The Independent Investor: A Taste of Things to ComeBy Bill Schmick,
04:34PM / Thursday, June 13, 2013 | |
If you are a bond holder, the last few weeks may have come as a shock. Ever since the Fed raised the possibility of tapering their stimulus program, interest rates have spiked higher. For the first time in years, bondholders actually saw bond prices decline. Get used to it.
If you are a baby boomer, the price declines in all things that yield interest or income since May 22 might have you wondering what happened to your "safe" investments. All our professional lives we were told that bonds were "safe" for "conservative" investors, widows and orphans and for those among us that find the stock market too risky.
That was sage advice, if somewhat
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The Independent Investor: Will the Fed Falter?By Bill Schmick,
10:06AM / Friday, June 07, 2013 | |
As we enter the fifth year of the Federal Reserve Bank's grand experiment to save our economy, doubts are beginning to surface. After a wonderful run in the financial markets, investors are concerned that the Fed is planning to once again slow their stimulus program. That would be a mistake.
To understand why, just recall the ups and downs of the economy and stock market over these same five years. The first attempt at jump-starting the economy by the Fed occurred in late November 2008. The Fed started buying $600 billion in mortgage backed securities in an effort to inject liquidity into financial markets frozen with fear. It worked. By March 2009, it held $1.75 0 Comments
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The Independent Investor: Retirement, Who Can Afford It?By Bill Schmick,
03:09PM / Friday, May 31, 2013 | |
Most Americans' retirement savings are under $25,000. That's old news. The new news is that with Social Security in jeopardy, medical costs skyrocketing and the chances of living longer better than ever, how do you expect to retire in the years ahead?
The short answer is most of us won't. But no matter how long you intend to remain on the job, at some point your legs, knees, back or brain will give out, whether you like it or not. For many baby boomers that time is right now, just when the politicians are telling us the country can’t afford to continue funding Social Security and Medicare. It isn't fair but those are the facts.
Honestly, this boomer
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The Independent Investor: What Happens If You Can't Afford Obamacare?By Bill Schmick,
05:13PM / Thursday, May 23, 2013 | |
We have all been inundated with the pros and cons of Obamacare. It has become so ubiquitous in our daily lives that most of us have simply tuned it out. We can't afford to do that much longer.
As most readers know, Obamacare, formally named the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, will become the law of the land on Jan. 1, 2014. However, as early as October of this year, a new way of buying health insurance will be available to consumers through an online insurance marketplace. So decision time approaches.
But what about all those who have no health care and believe they can't afford to buy it? What do they do? There have been times earlier in my life when I was
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The Independent Investor: Sticker Shock in Housing MarketBy Bill Schmick,
04:43PM / Thursday, May 16, 2013 | |
The housing market has been in the doldrums so long that most of us believe that when we are ready to buy a new home there will be plenty of deals out there. Think again, the rising costs of everything from land to labor are causing new home prices to climb.
As U.S. residential real estate begins to rebound from its worst downturn since the Great Depression, the pace of recovery is beginning to cause bottlenecks in all sorts of areas. Suppliers of various building materials, for example, after shutting down much of their operations over the last few years, suddenly are besieged with orders from homebuilders across the nation. Unfortunately, it will take time, money and a willingness
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| Bill Schmick is registered as an investment advisor representative and portfolio manager with Berkshire Money Management (BMM), managing over $200 million for investors in the Berkshires. Bill’s forecasts and opinions are purely his own and do not necessarily represent the views of BMM. None of his commentary is or should be considered investment advice. Anyone seeking individualized investment advice should contact a qualified investment adviser. None of the information presented in this article is intended to be and should not be construed as an endorsement of BMM or a solicitation to become a client of BMM. The reader should not assume that any strategies, or specific investments discussed are employed, bought, sold or held by BMM. Direct your inquiries to Bill at 1-888-232-6072 (toll free) or email him at Bill@afewdollarsmore.com Visit www.afewdollarsmore.com for more of Bill’s insights. |
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