading session. Tuesday’s market open was weak and deteriorated quickly delivering another day of big declines. This is typical behavior, rapid declines after a long series of advances. Investors are dealing with the combination of elevated stock valuations […]