Two seismic changes in stock brokerage services quietly occurred during the past few months that should further democratize investing, making it even easier to buy and sell stocks. Whether this is a good thing will need to await future judgment. The first change was the adoption among many discount brokers of commission-free trading. You may… Full article

Investment and other “Wall Street” firms employ analysts, people who do research into individual companies to try to find those that are likely to be superior investments. The heyday of analysts ended about ten years ago when it became clear that their predictions about specific company growth, sales, profits, competitive advantage, managerial skill, long-term vision… Full article

Here’s a quiz. Which doesn’t belong: (a) COVID 19 (b) massive unemployment (c) small businesses closed down (d) stock market rising The best answer in (d). It may seem crazy and counter-intuitive, but as of today, the stock market is sharply rising amidst the hardships from the virus. There are a several explanations, and one… Full article

Gold enthusiasts — “gold bugs” — are always insisting you buy gold as an investment. It isn’t. One observer said that an ounce of gold will always buy you a pretty good suit, but not a custom one. That seems about right. In the last ten years gold has earned you nothing — with a… Full article

Options have been bought and sold for hundreds of years. For a price, paid at the time of purchase, they give the buyer the right to do something in the future. Wall Street has had options for years but in the last thirty they have become a major activity and a great source of income.… Full article

Here’s my offer to you. Let me invest your money for you in the stock market. Pay me an annual fee of 1% of the value of your money that I invest for you. In return for your payment and faith in my investment abilities, I will do worse than the stock market. Yes, I… Full article

How well are my stock market investments doing? Great question, one all investors need to ask. But “how well?” can only be answered in terms of “compared to what?” No matter how your stock market investments are chosen (by yourself or others; aggressively or conservatively), you need to have some yardstick to see if your… Full article

Congress and the Federal Reserve have been pumping tremendous amounts of newly printed money into the economy in an effort to counteract economic damage caused by the COVID 19-related shutdowns. A portion of this “helicopter” money has been sent directly to citizens, and perhaps you found a government deposit in your bank account. How will… Full article

My neighbor called me a few Sundays ago to tell me that she was fed up — fed up to “here.” She had lost a lot of money in the stock and bond markets – on paper. The financial markets were in the midst of a steep decline. My neighbor hadn’t yet actually sold any… Full article

The market is down. My portfolio is down. A lot. An awful lot. What should I do? What do YOU think I should do???? What should I do NOW? We have heard that a lot and we hear it a lot. “What should I do?” is the wrong question. And it’s asked at the wrong… Full article