In one week, more than three million people filed for unemployment benefits. Many more didn’t make it through overwhelmed state employment systems to file- that’s how fast this recession is rising up around us.
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After two weeks of extreme highs and crushing lows, major U.S. stock indexes were on an upswing heading into the last day of a historic quarter — a historically bad quarter. Despite a three-day boom last week, stocks are on pace to notch one of their worst quarters ever on Tuesday.
On Jan. 19, 2017, a Rite Aid vice president allegedly sold off more than $650,000 in Rite Aid securities before company’s stock price dropped a day later. The exec avoided an $87,277 loss with the sell-off, regulators said, but will pay much more after his day in court.
Stocks rallied last week as Washington acted to provide $2.2 trillion of relief to an economy shocked by the coronavirus outbreak, leaving some on Wall Street cautiously optimistic that the panicky selling that had gripped the market earlier may have come to an end.
Some say that President Trump’s words simply represented an aspiration goal, not a policy desire, and that even if a formal decision were to be made to reopen businesses at the federal level, many state governors would presumably not change their “shelter in place” or other restrictive orders.
For longtime investors, the recent declines have conjured up memories of the Great Recession. But while that crisis brought steep stock market declines in 2008 and 2009, experts say investors were still better off sticking with their investments even through the worst of the recession.
n the past, logistical and legal issues hindered advisors who wanted to work with high-income international clients – that is, noncitizen, nonresident clients – investing in the U.S., but recent changes have opened up this significant potential market to American agents.
The U.S. markets will remain open while the country battles to control the spreading COVID-19 virus, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Thursday. He responded to a smattering of calls for the battered markets to take at least brief holiday.
As expected, the initial jobless claims report—the one that shows how many people have been laid off and are newly applying for unemployment assistance—was a shocker this morning. Three million people lost their jobs and applied for unemployment last week.
On Wednesday, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported that mortgage applications plunged 29.4% last week. Despite additional cuts to benchmark interest rates by the U.S. Federal Reserve, mortgage rates have actually been rising.
At 5:12 a.m. on April 18, 1906, the northernmost 296 miles of the San Andreas fault ruptured. The shaking and ensuing fires— most water mains had been broken by the earthquake— destroyed half of San Francisco, then the largest city west of the Rocky Mountains and, importantly, the financial center of the American West.
The Senate passed an unparalleled $2.2 trillion economic rescue package steering aid to businesses, workers and health care systems engulfed by the coronavirus pandemic. The unanimous vote Wednesday came despite misgivings on both sides.
We’re looking at loss all around us. Loss of savings. Loss of jobs. Loss of lives. So, maybe, not looking at your 401(k) could be the best personal care move that you can make as we adjust to the drastically altered new normal.
Financial markets worldwide took it on the chin last week. The damage was severe, and here in the U.S., we still don’t know the extent of the damage that will be inflicted on us by COVID-19. Despite Friday’s rebound, the coast is not clear for investors.
People spend most of their college career refining networking skills, perfecting their resume, and completing mock interviews. But once they start their career, professional development can take a back seat to day-to-day work and life responsibilities.
With lending in Treasury and mortgage markets threatening to shut down, the Fed announced an aggressive set of programs Monday to try to smooth out those markets. The Fed’s all-out effort to support the flow of credit through an economy ravaged by the viral outbreak has now gone beyond even the extraordinary drive it made to rescue the economy in 2008.
Just mentioning an annuity in financial planning can have a polarizing effect. There are those who don’t believe in annuities to solve any problem other than guaranteed lifetime income, and there are even more who actually don’t understand the many benefits of FIAs.
The White House and Senate leaders of both parties have struck an agreement on a sweeping $2 trillion measure to aid workers, businesses and a health care system strained by the rapidly spreading coronavirus outbreak. Top White House aide Eric Ueland announced the agreement in a Capitol hallway shortly after midnight.
Yet another group of heroes that deserves our gratitude is the leadership of the Federal Reserve, which has taken extraordinary steps to prevent the global economy from crashing into irreversible catastrophe as business around the world grinds to a virtual halt.
