Peek of the Week
The stock market has been dropping, but it's important to know the stock market isn't very accurate when it comes to predicting recessions. And it sure seems like that's the word being thrown around these days: recession. The fact is, bear markets in stocks lead to recessions only about 53 percent of the time. In other words, the stock market has about the same predictive value for recessions as a simple coin toss. Let that sink in!
Read MoreToday's Peek of the Week explains how tensions seem to rise when investors encounter bear market territory, causing some to wearily stay the course, and others to tap out. How is a bear market defined? It can be when shares prices decline 20 percent or more, or it can also occur when investors are feeling more bearish than bullish. It's safe to say we are in bear territory... read our "Peek" for more details and learn about how the investing decisions that can be made today will ultimately affect your long-term outcomes. You don't want to miss this!
Read MoreToday's Peek of the Week explains the complexity of inflation and how the numbers may vary, depending on how things get measured. To determine how quickly prices will rise or fall is not easy and our government relies on two indexes to get their answers: the CPI (Consumer Price Index) and the PCE (the Personal Consumption Index). These signify headline inflation and core inflation. Read our "Peek of the Week" to learn how to differentiate between them and learn why the cost of two things we use daily, food and energy, can be excluded from inflation calculations. One thing we know for sure: policymakers have A LOT of data to consider before they make their predictions for the future.
Read MoreThe first quarter of 2022 experienced a storm of volatility with events like nonstop rising inflation, the war in Ukraine, rising interest rates, sanctions on Russia and a new COVID-19 outbreak in China... just to name a few. Today's Peek of the Week offers a review of the first quarter with some options for investors when it comes to fighting inflation, borrowing money and gauging future business operations. Energy prices have surged around the world, causing a jump in global inflation when it comes to transportation and shipping. These costs will be reflected in many other goods, including food.
Read MoreToday's Peek of the Week "checks in" on the Federal Reserve and many other things. The Federal Reserve has been asked by Congress to promote price stability and maximize employment. Inflation continued to increase to 6.4 percent last week (with food and energy included) and the Fed's target rate for inflation is all the way down at 2 percent. Yikes. Today's blog will explain some potential next moves for balancing out financial complications.
Read MoreBe careful what you ask for…you just might get it! Today's Peek of the Week explains the recent increase in Treasury rates, the drop in demand for home loans and how the cost of carrying credit card debt has increased. It was early March when almost two-thirds of Americans said the Federal Reserve should be more aggressive when it comes to inflation. Well, Americans got what they asked for! When rates rise, borrowing money becomes more expensive, demand gets reduced and prices go even higher.
Read MoreToday's Peek of the Week is full of questions. Investors wonder what will happen with the current geopolitical tensions, if the Federal Reserve will tame inflation and how the market correction is being received. Major U.S. stock indices moved lower last week and came even closer to correction territory. A stock market correction occurs when assets, indexes or markets decline by 10 to 20 percent and although they feel unpleasant, they aren't unusual. In addition, here have been all kinds of debates about college and its importance. Questions such as: is college a good investment? Which college majors are worth the cost? And, should employers remove college degree requirements from job listings? What do YOU think?
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