NY coronavirus order for businesses to close: what’s considered essential, non-essential?
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Friday all non-essential businesses must close or have employees work from home. Cuomo’s latest directive followed orders for businesses to reduce the in-person workforce by 25 to 75% in recent days. The 100% workforce reduction goes into effect on Sunday at 8 p.m. The order has many asking: What’s […]
Nine points to consider on the outlook for equities
Given the volatility in the financial markets beginning the week of February 20th, it’s helpful to review the state of the U.S. economy entering into this stressful period, what’s happened since, and some of the potential economic impacts. Here is my take on those topics. At the beginning of 2020, the U.S. economy was […]
Questions every investor needs to ask themselves right now
In the 1960s, sociology professor James Henslin spent time with a group of cab drivers in St. Louis to understand their gambling habits. When the drivers finished their shifts for the night they would play craps into the wee hours of the morning, typically from 3 am to 7 am. Henslin sat in on nearly […]
IRS extends tax filing deadline to July 15
The IRS is extending the federal income tax filing deadline to July 15 as part of a growing effort to stem the financial pain from the coronavirus pandemic, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announced Friday. The move gives Americans three months more than they normally would have to file their income tax returns for the 2019 tax year, […]
Circuit breakers and dimensional’s approach to trading
Recently, several markets, including in the US and Brazil, have hit circuit breakers, where trading is paused for a period after a specified percentage decline in the market. In all cases, trading resumed as planned. Circuit breakers can serve a useful function: they mandate a short halt during which participants can assess new information and […]
US equity returns following past downturns
Sudden market downturns can be unsettling. Sticking with your plan helps put you in the best position to capture a recovery. A broad market index tracking data since 1926 in the US shows that stocks have generally delivered strong returns over one-year, three-year, and five-year periods following steep declines. Fama/French Total US Market Research Index […]
Understanding market downturns
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Market declines and volatility
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Three thoughts during scary markets
So, remember all those times we’ve said that investment risks and expected rewards are related? Coronavirus-fueled fears, driving economic insecurities, aggravating a host of simmering global sore spots, spiraling into stomach-wrenching market sell-offs … Be it confirmed. Today’s unfolding news is the realization of those risks we’ve been talking about all along. In case you’ve […]
How to be positively skeptical part 1: the benefits of having a doubt
“I’m not an optimist. That makes me sound naïve. I’m a very serious ‘possibilist.’ That’s something I made up. It means someone who neither hopes without reason, nor fears without reason, someone who constantly resists the overdramatic worldview.” — Hans Rosling, Factfulness Whether you’re considering an investment opportunity or simply browsing various media for insights […]