report by BlackRock
Results for ""
Market Outlooks
Weekly Market Compass: Investors may be grateful for the Fed’s easy money, but they’re also wary about what might come next.
This piece is approved to use with clients.
If you had to quickly describe the relationship status between investors and the Federal Reserve, your best bet might simply be: “It’s complicated.”
Market Outlooks
Weekly Market Compass: The economy may not truly turn the page until spring
This piece is approved to use with clients.
It might be 2021, but it doesn’t feel like a new year in many parts of the world. We haven’t yet turned the page on all the difficulties of the past year, so it seems like we are stuck in 2020. Or as my colleague aptly put it, this is just Dec. 49, 2020.
Market Outlooks
Weekly Market Compass: Seven reasons I expect a powerful US economic recovery in 2021.
This piece is approved to use with clients.
I periodically walk into stores to get a sense of how the US economy is doing. This past weekend I walked into a car dealership in my area. I chatted with a car salesman who has worked in the industry for more than 50 years. He shared that this is a very strange economic environment — car purchases have increased (he had already sold four cars that day), but so have the number of people stopping by to see if there are any job openings, who say they’ve been out of work for six or nine months.
Market Outlooks
Webcast: Innovation is Eating the World … Faster
Fuel has been thrown on the flame of many of the secular trends that were driving market returns prior to COVID-19, dramatically accelerating the adoption of these themes. E-commerce, digital media and medical technology, to name a few, are trends creating opportunities for forward-thinking investors.
Retirement
The Not-So-Easy Steps to Investing Success
This piece is approved to use with clients.
While investors will always be looking for ways to time the markets, there are no shortcuts to investing success. Retirement Director Ben Rizzuto considers the lessons to be learned from the recent GameStop trading activity and outlines three steps to building a strategic long-term investing plan.
Market Outlooks
Weekly Market Compass: Stocks were hit last week in the face of inflation fears, but I believe it was a temporary adjustment to a rise in rates.
This piece is approved to use with clients.
Last week was what I would call a “Rip Van Winkle” week. Set in the colonial days of America, Rip Van Winkle is the story of a man who, sick of his wife, decides to go for a hike in the mountains with his dog. He meets a group of strange men who offer him an unusual drink, causing him to fall asleep.
Market Outlooks
Weekly Market Compass: As Israel leads the way in COVID-19 vaccinations, events such as concerts and theater performances return after an 11-month ban
This piece is approved to use with clients.
When I was in business school back in the late 1990s, I found that one of the most heavily used — and effective — teaching tools was the case study. Learning from what other companies and industries did or didn’t do was incredibly helpful in gaining understanding and insight.
Market Outlooks
Weekly Market Compass: Bitcoin has gained credibility over the past three years, but I believe its use as a currency, a diversifier or an inflation hedge is a bit off the mark.
This piece is approved to use with clients.
The last time I wrote about bitcoin was back in December 2017. Back then there was a lot of excitement around bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies because both the Chicago Board Options Exchange and CME Group had begun offering bitcoin futures. Investors were excited about this opportunity, sending up the price of a single bitcoin thousands of dollars higher over the several previous weeks.
Market Outlooks
Weekly Market Compass: As we enter a new lunar year, the Fed reiterates its stance on inflation and stimulus.
This piece is approved to use with clients.
We have just begun a new lunar year — the Year of the Ox. I think we are all happy to have said goodbye to the Year of the Rat — although I suppose we should have known this last lunar year was going to be bad because the Year of the Rat is traditionally considered to be a year of turbulence in which change or disaster can happen. Interestingly, the rat and the ox have an unusual relationship.
Retirement
Taking Stock of Emergency Savings Account Options
This piece is approved to use with clients.
The events of the past year have reinforced the importance of being financially prepared for unexpected emergencies. Retirement Director Ben Rizzuto discusses some of the options – both inside and outside of retirement plans – that are available for plan sponsors and business owners to help employees build up adequate savings.