Consumers are financially strained. Evidence? Card defaults rose from 2.81% back in November to 3.53% in May.
Today's Stocks & Topics: Platinum, PPLT - ETFS Physical Platinum Shares, SQM - Sociedad Quimica y Minera De Chile S.A. ADR, Oil Prices, Retirement, Millennials and the Market, Student Loans, Venezuela, DPZ - Domino's Pizza Inc., SBUX - Starbucks Corp., RH – Restoration Hardware Outlet, LB - L Brands Inc., TGT - Target Corp., Capital Gains, VIA - Viacom Inc. Cl A.

As markets reach record highs, investors have questioned whether it makes sense to continue holding cash.
Today's Stocks & Topics: Dodd Frank Act, DUK - Duke Energy Corp., BAC - Bank of America Corp., MO - Altria Group Inc., If Trump is Impeached, USB - U.S. Bancorp, The Fed & Interest Rates, RDFN - Redfin Corp., VCSH - Vanguard Short-Term Corporate Bond ETF, VMW - VMware Inc., ETFs, QLD - ProShares Ultra QQQ.

While the pace of change is confounding what's gotten less attention is that the earth as been shifting beneath investors' feet.
Today's Stocks & Topics: SEP IRAs, EW - Edwards Lifesciences Corp., Durable Goods Report, S&P 500, ABBV - AbbVie Inc., AMZN - Amazon.com Inc., PYPL - PayPal Holdings Inc., ULTA - Ulta Beauty Inc., TLRD - Tailored Brands Inc., Biggest Risk to Our Economy.

Unless markets fall apart in the coming weeks, it's expected that the Fed’s balance sheet reduction will be made this September.
Today's Stocks & Topics: 401k & IRA, TGT - Target Corp., AOBC - American Outdoor Brands Corp., Junk Bonds, Alternative Investments, The Fed, STOR - STORE Capital Corp., TWO - Two Harbors Investment Corp., EWEAX - Wells Fargo Intrinsic World Equity Fund;A, STX - Seagate Technology PLC.

Future market returns may be muted. That makes tax-efficient investing even more important.
Today's Stocks & Topics: EBITDA - Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization, MCI - Barings Corporate Investors, NGG - National Grid PLC ADR, BAC - Bank of America Corp., The VIX, INTC - Intel Corp., GLW - Corning Inc., COST - Costco Wholesale Corp., AAWW - Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings.

What animates the market, even more than earnings and dividends?
Today's Stocks & Topics: Mortgage or 401k, The Fed & Interest Rates,
ORLY - O'Reilly Automotive Inc., Stock Screening Tools, BX - Blackstone Group L.P., Dividends & Taxes, T - AT&T Inc., YYY - YieldShares High Income ETF, SDIV - Global X SuperDividend ETF, Bonds & Interest Rates.

Opportunities to enhance your income through stocks, funds, and other investment vehicles.
Today's Stocks & Topics: Minimum Distribution, Market Reaction, Commodities for 2017, Interest Rates, High-Tech Investing, Buying Stocks for Children, Oil, ETFs, The Dollar, Mutual Funds, Diversification, Technical Analysis, 200 Day Moving Average, Stock Market vs. Real Estate, Mutual Funds vs. ETFs, Comany Stocks.

Gold has its own DNA of volatility. It's a non-event for gold to go up or down 20% in a rolling 12-month period.
Today's Stocks & Topics: QQQ - PowerShares QQQ Trust Series, SPY - SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust, Short vs. Long Term Capital Gains, Leading Economic Indicators, Mario Draghi, the Dollar, BWLD - Buffalo Wild Wings Inc., VZ - Verizon Communications Inc., UTX - United Technologies Corp., Active ETFs vs. Mutual Funds, RAD - Rite Aid Corp., IRA to Roth IRA, Capital Gains, ETFs.

While not as popular or trendy, closed-end funds (CEFs) were built specifically to maximize income.
Today's Stocks & Topics: 401k to IRA, Dollar Cost Average, Real Estate, Volatility, ALGN - Align Technology Inc., T - AT&T Inc., Real Estate Gains, GIS - General Mills Inc., 403B, WMT - Wal-Mart Stores Inc., SYY - Sysco Corp., Dividends.

It’s probably even more important for women than men that they harness their money to the power of these markets.
Today's Stocks & Topics: 401k to Roth IRA, Income Replacement, 20 Money Mistakes, WMT - Wal-Mart Stores Inc., FNG – AdvisorShares New Tech & Media ETF, Indexing, Retail Companies, Shorting, AMZN - Amazon.com Inc., AAPL - Apple Inc., Mutual Funds.

