The American middle is going deeper into debt to maintain their middle class lifestyle, according to an article in the journal earlier this month. The article discusses a few sample families that are struggling to stay in the middle class. One of the main reasons for the current state of the working class is that …
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When companies are fined by the government for violating some laws or regulations the goal is to change their behavior. While the goal is noble, very rarely fines have the desired effect on firms. This is because fines imposed are tiny compared to how much a firm makes in profits or has in the bank. …
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Markets have become more volatile in recent weeks as fears of a recession grows. Trade war and other factors continue to add more fuel to the fire. In this scenario, it is important to be better prepared for the future. The following chart shows the five worst bear markets in the past 45 years: Click …
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During the different phases of a business cycle, the performance of different sector varies. For instance, during recessions, consumer staples, utilities and health care tend to perform better. In periods of economic expansions,tech, financials, real estate and consumer discretionary perform well. The following graph shows the four phases of business cycle and the sector preferred …
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Investors tend to seek safe haven assets during periods of economic contractions.During the last three recessions, gold easily outperformed stocks and also bonds as shown in the chart below: click to enlarge Source: The pros and cons of gold, Blackrock Related ETF: SPDR Gold Trust (GLD) Disclosure: No Positions