Between McDonald’s $5 value meal, Taco Bell’s $7 cravings box and budget breakfasts from Starbucks and Wendy’s Co., fast food chains are fighting hard to win over hungry Americans this summer. Why now? It comes down to price-sensitive customers voting with their wallets and forcing companies to chase traffic to grow revenue and profits.
Having hit 31 record highs since January and up more than 15% year to date, the S&P 500 is off to its best start to the year since 2019 and the best start to an election year ever, driven by mega-cap tech stocks and artificial intelligence (AI) tailwinds.
MegazoneCloud Corp. has selected firms including a unit of JPMorgan Chase & Co. to help it kickstart an initial public offering that could value one of Asia’s biggest cloud and AI services companies at several billion dollars.
Tesla Inc. shares are set to extend gains for an eighth consecutive session on Friday, putting the stock of the world’s most valuable automaker on track to turn positive for the year.
US Treasuries gained, pushing yields lower, after a mixed report on the US labor market left traders holding tight to bets that Federal Reserve officials will lower interest rates this year.
In trying to block China’s climb up the ladder of technological sophistication, the US may inadvertently be giving its rival a hand up.
An extended period of calm means investors must be vigilant and not become complacent. However, it's not necessarily a harbinger of an impending volatility event.
A bull market occurs when stocks are rising, the economy is expanding, and there is overall optimism towards market conditions. On the contrary, a bear market occurs when stock prices are falling, the economy is contracting, and there is overall pessimism towards market conditions. There are a handful of theories as to where the "bear" and "bull" names originated from for describing the stock market but the one that I find the most helpful is that they are derived from the way the animals attack their opponents. A bull thrusts its horns up in the air; a bear swipes its paws down.
US hiring and wage growth stepped down in June while the jobless rate rose to the highest since late 2021, bolstering prospects that the Federal Reserve will begin cutting interest rates in coming months.
Ever since Rishi Sunak’s rain-sodden announcement to call a general election on July 4, one question has hung over British politics: Will Labour win by a landslide or just a regular majority?
A US-led effort to gradually disconnect trade ties with China, rising costs, and a broader understanding of the need to diversify production is driving manufacturers to invest in alternative locations.
Gold headed for a back-to-back weekly gain on expectations that the Federal Reserve will trim interest rates before year-end, with traders looking ahead to US payrolls data for the next batch of clues on the outlook.
Federal Reserve Bank of New York President John Williams said that while inflation has cooled recently toward the Fed’s 2% target, policymakers are still some distance from their goal.
The expert and you are in a car and the expert is driving. After awhile, you notice that the expert is driving the car by looking through the rearview mirror. Concerned you ask him why he’s not looking ahead as he drives.
Rebalancing events help ensure benchmarks maintain exposure to companies within their targeted asset class or markets, but the rebalancing can also impact investment portfolios.
As part of our annual tradition, we’ve reached out to Russell Investments’ associate base to come up with four recommended books for this year’s summer reading list. Below are our choices, which cover a wide variety of topics, including leadership development, diversity and inclusion and the artificial intelligence revolution.
If you told me at the beginning of the year that we were going to go from starting with six interest-rate cuts to now we’re hoping to get one, I would be shocked to say that the equity markets are up 15%.
Today, large-cap stocks are in a favorable position as the stock market rally is broadening. Since the beginning of 2023, large-cap stocks have contributed an impressive 60 percent of the S&P 500's 40.5 percent return.
We’re borrowing from the upcoming Paris Summer Olympics for our quarterly theme – with a twist. Instead of using the most popular events (like gymnastics, swimming, and track & field) to express our views, we’ll go beyond the spotlight.
Ongoing budget deficits linger amid the post-COVID economic recovery. While markets appear unconcerned now, the accumulation of debt may exhaust investor patience. Anxiety about the sustainability of the nation’s debt could escalate with the upcoming elections in November. In part one of our series, let’s look at fiscal policy and Treasury debt.
Taking a closer look at the different types of active ETFs is important for investors. While many active ETFs incorporate some dynamic investment elements, their management philosophies can differ significantly and that has implications for their performance, risk profile, and alignment with investors’ financial goals.
The mid- to long-term costs of missed opportunities by staying in cash mean investors should consider moving off the cash sidelines.
Some experts believe favorable seasonality could kick in for bitcoin now that the calendar has turned to July.
