Recent Articles from Fred Taylor
How Will Stock Markets React to the 2024 Presidential Elections — and What Should Investors Watch for?
With a likely repeat of the 2020 election, I am often asked, “What happens if a particular candidate wins?” In the very short run, it can have a notable impact, like the night Donald Trump won in 2016. The futures market fell precipitously after he was announced the winner, but by the time the markets […]
What 2023 Taught Us About Investment Strategies, and What to Expect in 2024
2023 is officially behind us, and it is always helpful to look back at what worked throughout the year in order to position your portfolios for another successful trip around the sun. You’ll want to do this for taxes but also for income and investment performance as well. READ: How to Invest in 2024 — […]
Unprecedented Impact of Soaring Interest Rates: What It Means for the Economy
You would have to be living on another planet not to feel the deleterious impact of higher interest rates. Just when we thought annus horribilis 2022 was finally in the rear-view mirror, the bond vigilantes have resurfaced to wreak havoc on both stock and bond markets simultaneously. Since the Federal Reserve has been steadfast in […]
Navigating the Economic Crossroads: Fed’s 11th Rate Hike and Its Impact on Investments in 2023
To no one’s surprise, the Federal Reserve raised short-term interest rates again during their July meeting. This was their 11th increase since the spring of 2022. As expected, the Fed Funds rate went up 25 basis points, or a quarter of 1 percent. The new rate is 5.25%-5.50%. What remains unclear is whether this is […]
Diversify Your Portfolio: Beyond AI Stocks with Treasury Bills and Dividend-Paying Companies
By now, you’ve probably heard of the chip maker Nvidia. And if not, at the very least, you’re somewhat familiar with the massive explosion of AI products and services in the corporate world. This AI mania has been the single driver in getting the stock market out of a bear market, simply defined as a […]
Buying a Home in 2023 — High Mortgage Rates, Low Inventory and Tougher Approval Process
Have you tried buying a home lately? The pandemic days of 20 offers, waiving inspections and closing prices 15% above asking prices may be gone, but major issues remain. I am married to a realtor, so I can assure you I hear about it all the time; it still isn’t easy to buy a home. […]
Exploring Opportunities in the Global Stock Market: Unlocking Profit Potential in 2023
There is an old adage on Wall Street: “Sell in May and go away.” In theory, on a calendar basis, the worst months to be invested in the stock market are from May to November. Whether this is true or not is anybody’s guess, but last year it certainly was. Today, investors must decide how […]
Silicon Valley Bank Failure: Could Your Bank be Next?
If you haven’t been following the second-largest bank failure in history, you may want to start. To recap, Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) located in California was the 16th largest bank in the United States, with $209 billion in assets. Just a few weeks ago, it failed. Shockingly, the Silicon Valley Bank failure happened in just […]
What is the Debt Ceiling Crisis?
There has been a lot of news lately about the debt ceiling, but what exactly does that mean? According to Wikipedia, “In the United States, the debt ceiling or debt limit is a legislative limit on the amount of national debt that can be incurred by the United States Treasury, thus limiting how much money […]
4 Key Asset Allocation Strategies for 2023
We all know how painful 2022 was for investors. To put it in perspective, conservative balanced portfolios with 60% in equities and 40% in fixed income were down almost 20%. The more aggressive, all-equity growth portfolios were down over 30%. Even 20-year treasury bonds lost 30% in 2022. This carnage was caused primarily by the […]
7 Investment Strategies for 2023
In 1992 Queen Elizabeth was famous for saying “annus horribilis” when three of her four children’s marriages dissolved and Windsor Castle caught fire – a horrible year. The same could be said about 2022 for investors and investment strategies. A portfolio invested 60% in stocks and 40% in bonds was down double digits, one of […]
Finding the Silver Lining Amidst Rising Interest and Inflation Rates
Between bear markets in both stocks and bonds and mortgage rates doubling in 2022, is there any good news out there? Believe it or not, there is. Because of the massive rise in inflation this year, starting January 1, 2023, the Federal government is increasing Social Security payouts, raising 401k and IRA contribution limits, expanding […]