Over the past two quarters I’ve noticed a pretty big divergence in the strategy that companies are starting to follow. A large portion (maybe 70% or more of large caps) are on the “return cash to shareholders” trend, while fewer and fewer seem to be executing a growth strategy specific to their business. I see…
Where Will Stocks Go Moving Forward?
It was an odd week for the stock market and I’m not yet seeing the things I would like to for confirmation that stocks should move higher. We’ll see where things take us in the week ahead. Here’s a video discussing the the things I’m watching: I hope everyone has a great weekend…
Good Health, Happiness in Life (and Retirement), and How I’m Looking to Invest in it
I recently read an article about the different “phases” of retirement that people go through and how it affects their happiness, level of activity and spending over time. It noted some studies that discuss who tends to be “happier” in retirement – things like: People that maintain a daily routine tend to be happier in…
And the Survey Says…
Thanks again to everyone who participated in the survey I posted last week. The two most requested topics were New Technology/Business Trends and Financial Planning Topics & Strategies so I’ll definitely try to work in more posts in these areas. As for the type of posts, Both (text/pictures and videos) received the most votes so you…
Why Emerging Market Stocks are Falling
The Emerging Markets were all the buzz this week, with India, Turkey and South Africa raising interest rates in an attempt to slow capital outflows. Since the 2008 crash, Emerging Market (EM) stocks have not been the same for US investors, significantly underperforming developed market stocks. Unfortunately I think they’re going to remain under pressure…
Why the Stock Market is Falling
Thanks to everyone who has participated in the survey! I received a suggestion asking to talk more about what is driving markets in the short-term. For example, why were stocks down yesterday. Here’s a short video looking at the investment capital flows over the past few weeks. It shows that we had a very strong…
Blog Topic Suggestions
I’m curios to know what you’d like me to write more about so I put together a short survey (literally, it’s two questions). Please take a minute to answer it and I’ll implement more of the most requested topics over the next year. I’ll also share the results with everyone after a few days. Just Click…
Why There is Trouble Ahead for the European Economy
There was an interesting chart in The Economist displaying GDP growth since 1999, the start of the Eurozone, for Western economies. From a quick glance at the chart, it appears that Germany is the impressive winner, generating over 20% change in GDP per person. Spain, Greece, Portugal and Italy don’t look so good… But…