A New York City man was sentenced to prison after telling investors a series of tall tales, while leaving out his prior criminal history of fraud. Nicholas J. Genovese, 55, touted an exclusive hedge fund that only accepted investments of at least $1 million.
In today’s environment, it’s easy to live in a state of panic and fear. Especially when you continually hear “Dow down 2000 points,” “We are in a recession,” “stimulus package,” “rising cases and deaths.” But focusing on the things you know will help you guide your clients out of this uncertain economic and political time.
AM Best has revised its market segment outlook to negative from stable on the U.S. disability segment, due to ongoing economic uncertainty, an expected increase in claims activity and higher unemployment.
Clients want human interaction in this time of social isolation, and they need to have their advisors communicate with them. Brock Jolly, financial advisor at Veritas Financial, shared some tips for communicating with clients during a webinar held Monday for members of the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors.
Lawsuits continue to mount against an online stock trading platform Robinhood after its services were interrupted several times this month, causing users to potentially miss huge stock market gains.
For the first time in history on Wall Street, there wasn’t any waving or shouting or bustling among traders on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange at the opening bell Monday. The closure affects two main areas in New York City and one in Northern California.
What a difference a few weeks make. As 2020 started, we were feeling pretty good about our portfolios after seeing strong returns for both stocks and bonds due to the Federal Reserve’s shift in interest rate policy during the year. It is unusual for both stocks and bonds to see such strong returns at the same time, but the fact they did left diversified portfolios.
New filings for unemployment benefits rose 30% last week amid cutbacks and shutdowns over the COVID-19 crisis.
Stocks are reflecting cautious optimism among investors that emergency action by the U.S. government and central banks will cushion the global economy from a looming recession caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Americans are more worried about their finances than getting the coronavirus, as the pandemic hamstrings major sectors of the U.S. economy. “asked Neil Bradley, executive vice president and chief policy officer at the Chamber of Commerce.” Famed investor Ray Dalio estimated global corporate losses from the virus will top $12 trillion, with $4 trillion of that in…
It almost seems like a distant memory now, but shortly after the President Day’s holiday weekend the benchmark S&P 500 index closed at a record high, buoyed by another round of impressive quarterly corporate profits that had convinced investors the damage caused by a fast-spreading coronavirus in China would cause relatively little damage.
In an effort to avoid passing the coronavirus, the New York Stock Exchange announced that it is closing its floor and going to a virtual trading platform starting Monday. The closing of the New York Stock Exchange’s trading floor will be until done until further notice.
COVID-19 has left businesses in uncharted waters. It is often insurance that carries businesses through these waters. But policyholders need to know where to look for this life raft, and how to navigate these murky waters.
There is a tremendous amount of information available about the coronavirus pandemic. But what’s missing is a framework for that information that would help clarify the big picture as it related to financial services.
Just a few weeks ago the market was at its highest, and today it is down about 30 percent from that high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 2,997 points Monday, the index’s biggest point drop of all time.
As seniors read the news and contemplate how to stop the bleeding of their hard-earned savings and wonder what to start doing to preserve what they have left while ensuing their ability to capture opportunities after the market recovers (and it will), what are seniors being told to do?
The U.S. stock market plunged more than 12% Monday for its worst day in more than three decades as voices from Wall Street to the White House said the coronavirus is likely dragging the economy into a recession. The plunge came even though the Federal Reserve rushed to announce a new round of emergency actions before markets opened for trading Monday.
On Wall Street, financial markets plunged by more than 11 percent, surpassing drops in Asia and Europe, as worried investors struggled to get a handle on the outbreak’s economic damage.
The Securities and Exchange Commission charged a Russian national Friday with overseeing a multi-million-dollar scam to lure U.S. investors into buying fictitious Certificates of Deposit. The Florida man also faces criminal charges in New Jersey.
Join Jamie Hopkins, Director of Carson Coaching, as he returns with new installments of his exclusive, video series, Rewirement Tips. In this week’s tip, Hopkins focuses on why coaching is crucial for advisors.
The Federal Reserve took emergency action Sunday and slashed its benchmark interest rate by a full percentage point to nearly zero and announced it would purchase more Treasury securities to encourage lending to try to offset the impact of the coronavirus outbreak.