Few predict that a recession is imminent, but on the flip side there are signs that a downturn could be near.
Today's Stocks & Topics: MSM - MSC Industrial Direct Co., Bitcoin, Stops, Price Target, CCI - Crown Castle International Corp., GILD - Gilead Sciences Inc., TGT - Target Corp., NVGS - Navigator Holdings Ltd., AZO - AutoZone Inc., SPY - SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust.

You don’t have to follow the herd. You don’t have to lose your head. You need not chase the lemmings.
Today's Stocks & Topics: Margin Account, Digital Currency, Bio Tech, Pharmaceuticals, Invest in the Stock Market or Pay the Mortgage, Fixed Income, Asset Allocation, Roth I-R-A, Stocks: Level 2, 529-Plan, Retirement, In & Out of Stocks, Investing on Stocks.

Index funds and ETFs alone won't guarantee investing success. You'll also need to steer clear of these three all-too-common indexing mistakes.
Today's Stocks & Topics: Life Insurance, When to Sell, NLY - Annaly Capital Management Inc., ABX - Barrick Gold Corp., GDX - VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF, OXY - Occidental Petroleum Corp., 5 Things Rich People Confess To Sacrificing To Get Rich, NVDA - NVIDIA Corp., UVXY - ProShares Ultra VIX Short-Term Futures ETF.

Many people have a difficult time understanding a basic financial concept called net worth. It's important for your long-term planning.
Today's Stocks & Topics: Investing on CDs, Labor Report, Tax Reform, ZN - Zion Oil & Gas Inc., KMI - Kinder Morgan Inc., NFLX - Netflix Inc., TSM - Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., FL - Foot Locker Inc., HRTG - Heritage Insurance Holdings Inc.

The traditional heavy bond mix may not be right for you.

Retirement, Buy & Rebalance, Retirement Contributions, 401k, I-R-As, Retirement Needs, Day Trading, Roth I-R-A.

A high-flying market in record territory can make many first time investors worry. Here's a strategy that could reduce their anxiety.
Today's Stocks & Topics: New Investor, Investing Books, Labor Market, Tax Reform, ROIC - Retail Opportunity Investment Corp., BGS - B&G Foods Inc., CKH - SEACOR Holdings Inc., LB - L Brands Inc., DLTR - Dollar Tree Inc., Pay Student Loans or 401k, M - Macy's Inc.

What the pundits typically ignore is where not to put your money. Which investments should you shun?

Today's Stocks & Topics: GM Jobs, Retail Sales, Retirement Beneficiaries, Portfolio Analysis, Bonds, Treasury Bonds, IRAs, Statistics, Preferred Stocks, Retirement, Book Value, New Investor, Financial Advisors vs. Planners, Mutual Funds.

A recent analysis showed that about half of the 1.5 million participants who use target-date funds spread their dollars across other investments in their plans. That's a problem.
Today's Stocks & Topics: 52-Week High/Low, TEVA - Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., VEEV - Veeva Systems Inc., Finances & Children, MELI - MercadoLibre Inc., GOOG - Alphabet Inc., ETFs, CM - Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce.

Your kids will go to school and gain a wealth of knowledge in science, English, math, and other classes. But they won’t learn about money.
Today's Stocks & Topics: Roth 403B, Exchange Traded Funds, The Fed, Putin & the Russian Economy, Oil, Portfolio Management, KB - HKB Home, TWO - Two Harbors Investment Corp. , GDX - VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF, EQM - EQT Midstream Partners LP, HDGTX - Hartford Dividend & Growth Fund, ACLAX - American Century Mid Cap Value Fund, EQIX - Equinix Inc., Real Estate, AGX - Argan Inc.

The traditional heavy bond mix may not be right for you.

Retirement, Buy & Rebalance, Retirement Contributions, 401k, I-R-As, Retirement Needs, Day Trading, Roth I-R-A.

Real estate offers tremendous opportunities, and varying degrees of investment risk, based on your comfort level. That’s one of our talking points.
Today's Stocks & Topics: Mortgage, Stock Market vs. Real Estate, Buying Foreclosures, Retirement Home as an Asset, 401k & Mortgage, Investing for Kids, Annuities, Dollar Cost Average, Upgrading, Personal Finance.