WHAT HAS BEEN THE HISTORICAL RELATION BETWEEN OIL PRICES AND THE EQUITY MARKET?

For 1986–2015, the monthly correlation of the crude oil spot return with US stocks (represented by the CRSP 1–10 Index) was 0.02. The corresponding correlation with the …

WE SHOULD EXPECT VOLATILITY

It is important to remember how well-functioning capital markets work and what prices reflect; prices reflect the aggregate expectations of market participants. Risk aversion, investors’ tastes and preferences, and expectations about future profits are among the …

The New Year is a customary time to speculate. In a digital age, when past forecasts are available online, market and media professionals find it harder to hide their blushes when their financial predictions go awry. But there are ways …

Global markets are providing investors a rough ride at the moment, as the focus turns to China’s economic outlook. But while falling markets can be worrisome, maintaining a longer‑term perspective makes the volatility easier to handle.

Click the following …

Stock prices in markets around the world fluctuated dramatically for the week ended August 27. On Monday, August 24, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1,089 points—a larger loss than the “Flash Crash” in May 2010—before rallying to close down …

Why don’t the media run more good news? One view is bad news sells. If people preferred good news, the media would supply it. But markets don’t see news as necessarily good or bad, rather in terms of what is …

Most of us have multiple roles—as business owners, professionals, workers, consumers, citizens, students, parents and investors. So our views of the world can differ according to whatever hat we’re wearing at any one time.

This complexity of people and their …

In the popular TV program MasterChef, contestants face a series of cooking challenges. From low quality ingredients to inadequate preparation and poor implementation, so many things can, and do, go wrong. It’s a bit like investing.

In the world of …

The media occasionally locks in on a particular “hot” sector. In the late 1990s, it was technology. In the mid-2000s, it was mining. Writing headlines about fashionable sectors is one thing. Building investment strategies around them is another.

A reason …

Like it or not, we’re all involved in running the “family business.” We worry that our parents might outlive their retirement savings. We’re comforted by the thought that family members would probably bail us out if we got into money …

Financial professionals often follow two rules of thumb when providing clients with financial advice. First, they suggest clients save as much as possible in qualified retirement plan accounts, such as 401(k) plans and Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs). Contributions to these …

Would you be interested if I told you about an investment product that promises never to lose money while at the same time allowing you to participate in stock market gains when they occur? The products are called indexed annuities, …

August 2010 unemployment reached 9.6%, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. A bad number – but not so bad as to cause a crisis.

Not only are thousands of Americans unemployed, but almost half of them have been unable …

Things are afoot in the land of the free economy. Big things.

For the first time in several years, the threat – or perceived threat – of inflation is beginning to loom, and there are whispers in the corridors of …

Thinking about converting to a Roth Individual Retirement Account (IRA)?

While many people will make that decision more from their heart than head, one important question to ask yourself is, how long can you keep your money in a Roth …

Tough decisions must be made.

The Pew Center recently reported that 10 states – Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin – are barreling toward economic disaster. Double-digit budget gaps, rising unemployment, and high …