It has become fashionable in recent months for economists to argue that the nation’s growing public debt is not a problem but something to be, if not exactly embraced, then at least not avoided. Harvard University economists Lawrence Summers and Jason Furman penned a recent article in “Foreign Affairs,” titledRead More →
Getty Images Apple has bought back tens of billions of dollars in stock, but it’s also invested billions of dollars trying to secure its future. Corporate titans such as Apple and Walmart are under attack for buying back billions of dollars in stock while supposedly skimping on investment, but evidentlyRead More →
Dutch historian Rutger Bregman, who became a viral sensation for his blunt talk on taxing the rich, was recently interviewed by Fox News host Tucker Carlson. The pleasantries didn’t last long, as the chat quickly turned nasty when Bregman pointed the finger at Carlson and his ilk for being partRead More →
Will Nasgovitz, who oversees about $1.3 billion in assets as the chief executive of Heartland Advisors, isn’t calling for a “full blown financial crisis,” but, with trillions in corporate debt coming due in the coming years, the industry veteran’s not exactly predicting smooth sailing in the stock market, either. “WithRead More →
Dear Moneyist, I have been with the same man for over 10 years. We have two kids and share a life together, but we never got married for various reasons, including financial. I make a great salary while he makes very little and came into our relationship with a lotRead More →
AFP/Getty Images General Joseph Dunford (L), chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Chief of the General Staff of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army General Fang Fenghui shake hands after signing an agreement at the Bayi Building in Beijing. China recovered much more rapidly from the Great RecessionRead More →
Treasury yields on Friday mostly rose for the day, pushing government bonds to the best weekly gains in about a month as investors looked past bonds to riskier assets while digesting apparent progress in Sino-U.S. tariff negotiations. What did yields do? The 10-year Treasury yield TMUBMUSD10Y, +0.00% added 0.7 basisRead More →
Bloomberg News/Landov The cost of imported goods are falling. The numbers: The cost of imported goods fell in January for the third month in a row, reflecting a broad easing of inflation in the U.S. that’s helped persuade the Federal Reserve to stop raising interest rates. The import price indexRead More →
The economy may be better, and unemployment may be lower. But that doesn’t mean American consumers are doing any better with their debts. That’s according to a new survey of 1,000 people from the personal-finance company Bankrate. It found that 29% of Americans have more credit-card debt than they doRead More →
Welcome to Capital Confidential — a weekly diary column featuring the best tidbits from around the U.K.’s business and political landscape from MarketWatch sister publication Financial News. This week: Paul McNamara sparks a row over his personal pension investments; anecdotes from the IFR Awards; and Man Group’s latest award… Brexit’sRead More →
Getty Images/iStockphoto The U.S. economy appears to have found a sweet spot: Lot of new jobs and low inflation. After the economy scored a dazzling 304,000 bounty of new jobs in January, the U.S. seems to have settled into a sweet spot. Growth is stable, if a bit slower thanRead More →
Deutsche Bank AG rebuffed a request from the Trump Organization in March 2016 to increase a loan for the Trump National Doral, a Florida golf resort, because of concerns about expanding the bank’s relationship with then-candidate Donald Trump or his company, according to people familiar with the matter. The GermanRead More →
Bloomberg News/Landov Payroll processor ADP says 213,000 new jobs were created in January by the private sector. The numbers: Companies in the U.S. added 213,000 jobs in January, ADP reported Wednesday, another strong reading that suggests little letdown in a steadily growing economy. Wall Street economists had forecast an increaseRead More →
For many investors and economists, it’s time for European Central Bank President Mario Draghi to acknowledge growing risks to the eurozone economic outlook. The ECB is widely expected to announce no new actions when it concludes its first policy meeting of 2019 on Thursday. The central bank has already declaredRead More →
Stock markets have been resilient through the current partial government shutdown, with the S&P 500 index SPX, -1.80% gaining nearly 10% since the standoff began Dec. 22. But according to Goldman Sachs analysts led by David Kostin, this rally from oversold conditions is masking the effect that the shutdown andRead More →
Dear Moneyist, My parents are retired, pretty well-off, living conservatively and comfortably. They enjoy traveling, outdoor activities and are in pretty good health. It’s just my sister and me. I am married, own a little condo with my husband and we’re moving soon and expecting our first baby. We’re financiallyRead More →
Is an investment in “The Happiest Place on Earth” a contrarian stance on global political and economic strife? Or is it simply one consumer-focused big cap — Todd Ahlsten of Parnassus likes undervalued Disney for its streaming catch-up — in a diversified portfolio? Don’t like Disney DIS, +0.03% muchRead More →
U.S. stock and bond markets on Monday will be closed in observance of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, providing a pause after a bullish tilt on Wall Street to start 2019. The day honoring the civil-rights leader is traditionally observed on the third Monday in January and commemorates theRead More →
The partial government shutdown is now setting records, and investors might not be able to ignore it for much longer, analysts said. “Two key risks that we highlighted in the past (Fed’s monetary policy and trade war) have subsided, but new risks have emerged: U.S. government shutdown and signs ofRead More →
Mutual-fund shareholders may never again see a folk hero like John C. Bogle, father of the index fund and the founder and former chairman of fund-industry titan Vanguard Group. Bogle was an outspoken, iconoclastic, in-your-face champion for low-cost, buy-and-hold investing — a populist in a business suit who spent six decadesRead More →
Do you remember the letter from Economic Slave in Chicago? He wrote to the Moneyist in July 2018. Here’s his letter in full and my response. Here’s a short recap of his original problem: “I’ve known my wife for eight-plus years and I’m happily married with a newborn son. WeRead More →
Before the painful fourth-quarter stock market decline, steady dividend payers probably weren’t foremost in many investors’ minds. After all, the Federal Reserve was raising interest rates and the massive cut in federal corporate income taxes was setting up even better earnings and sales comparisons than usual. But the current lowerRead More →
Treasury yields came off their intraday lows Thursday after sloppy results for a bond auction weighed on trading for government paper. The 10-year Treasury note yield TMUBMUSD10Y, +0.95% was mostly unchanged at 2.731%, after bouncing off a session low at 2.680%, while the two-year note yield TMUBMUSD02Y, -0.16% wasRead More →
U.S. stocks declined at the start of the first trading session of 2019, after data showing a contracting Chinese manufacturing sector reinforced investor concerns about a slowing global economy. Major markets were closed on Tuesday for the New Year holiday. How are benchmarks trading? The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA,Read More →
An ugly, year-end stock-market selloff and the return of volatility has put the economic expansion, soon to be the longest on record, under the microscope. Cyclical sectors, such as housing, are slowing, as the Federal Reserve raises interest rates. The risks to the economy seem to be multiplying, from tradeRead More →
