We’ve had several weeks of strong data since the Federal Reserve cut policy rates by a half percentage point. It started with a surprisingly robust jobs report, followed by a janky and above-expectations inflation report.
A 529 college savings plan, also known as a qualified tuition plan (QTP), is a popular choice among parents and families looking to meet their children’s future educational expenses. Two of the 529 plan’s helpful features are tax-deferred growth of your contributions and later, tax-free withdrawals for eligible expenses.
529 plans are one of the most popular ways Americans save for the college expenses of their children. As of June 2024, there were 16.8 million 529 savings accounts holding $508 billion, according to the College Savings Plan Network.
The unwinding of positions in Treasury futures stands to rekindle a popular bond-market wager that’s been burned as traders pare back expectations for aggressive Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts.
US mortgage rates rose sharply for a second straight week, reaching the highest level since early August while prompting steep declines in both home-purchase and refinance activity.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. raised its target for 2024 revenue growth after quarterly results beat estimates, allaying concerns about global chip demand and the sustainability of an AI hardware boom.
Boeing Co. is flexing its financial muscle even in light of a crippling labor strike and a disgraceful period of execution that resulted in two deadly plane crashes, the near-disaster of a midair door-panel blowout and whistleblowers who have detailed a culture of putting profit over quality.
When BlackRock Inc. completed its initial public offering in 1999, it fell a bit flat. There was no first day pop; Founder and Chief Executive Officer Larry Fink didn’t even get to ring the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange. Valued at just under $900 million, the firm was one of 30 large investment-managers in the US, managing $165 billion of assets.
Toyota Motor Corp.’s research unit and Hyundai Motor Co.’s Boston Dynamics are joining forces to speed up development of humanoid robots with artificial intelligence.
Fitch Ratings predicts an even gloomier financial outlook for US colleges and universities, with smaller private schools being hit the hardest.
Machine learning is ubiquitous in financial markets, and we tend to associate it with the sexy parts of hedge fund investing: what to buy, what to sell and how to pick a bottom or a top.
Biden administration officials have discussed capping sales of advanced AI chips from Nvidia Corp. and other American companies on a country-specific basis, people familiar with the matter said.
A rally in Bitcoin paused as traders evaluated whether an improving regulatory outlook in the US and rising exchange-traded fund inflows will be sufficient to spur further gains.
Even if he does oversee a soft landing for the US economy, Fed Chair Jerome Powell will not deserve a place in the annals of history as the greatest central banker of all time.
There are only a couple of workable options. You can’t tell someone like this she isn’t listening or that you feel shut down when you speak with her. That will only lead to defensiveness.
This article will explore how to increase your AUM by capturing assets in trusts and DAFs, explain the difference between directed and traditional trustees, and discuss why designating a directed trustee and an advisor-friendly DAF is in the client’s best interest.
By adopting best-in-class technologies, wealth management firms can position themselves as leaders in a competitive market, attracting more right-fit clients, and achieving sustainable growth.
With over 20 years of experience in web design and development, I’ve seen firsthand how the right website can transform a financial advisor’s business.
Choosing to make your coffee or your lunch at home instead of hitting the café every day is not just about saving a few dollars—it’s about setting yourself up for long-term financial success.
By bringing wealth advisors and attorneys together with medical professionals, clients can receive more comprehensive care. Family offices and their clients can mitigate risks through a “triangle of support” formed by financial, legal, and medical advisors.
How you connect with your prospects and how you position yourself in their eyes is crucial to becoming their Trusted Authority.
As Boeing Co. lurches from one crisis to the next, there’s been one constant for the embattled planemaker: Its predicament appears to be only getting worse.
Earnings season is here, and the US stock market’s furious $9 trillion 2024 rally is facing perhaps its biggest test of the year.
In an age of accelerating progress in artificial intelligence, everyone is debating AI’s implications for the labor market or national security. There is far less discussion of what AI could or should mean for philanthropy.
Vietnam may be quickly outgrowing its role in the global tech industry as the attractive manufacturing sidepiece to China.
If money makes the world go around, it hasn’t been doing a very good job lately. Beyond developed nations — in eastern Europe, Latin America and Africa — people and businesses are increasingly finding themselves cut off from global payments. An unintended consequence of necessary measures to enforce sanctions and thwart criminals, the trend is doing significant damage to trade and economic growth.
