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The yield curve is a graph with the rates of U.S. Treasury bonds plotted by maturity. The slope of the curve is the difference between short-dated bonds and long-dated bonds. Normally, it curves upward as investors demand higher yields to compensate for the risk of...
If you want to leave your home to your children or other heirs and keep the property out of the costly and time-consuming probate process, you could place your home in a living trust. Trusts offer numerous advantages, but they incur up-front costs, often have...
Roth IRAs were primarily intended as a tax-advantaged way to save for retirement, but for some parents (and students with earned income), a Roth IRA can double as a college savings tool. On the other hand, state-based 529 savings plans were designed specifically to help...
After an unusually calm year in 2017, the stock market turned unusually volatile in 2018. How volatile was it? Consider this: In 2017, the S&P 500 had only eight days when the index closed with a rise or fall of 1% or more from the...
On May 13, 2019, escalating trade war tensions between the United States and China sparked a worldwide stock sell-off that wiped out more than $1 trillion in global equity values.1 The markets recovered over the next three days, but tensions between the economic giants continued to...
According to a 2018 report by the Better Business Bureau, an estimated 6% of small businesses fall victim to scams each year, suffering an average loss of $4,373. Unfortunately, scam activity directed at businesses seems to be growing and tends to involve greater losses than...
You may have heard that a looming Social Security shortfall is threatening to affect future retirement planning benefits. If you’re retired or close to retiring, then you probably have nothing to worry about — your Social Security benefits will likely be paid to you in...
No one wants to be admitted to a hospital, but for Medicare beneficiaries the distinction between inpatient and outpatient treatment can be confusing and potentially expensive. The key issue is observation care (also called observation status), during which a patient spends time being evaluated in...
Sustainable, responsible, and impact (SRI) investing — also called socially responsible investing — has been around for a long time, but growing interest has moved it into the mainstream. U.S. SRI assets reached $12 trillion in 2018, 38% more than in 2016. SRI investments now...
Bonds can be a tricky investment when interest rates are rising, as they have been for the last few years. The value of bonds sold on the secondary market typically falls as rates rise, because investors can buy new bonds with higher yields. (The reverse...