Global X’s Rohan Reddy goes in-depth on the investment case for uranium and the Global X Uranium ETF (URA). VettaFi’s Kirsten Chang recaps second quarter ETF flows and looks ahead to the remainder of 2024.
On this episode of the “ETF of the Week” podcast, VettaFi’s Head of Research Todd Rosenbluth discussed the Global X US Infrastructure Development ETF (PAVE) with Chuck Jaffe of “Money Life.” The pair talked about several topics regarding the fund to give investors a deeper understanding of the ETF overall.
Jeff Bezos disclosed a plan to unload 25 million additional shares of Amazon.com Inc. worth $5 billion on the day the stock hit a fresh record.
As promised, the European Commission is getting tough on big tech. Buoyed by what it sees as the successful implementation of the General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR, regulators are now going full tilt with their feistier legislation on anti-competitive behavior and improper use of personal data.
The dearth of private equity deal-making has been a nightmare for big investment banks used to getting 20% to 30% of their total advisory revenue from the industry.
My financial education didn’t have the most auspicious start. I suppose I was lucky that in high school I had a class on basic investing and finance.
Owning only the U.S. stock market likely means being overweight Tech. But Tech stocks don't always outperform. Investors may want to look outside the U.S. to be diversified.
Asset managers are optimistic that the SEC will greenlight the first US ETFs that invest directly in Ether as soon as mid-July, saying the back and forth with the regulator remains constructive.
In this piece, we attempt to answer a number of questions we have gotten from clients about the impacts that rising levels of passive investing may have had on the stock market.
Don’t miss out. Prepare to take advantage of opportunities in the second half.
June of 2024 was a good month for financial markets. Leading the pack were (again) technology stocks, with the NASDAQ up 6% on the month. Close in second place were emerging market ex-China stocks, largely driven by India, Taiwan, and South Korea, all of which had large rallies in the month.
On the latest edition of Market Week in Review, Senior Director and Chief Investment Strategist for North America, Paul Eitelman, and Regional Director for North America Advisor & Intermediary Solutions, Lam Guluka, discussed key market themes from the second quarter.
Making a case for emerging markets (EM) investing has never been straightforward.
Tesla Inc. is, according to its promoters — very much including Chief Executive Elon Musk — an artificial intelligence giant trapped in a carmaker’s body. That much was evident from quarterly sales and production numbers, and the market’s reaction to them, on Tuesday morning.
Doug Drabik discusses fixed income market conditions and offers insight for bond investors.
In 1539, 30 years after San Juan was founded, the Spanish began building defenses of its harbor on the northern shore of Puerto Rico. Construction continued for another 250 years. Now that’s a long time-horizon! The mammoth fort known as Castillo San Felipe del Morro (or “El Morro”) is still standing.
In many situations, my clients will tell us they hear “crickets” when they ask for feedback. In large forums many people are simply uncomfortable bringing things up.
Unlocking your practice's full potential involves strategic planning and a comprehensive understanding of these critical factors. Whether you’re planning an exit or aiming for growth, these insights will help you maximize your practice's value.
Financial advisors can future-proof their businesses and maintain their relevance in an increasingly tech-driven world by combining human expertise with AI’s efficiency and analytical prowess.
We are contrarians and oddly crave the moments when history, psychology and mathematics get defied in the U.S. stock market. We believe this is one of those points in time.
Financial giants from Goldman Sachs & Co. to Morgan Stanley and Barclays Plc. are taking a fresh look at how a Donald Trump victory in November could play out in the bond market.
Bridgewater Associates is launching a fund that uses machine learning as the primary basis of its decision-making.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the latest economic data suggest inflation is getting back on a downward path, but added officials would like to see more evidence before lowering interest rates.
Economists and some Federal Reserve officials are increasingly on alert that pain could be on the horizon for American workers amid signs the labor market is losing steam.
Hedge funds were once the hottest investment around, but they’ve long ceded the spotlight to better performers, including private assets, real estate, technology startups and even cryptocurrencies.
How alternative can you get? Historically, conventional fund managers have dealt with the threat from private equity and hedge funds by creating or buying alternative investment funds of their own.
To protect your investments and ensure they retain their value over time, you must implement proactive strategies that combat the effects of inflation. In this article, we discuss seven strategies to help shield your investments from inflation’s impact.
