October is Cyber Security awareness month. There's probably no online account more important for you to protect than your retirement nest egg. It's your life's savings, and everything you've been working toward for decades. See here how Vanguard protects clients' data and accounts from cyber attack. … [Read more...]
October is Cyber Security Month: Advice from Fidelity
October is National Cyber Security Awareness Month, which I discovered logging in to my account this morning at Fidelity Investments. I thought you’d like to read their recommendations. The easiest part of protecting yourself is choosing a rugged, unique password. By rugged I mean a password that isn't something easily guessed by a hacker's word-list. Examples of easily guessed passwords that are used often are things like "password," "1234," "default," or "1111." Read more below from Fidelity about protecting your accounts with a strong password. Do not reuse passwords Make sure you use … [Read more...]
“Profound Implications for the Future of Wind Power”
As MIT Technology Review explains, Texas is leading the way in wind power generation. Technological advances in energy storage, grid operations software, and wind turbines could make it possible to integrate more and more wind power. But how much? That answer will almost certainly be found in Texas over the next five to 10 years. And that will have profound implications for the future of wind power. Because if Texas can’t incorporate much more wind power, it probably can’t be done anywhere. Beyond the transmission lines and the nearly statewide grid, Texas has plenty of unoccupied … [Read more...]
A Windfall in the Bond Market
After hiking interest rates for the first time in over a decade last December, the Federal Reserve has sat on its hands all year. Four interest rate hikes were the Fed's expectations in January, but a stock market correction scared off both the hawks and the doves. The Fed is now trying to signal that December is the next time it will hike rates, but it has cried wolf so many times, that markets no longer believe a hike is coming. This timid approach to interest rate policy has robbed many investors of interest income, but one segment of the bond market has defied the will of the Fed has … [Read more...]
Is Your Bank Vulnerable to ATM Cyberattacks?
Your investment success/survival is a series of smart decisions. For example, using a chip-enabled ATM and/or credit card bolsters your line of defense against cyber attacks. On our recent trip to Paris I was reminded how far ahead Europe is when it comes to chip readers. They are the norm—as you insert your card into the portable reader that they bring to your table. But that’s not the case here in the U.S. where waiters take your card from you (possibly copying it) and it’s swiped without you being present. Chip tech in the U.S. is becoming more prevalent, but can still be a slow process. … [Read more...]
Income Investing: These Bonds Can Help Reduce Interest Rate Risk
Many individual investors shy away from bonds that trade at a premium to par value because they don’t see the point in paying, say $11,000 for a bond that returns $10,000 at maturity. Here Fidelity offers a primer on premium bonds, why investors need not fear premium bonds, and how premium bonds can be used to reduce interest rate risk in a fixed-income portfolio. You can read the full post here. Some investors today would rather hold cash than buy bonds because they’re concerned that interest rates may rise and depress bond values. Premium bonds are not immune to rising rates—premium bond … [Read more...]
Is Over Regulation the Death Knell for U.S. Banking?
The Wall Street Journal details the potential death spiral for the over regulated U.S banking industry. The Institute of International Finance, which represents global banks, finds that since 2010, European, Japanese and U.S. banks have on average been earning less than their cost of capital. Regulation is part of the reason. To better buffer loan losses, banks must now hold more capital such as shareholders’ equity, which spreads profits across more shares. To deal with sudden outflows of funds, they must hold more highly liquid short-term assets, such as Treasury bills, which earn less … [Read more...]
Your Retirement Life: Sage Advice on How to Get Ahead
You don’t have to start your own business to be an entrepreneur. That was some key advice I recall from the late Tom Stemberg, founder of Staples, when he spoke at Babson College—known for its entrepreneurship programs. Stemberg felt that the best way to continue a business education was by working for a company that was already established—a leader in their field. His idea was to absorb as much as possible, and then, after seeing how the sausage was made, determine if you had the stomach to really do something on your own. I was reminded of this sage advice from Stemberg during a recent … [Read more...]
How much more Downside does the British Pound have?
According to Goldman Sachs, much more. Here's Goldman's take via Zerohedge: How Much More Sterling Downside? (via Goldman Sachs) 1. With the prospect of a 'hard Brexit' becoming a reality, investors who were previously expecting a 'soft' Brexit, or no Brexit at all, have updated their priors, and Sterling has depreciated about 5 percent over the space of a week against G10 currencies. GBP/$ is about 1.5 percent above 1.20, which is our 3-months forecast published on 5 July 2016. In a recent Global Markets Daily ("How Much Sterling Downside?, 6 Oct 2016), we highlighted that risks to our … [Read more...]
Can Cheap Money Continue to Fuel the Stock Market?
Low and negative interest rates have been a big factor in the magnitude and duration of the current bull market. As central banks yanked risk-free interest income from the world’s responsible savers and retired investors, many have been pushed (kicking and screaming if they are smart) into riskier assets. After years of getting bludgeoned by zero percent interest rates, the accepted wisdom on Wall Street now seems to be that as long as interest rates are held in the tank, the stock market will continue to float higher and higher. Stocks may be at one of their most expensive levels on … [Read more...]
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