The average retiree collects nearly $2,000 in retirement benefits each month from Social Security. That’s a nice supplement to anyone’s retirement savings. But a select handful of retirees will receive $5,108 each month this year, and they’ll get an even bigger check in the future thanks to the program’s annual cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA. That’s the maximum retirement benefit for 2025,…
In investing, we like to believe that logic rules. We run the numbers, study earnings reports, model cash flows, and read balance sheets. And over the long haul, those fundamentals do matter. But in the short term? The market isn’t always rational. It’s often driven by something far less tangible—perception. Markets don’t wait for the dust to settle or for…
Down and discouraged for the first four months of the year, the U.S. stock market has bounced back in May. The benchmark S&P 500 is up 12.5% over the past month and is back in the black year to date, returning 1% as of the May 20 close. That doesn’t mean the stock market is fully recovered, as many threats…
In a blog post entitled: Signals Through the Noise, Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser noted that we are entering a new phase of globalization. One less defined by cooperation, and more by strategic self-interest. She posited that long-held assumptions are being challenged, not just by tariff announcements but by a deeper confidence shock. If you’re looking to markets for clarity, you might be…
In recent years, stocks in the artificial intelligence (AI) field have become known for achieving sky-high valuations. Nvidia shot higher amid surprisingly strong demand for AI accelerators, and recently, Palantir‘s valuation has reached nosebleed levels as its software delivers notable productivity breakthroughs. Still, this success has not applied to all AI stocks, and many appear undervalued. That creates a possible opportunity in companies that investors may have…
How would you like a little insurance in case one of your stocks takes a turn for the worse? If that sounds appealing, consider a protective put. At its core, a protective put is exactly what it sounds like—protection. It allows you to hang on to the potential gains from a stock you own, while setting a floor beneath your…
Many investors take their lead from the so-called “smart money” in order to avoid market pitfalls and tap into outsized returns. This involves combing through analyst reports to see what the biggest shops on Wall Street are buying, and why. There’s no guarantee that even the “strong buy” stocks that are identified by market pros are going to go up,…
Buying low and selling high is what investing comes down to. Often, however, investors get spooked when prices are low and avoid struggling stocks, thinking that they are destined to go even lower. But when it comes to quality businesses, you should relish the opportunity to buy stocks when their prices are low as it can mean great returns later…
Over the past 9 years, gold prices have soared nearly 200%. And this run may not even be close to done. Last month, JP Morgan put out an investor note suggesting that gold prices will cross $4,000 per ounce. This, based on increased recession probabilities as a result of Trump’s trade war. Analysts from the investment bank expect gold to…
We’ve all been known to flip-flop on occasion. As a protestor outside nuclear power plants during the 1970s, I used to chant “Hell no, we won’t glow!” The bumper sticker on my Volkswagen Beetle declared: “Split wood, not atoms.” Yet here I am, decades later as a financial analyst, avidly recommending investments in the nuclear industry, for both moral and…