Stocks bounced back Friday on hopes for a coronavirus aid package from Washington. The Dow Jones industrial average climbed nearly 2,000 points, a day after plunging 2,352 points, or 10%, for its worst loss since its nearly 23% drop on Oct. 19, 1987.
There are plenty of reasons to believe stabilization of the stock market might come soon. First, from a valuation perspective, the stock market is getting close to its cheapest level since about 2016. Second, looking at the data, we appear to be approaching some major resistance levels.
The escalating coronavirus emergency Thursday sent stocks to their worst losses since the Black Monday crash of 1987, extending a sell-off that has now wiped out most of Wall Street’s big run-up since President Donald Trump’s election. The heavy losses came amid a cascade of cancellations and shutdowns across the globe.
A federal judge froze the assets of a Florida-based investment adviser firm that raised $39 million from at least 30 investors with what the Securities and Exchange Commission is calling a “fraudulent, unregistered securities offering.”
The Federal Reserve moved Thursday to try to ease disruptions in the financial markets stemming from the coronavirus by announcing that it will sharply increase its purchases of short-term Treasury bonds. The Fed said it’s making available at least $2 trillion in short-term lending as a way to ensure that the Treasury bond market can function smoothly.
Eleven years ago, many investors watching the Dow gyrating thought things could only get worse and that we’d never see 14,000 again. Clearly, they were wrong. So, what does that mean for worried investors today?
The Securities and Exchange Commission issued a long-awaited final rule to streamline the disclosure of essential information about variable annuities. The Insured Retirement Institute called the action a “major leap forward” to provide investors with more easily digestible and navigable information.
Advisors are still reinforcing the message of riding out the slide, but helping rebalance when clients demand it. An American College survey also finds clients are generally sticking with the long-range plan.
A Connecticut man who defrauded multiple retail clients out of $1.6 million in assets settled his final set of charges today on his way to prison.
Stocks are sinking sharply again Wednesday, nearly wiping out a huge rally from a day earlier as Wall Street continues to reel from worries about the coronavirus. But investors are still waiting for details promised earlier by President Donald Trump on potential aid for the economy through tax breaks and other relief.
Local investment professionals continue to steady their clients, this time amid another turbulent trading day Tuesday. After stocks fell more than 7 percent Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average’s worst decline since 2008, Tuesday brought a rebound.
The Securities and Exchange Commission is accusing a New Hampshire priest and hedge fund manager of threatening a witness and leaking confidential documents to a journalist as their ongoing court battle continues.
Stocks dropped so fast on Monday that it triggered the first automatic halts in trading in two decades. U.S. stocks are now down 19% from the peak they reached last month, edging close to a bear market, defined as a drop of 20% from the peak.
A Canadian cannabis company is facing a class-action lawsuit in California federal court alleging that it misled investors and committed securities fraud. The issue concerns allegations of self-dealing and whether the company fairly reported negative consequences to potential investors.
As the coronavirus continues to scare global markets, it would be easy forget that the current bull market started 11 years ago today. Based on investing fundamentals, analysts continue to believe we’ll see a resumption of economic growth and a continuation of this bull market into at least 2021, but worries are building.
As concern about workers’ personal finances grows, the number of employers that offer financial wellness programs through the workplace is expected to nearly double within the next few years, according to research from Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company.
Coronavirus is adding a new layer to the economic uncertainty always seen in a presidential election year, and the wild ride it’s giving markets is certain to continue, economist Ray Perryman said.
Any advisor can gain significant advantages by going independent. By charting one’s own course, advisors have the ability to shape their businesses to fit their own vision, not that of a large company. Wayne Minich shares five decades of experience as an independent advisor.
A Florida investor is suing the online stock trading platform Robinhood after its services were interrupted for nearly the entire day March 2, causing users to miss a huge stock market rally.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei dived 2.7% to finish at 20,749.75. Shares also dropped in Taiwan and Southeast Asia. Vishnu Varathan at Mizuho Bank in Singapore said the potential damage from the new virus was two-fold, with the initial impact coming from a direct impact on the economy.
