On this episode of the “ETF of the Week” podcast, VettaFi’s Head of Research Todd Rosenbluth discussed the iShares Nasdaq Top 30 Stocks ETF (QTOP) with Chuck Jaffe of Money Life. The pair discussed several topics related to the fund to give investors a deeper understanding of the ETF overall.
CAPE, or the cyclically adjusted price-to-earnings ratio, introduced in 1988 by economists John Campbell and Robert Shiller, is arguably the best-known indicator of broad market valuation. And CAPE is now at an almost (though not quite) all-time high level, according to data from Robert Shiller's website.
Wall Street expects the stock market to earn a return in 2025 that is similar to the average return over the past 100 years. Do you agree?
To Michael Saylor’s online fanbase, it’s the next step in the great normalization of crypto: Bitcoin proxy MicroStrategy Inc. enters the S&P 500 next year, forcing the likes of index-tracking funds to buy his controversial company en masse. Whether they like it or not.
Orders placed with US factories for business equipment rebounded in November, posting the strongest monthly advance in over a year.
Bond traders have rarely suffered so much from a Federal Reserve easing cycle. Now they fear 2025 threatens more of the same.
Forced to seek a government rescue barely a year ago, Siemens Energy AG was an unlikely candidate for Europe’s best performing stock of 2024.
This is the first part of a series of Bloomberg Opinion columns exploring the risks related to the US’s rapidly expanding debt and budget deficit.
OpenAI is preparing to launch a new artificial intelligence model that it said is capable of more advanced human-like reasoning than its current offerings, ratcheting up the competition with rivals such as Alphabet Inc.’s Google.
The Federal Reserve cut interest rates for the third time this year but signaled the path forward will likely be more gradual – and less certain – than previously forecast.
Macroeconomic uncertainties prompted the Federal Reserve to signal a slower pace of policy rate cuts in 2025 and beyond.
From start to finish, 2024 was a year of change, with a multitude of implications for investors.
In an actively managed portfolio, there’s no way to escape capital gains taxes altogether. But understanding the importance of tax efficiency is crucial to long-term success for investors and advisors.
Start the new year right by reviewing and revamping your financial plan.
We expect the opportunity set to widen for income investors in 2025, though less clarity around the second half requires a dynamic approach.
Today’s video on the Industrials Sector is another in the continuing series of videos where we are looking for value in each of the 10 major sectors as reported by Standard & Poor’s.
Taxpayers may want to consider a Roth IRA conversion for 2024 but need to act before the end of the year to realize income this year. Our Bill Cass explains when a Roth conversion may make sense.
We believe that there are several guardrails in place that considerably limit the extent of presidential influence over monetary policy decisions.
I must confess, I have been aware of quantum computing for quite some time, but it was one of those things that always seemed far off. It’s now getting much closer.
This brief market commentary will run through some stats and provide context to the market’s recent fluctuations.
From Brazil to South Korea, emerging-market central banks are forming a line of defense as a rising dollar pushes their currencies to multi-year lows.
Delivering the first cuts in interest rates since the early days of the pandemic was the easy part.
As the year comes to a close, we revisit some of the key market themes and moves for 2024 and the year ahead.
Private credit firms want more than corporate lending. The largest are laying the groundwork to finance everything from auto loans and residential mortgages to chip manufacturing and data centers in an effort to swell the size of the market by the trillions.
Amid Donald Trump’s chaotic, last-minute intervention into congressional negotiations about government funding, he has stumbled upon a good idea: He wants to abolish the debt ceiling.
Take it from Niels Bohr: “Those who are not shocked when they first come across quantum theory cannot possibly have understood it.”
Despite the expectation of rate cuts, a push-pull dynamic could exist if high inflation continues, opening the door for short-term bonds.
Surely one of the silliest things that happened in tech stocks in 2024 was the sudden tumble in Nvidia Corp. shares moments after its fiscal second-quarter earnings release in August.
Bitcoin extended its slide from this week’s record high to almost 15% as hawkish signals from the Federal Reserve prompted traders to sell an asset that has more than doubled this year.
The $10.4 trillion US exchange-traded fund industry’s blockbuster year comes with an asterisk: even amid record inflows and launches, funds are shuttering at a nearly unprecedented clip.
US Treasuries gained after a closely watched batch of inflation data came in below expectations, leading traders to lift the outlook for Federal Reserve interest-rate reductions next year.
Central banks’ climbdown from the post-pandemic inflation peaks commenced amid both optimism and trepidation.
As expected, the Fed delivered a 25-basis point rate cut at the December FOMC meeting, but what comes next is far from clear. Kevin Flanagan explains why future rate moves depend on shifting economic signals and why the Fed’s definition of “neutral” may be evolving.
With persistent inflation and a resilient economy, the Fed's updated projections show two rate cuts next year.
With economic growth rising at a stronger rate than expected for this part of the cycle and inflation holding above the 2.0% target, the Fed appears more cautious about the need for rate cuts.
As the year comes to a busy conclusion, we’re still catching up with news that didn’t make the front page. In the first week of November, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics published a data release that’s even less frequent than the four year presidential election cycle.
The modern Chinese political system emphasizes stability and control, qualities that enabled the country to become the world’s “ultimate producer.” But these qualities imply tight control over social norms and individual behavior, and they are far less applicable to official efforts to boost household consumption.
The Exchange Team is full of gratitude for our sponsors and the community coming to the 2025 financial services conference.
Taxes are on my mind. Do I factor in whether a dividend is considered qualified or ordinary when making my recommendations?
The Conference Board Leading Economic Index (LEI) increased slightly in November. The index rose 0.3% from the previous month to 99.7 after eight consecutive monthly declines.
On Friday December 6th, the U.S. stock market pushed to the most extreme level of valuation in U.S. history
Almost exactly one year after sparking a furious rally in financial markets, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell did the exact opposite on Wednesday, staking out a cautious view on interest-rate cuts in 2025 that stunned investors.
In normal times, the conduct of monetary policy is a lot like driving a car through a thick fog of uncertainty. You have a general idea of where you’re going, but you want to move slowly to avoid accidents. At the moment, it’s more like driving while double blindfolded — in a car with malfunctioning brakes. The most prudent move is to stop.
Existing-home sales in the US topped a rate of 4 million in November for the first time in six months as house hunters begrudgingly accept mortgage rates above 6%.
A BlackRock Inc. fund has bought municipal debt issued earlier this year in a first-of-its-kind deal that relies exclusively on blockchain technology.
At a time when the American consumer’s resiliency has been questioned amid signs of a slowing economy, Walmart Inc. has thrived. The world’s largest retailer, famed for its discount prices but increasingly known for its pursuits in advertising and an online marketplace, is headed for its best year since 1998.
U.S. stocks retreated as the Fed indicated it likely would lower rates only twice in 2025. The Dow dropped more than 1,000 points, and the S&P slid almost 3%. The Nasdaq lost 3.6%.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently blocked the merger of Albertson’s and Kroger, which are the two largest stand-alone grocery chains.
As we approach the start of a new year, it is a good time to take a fresh look at your portfolio to ensure that it still aligns with your long-term goals.
As cash yields dwindle, the case for fixed income becomes increasingly compelling.
