My Blog, Your Money

Here’s another one: the January Barometer.  It states that the S&P 500’s performance for a year is tied to its performance in January.  So if the S&P has a winning January, the theory predicts that the year’s performance will be positive and vice versa.
So how accurate is it?  Well, over the past 40 years, it’s […]

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It used to be that with every new year, I’d look forward to the January Effect where the stock market would rally.  However, in recent years, this has not been the case.  In fact, 6 of the past 10 Januaries have seen declines.  Furthermore, the average change in January from 2000 to 2009 for every […]

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Here’s another investing tactic: Tax Selling.  If this is new to you, the concept is very simple.  All it is is selling the stocks you’re losing money on to reduce your capital gains for the year.  This in turn reduces tax liability.  This is usually done at the end of the year when a stock […]

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It’s almost the end of the year again and you know what that means!  It’s time for some window dressing – not the kind that you put in windows, but the practice where investment managers divest their portfolios of poor performers and load up on high-flying stocks in an attempt to appear more capable than […]

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Men’s underwear has been in the news lately: Blue Chip, White Cotton: What Underwear Says About the Economy.  It looks like the data portends an improving economy.  I know the Men’s Underwear Index might seem like an unusual measure, but it makes sense since underwear is supposedly (and hopefully) a closet staple.

Just for fun, here […]

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If you’ve always wondered whether you should invest in stocks or real estate, here’s a good article to read comparing the two: Real Estate Vs. Stocks: Which One’s Right For You?
As for me, I’m still more comfortable with stocks.  I like following them, the general market, and keeping up on the latest news.  It’s just […]

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Whenever a company files for bankruptcy, its stock becomes worthless.  However, with GM’s filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Monday, the subtleties of this bankruptcy created a phenomenon where GM’s stock actually appreciated in value.  Closing at $0.75 on the previous trading day, the stock opened at $0.99, a 32% increase.  Furthermore, the stock sank […]

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This was an historic week.  Of course, I’m referring to the inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States on Tuesday, January 20.  Millions made their way to the nation’s capital to witness the event.  The sight of the crowd was simply breathtaking (at least from the view on my TV […]

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Happy New Year everyone!  I hope everyone had a wonderful and safe holiday.
2008 was certainly a tough year (at least economy-wise).  All the major indexes were down significantly with the Dow Jones down 33.8% (its worst performance since Depression-era 1931), the Nasdaq down 40.6%, and the S&P500 down 38.5%.  Numerous businesses failed including many notable […]

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Merry Christmas!  I hope everyone enjoys the holiday.  The markets were closed today, but hopefully, Santa Claus delivers in the next week.

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