The market today reminds me of Dickens’s famous line: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...” It’s the best of times, of course, because the stock market continues to hit new highs. From a low of 2,192 last March, the S&P 500 has now doubled, reaching 4,466 earlier today. Over [...]
Cape fear
In the ongoing battle between those who believe that the stock market is in a bubble and those who do not, you may have heard mention of something called the CAPE Ratio. Among market indicators, this ratio has the strongest track record in predicting future market returns. What does the CAPE say [...]
Five “strategies”
The tricky thing about investing is that there is no single “right” approach. A little while back, I talked about the “five minds” of the investor—the optimist, the pessimist, the analyst, the economist and the psychologist. But why these five? There are, in fact, many ways to be successful: You [...]
Where to next?
This week I ran across a statistic so surprising it was hard to believe: During the recent market downturn, according to Fidelity Investments, approximately 15% of investors sold all of their stock holdings. And among investors 65 and older, nearly a third sold all their stock market investments. It [...]
Profitable trading strategies?
Every year, when spring rolls around, investment folks trot out a favorite catchphrase: “Sell in May and go away.” This is based on the idea that the stock market lags during the summer, as people go on vacation. And while it may sound hokey as an investment rule, it’s hardly the only one. There’s [...]