Investing

Unlike the calm market conditions of 2017, 2018 has so far presented a tough, volatile market landscape. The volatility index (VIX), surged about 80% during the first quarter. Headlines, like “U.S. Stocks End Worst Week in Years”, “The Unseen Forces Behind the Market’s Plunge”, and “Volatility Roars Back With Biggest Quarterly Rise Ever”, started to appear on front pages of major news providers. And this has been a challenging year so far not just for U.S. stocks, but for global…

The U.S. stock market reached new highs to close out 2017. The S&P 500 stock index was up over 21% last year and already another 6% in January before experiencing some decline in February. Given that the long term average return for the stock market is around 10%, future price appreciation is likely to be much lower. Not to mention that the market has not had a significant drop in almost a year and a half – far from the…

 In investment circles it is often said that “You make your money when you buy.” The basic notion is that the investor buys the stock of a good company that is temporarily selling at a low price and holds onto it until it can be sold at a much higher price.  So, to have a good chance to make a profit one needs low prices as a starting point.The problem is that seldom has there been such an absence of…