Investors are holding out to see how they can navigate the remaining months of the year, where they should be placing their bets, and what they can do to avoid any unsuspecting pitfalls.
Agency REITs are not for buy-and-hold investors. They tend to perform well in specific economic and interest rate environments and poorly in others. I believe the current bullish steepening shift in the yield curve could offer investors opportunities with the agency REIT sector.
The looming wealth transfer from Baby Boomers and the Silent Generation to younger generations is set to reshape the financial landscape in unprecedented ways. Estimated at $84 trillion, this transition is a huge financial event.
U.S. stocks have handily outperformed their global peers over the past few decades, as well as in the post-World War II period. We document the scale of the outperformance and ask whether it can continue.
Bond investors are going on defense as the outlook for the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate cutting path turns more uncertain.
Take a snapshot of markets right now, and it’s a picture of health. Stocks are at records, corporate bonds show no signs of worry and commodities remain buoyant on global economic optimism.
Nvidia Corp.’s shares are roaring back after the company successfully calmed investor concerns about product delays and its long-term growth prospects.
It’s almost always bad news when a statement from a prominent company hits late on Friday. For those who missed Boeing Co.’s release at 4:30 p.m. New York Time ahead of a three-day weekend for the bond market, Boeing laid out the ugly truth of blowout operating losses at its commercial aircraft and defense businesses during the third quarter, which combined for about $6.4 billion.
The top corporate conference calls are attended by dozens of Wall Street analysts whose job it is to maintain detailed earnings and valuation models filled with minutiae. Quarter after quarter, they populate their spreadsheets with revenue and cost assumptions to predict exactly what earnings per share will be months and years into the future.
Chinese stocks overcame a bout of early volatility to post their biggest gain in a week on Monday, suggesting that investors are hopeful the government will deliver on its promise of more fiscal support.
The bond market is growing less convinced by the day that the Federal Reserve will embark on two further interest-rate cuts this year.
The key moment during the Tesla Inc. robotaxi event Thursday night came when a member of the audience interrupted Chief Executive Elon Musk’s spiel about the benefits of autonomous vehicles. He had just opined about Airbnb-like fleets of money-earning robotaxis that you could care for like a shepherd tends their flock — stirring stuff, this — presaging “a glorious future” when someone shouted: “When will they be available?”
BlackRock Inc. reaching $450 billion in alternative assets is putting a finer point on a case it has been making all year: it’s not just an ETF powerhouse.
JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s net interest income was the hot topic of its third-quarter results, much to the irritation of Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon, who grew impatient with quibbling over details of the bank’s outlook on its earnings call on Friday.
Foreign investors have been buying more US corporate bonds, a trend that will likely continue as Federal Reserve monetary easing lowers the cost of hedging and investors hunt for yield.
Investors in Hong Kong have bet a record amount on exchange-traded funds that profit when stocks decline, showing how quickly sentiment is shifting following a breakneck rally.
Traders are pushing the dollar toward its second-straight weekly gain in anticipation of a slower pace of interest-rate cuts by the Federal Reserve.
Two senior Wall Street executives complained this week that over-regulation is discouraging initial public offerings. JPMorgan Chase & Co. CEO Jamie Dimon partly blamed the zeal of securities regulators for the drop in IPOs that began in March 2022, a sentiment echoed by Citadel Securities CEO Peng Zhao.
Elon Musk unveiled Tesla Inc.’s highly anticipated self-driving taxi at a flashy event that was light on specifics, leaving investors questioning how the carmaker expects to achieve its ambitious goals.
A return to lower yields has been every bond fund manager's dream since the nightmare of 2022. But now, with expectations dashed that they’d get their wish this year, it appears they’ll have to hang their hopes on 2025.
With many having characterized China as “uninvestible” just a few months ago, investors’ enthusiastic response in recent weeks to a perceived shift in the authorities’ policy reaction function is also likely to be an overreaction. It grossly oversimplifies the competing priorities of a country with internal imbalances, inefficient resource allocation channels, and exposure to further geopolitical tensions.
Underlying US inflation rose more than forecast in September, representing a pause in the recent progress toward moderating price pressures.
Wall Street banks are expected to launch a barrage of bond sales as soon as next week, capitalizing on ultra-low credit spreads and strong demand from investors after they report quarterly results.
Investors who buy bundles of loans packaged into bonds are increasingly using exchange-traded funds to do so, according to a report from Bank of America.
