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☆ Russia's war economy isn't as resilient as reports would have you believe
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

That brings us to today's main story — economists say the official data coming out of Russia isn't painting an accurate picture of Putin's wartime economy. "These are the things that businesses deliver and consumers purchase in an economy, and they have been absorbing the impact. Our tracker shows a contraction of the Russian economy ahead of the official figures release precisely because we use high-frequency indicators from the private economy." Vehicle sales, imports, credit growth, home prices, and other measures all point to a much less robust regime since Vladimir Putin's war on Ukraine began. These four charts tell the story of how war has reshaped Russia over the last year.

☆ Asia is aging rapidly. Strategists reveal stocks to cash in — including tech
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( Weizhen Tan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

He recommended the Global X Aging Population ETF , which includes not just health-care companies and pharmaceutical firms, but also wearables and medical device companies such as Cochlear, GN Store Nord and Teleflex. China's 'very promising bets' Investors can look to focus on China's aging population by market reach or income segment, according to Leverage Shares' Rao. As for investors looking to get exposure to China's wealthier income segment, he named Raffles Medical, Asian Healthcare Specialists and IHH Healthcare — stocks that will also give similar exposure in other Asian countries. Dividend payers and financial services High-dividend-paying stocks as well as financial services are set to benefit from the aging population, according to analysts. Another potential beneficiary of aging populations is financial services, according to Rob Clarry, investment strategist at wealth manager Evelyn Partners.

☆ A notorious market bear who called the 2000 and 2008 crashes warns that the stock sell-off is 'not over by a long shot' — and that the S&P 500 could sink by more than 50%
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-25 | by ( William Edwards | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Hussman called the 2000 and 2008 stock market crashes. Sure, the S&P 500 is down 17% from its peak on the first day of trading in 2022, 15 months ago. But the numbers don't lie, says Hussman, who called the 2000 and 2008 stock market crashes. Wilson sees the S&P 500 bottoming between 3,000-3,300, making him one of the more bearish strategists on the Street. Predicted in 2000 that the S&P 500 would likely see negative total returns over the following decade, which it did.

☆ How universities became giant piggy banks for hedge-fund billionaires
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Catherine Liu | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +14 min

The move also marked the beginning of a new way to manage endowment funds. The arrangement has been a boon for the hedge-fund managers who received university endowment cash, but the benefits for the schools are trickier to parse. As Eaton put it in his book, universities directed funds to "wherever those allocations would generate the largest further investment returns." Eaton estimated in 2017 that tax breaks for university endowments cost federal coffers up to $19 billion a year. As the influence of billionaires and hedge-fund managers has grown, universities have moved further away from their ultimate goal: educating people.

☆ There's a massive disconnect between markets and the Fed - and Jerome Powell's messaging could fall upon deaf ears
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Let's break down what to know ahead of the Federal Reserve's widely expected interest rate hike today. Today's rate hike decision probably won't surprise anyone, as markets have long priced in a 25-basis-point move for the February and March meetings. Goldman said he'll be watching for three things in Powell's speech:Powell will talk tough: "He's going to push back on financial markets. In any case, according to Reinking, unless Powell musters up some serious aggression, any messaging will ultimately fall upon deaf ears. What will your investment strategy look like following another interest rate hike from the Fed?

☆ This Redditor took out $76,000 in loans to trade meme stocks thanks to hype on Wall Street Bets. It became an 'addiction' and he even lost $6,000 of his girlfriend's money.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-21 | by ( Ryan Hogg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

A Reddit user took out $76,672 in loans to trade meme stocks and lost nearly all of it. Aaron, a software engineer from Munich, took out tens of thousands of dollars in loans to trade stocks. The subreddit shot to fame in 2021 when it made some retail traders into millionaires while bankrupting others, often through trading meme stocks in "short squeezes." Bed Bath & Beyond, Aaron's meme stock of choice, has lost 88% of its value since January 2021. Within two months of accessing his girlfriend's money, he lost $6,000 of it betting on meme stocks.

☆ An ETF manager shares his 2 'investment mission statements' that are helping him build long-term wealth
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( Kathleen Elkins | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

ETF manager Taylor Sohns encourages all investors to write down their specific goals. If you're already an investor but don't have specific goals in writing, come up with at least one today. Sohns shared with Insider his two investment mission statements, which he keeps in the notes app on his phone. Here's his brokerage account investment statement:My brokerage account dollars are there to outpace inflation; anything additional is bonus. Here's his retirement account investing statement:I'm invested for the long term.

☆ 'An expensive mistake': Citi says stop hoarding cash — and reveals two areas to invest in
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Zavier Ong | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Last year was a tough one for stock and bond investors, many of whom flocked to the relative safety of cash amid the market turmoil. But Citi is now warning of the perils of hoarding cash. "Amid the uncertainty, we see various ways to put cash to work and seek portfolio income. Citi warned that hoarding excess cash could "prove an expensive mistake over time" and instead advised investors to have "fully invested, globally diversified portfolios" for the long term. Dividend growers One way to deploy excess cash is in dividend stocks , according to Citi.

☆ Bank of America: These are the 11 top stocks to buy for 2023 to position for both a recession in the first half of the year and the recovery afterwards
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Lisa Kailai Han | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Investors should focus on quality stocks with strong fundamentals in 2023, said BofA. Bank of America recently released its top stock picks across the 11 S&P 500 sectors. The basket of 11 stocks chosen in 2022 outperformed the S&P 500 by 8.5 percentage points. "Given our house view that 2023 could be a tale of two halves — a recession and a recovery — stocks may fare differently in these two periods, and we note recession and recovery beneficiaries below," she wrote. The 11 stocks are listed below, along with each company's ticker, market capitalization, sector, and appropriate analyst commentary.

☆ Bank of America's top 2023 picks include an under-the-radar tech stock
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( Samantha Subin | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Investors looking for somewhere to park their money in the new year may want to consider these top stock picks, according to Bank of America. The bank outlined 11 of its favorite names for 2023 in a note to clients Wednesday. Some names, however, may be better positioned to ride out the volatility, according to the Wall Street firm. As uncertainty lingers, here are some of the names Bank of America recommends: One under-the-radar pick is Analog Devices , a semiconductor stock that sold off about 7% in 2022. Another 2023 name to buy is health-care stock Humana , which outperformed in 2022 as investors flocked toward safe-haven sectors.

☆ The managers of two of the best stock funds of 2022 told us about the 3 highest-conviction names in their portfolios
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( Marley Jay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Together, they run two of the highest-returning stock funds of 2022. BNY Mellon fund managers John Bailer and Brian Ferguson have done well at avoiding those sorts of traps. Bailer runs a dividend-focused stock fund that's returned 12% a year for investors over the last decade and earned a four-star rating, according to Morningstar. In a joint interview, Bailer and Ferguson told Insider about a couple of current favorites from across their portfolios. (3) Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A)Warren Buffett is a legendary value investors himself, of course, and his Berkshire Hathaway conglomerate is a favorite for a lot of investors.

☆ A Democratic congresswoman just joined the long list of lawmakers who've violated a federal conflict-of-interest law
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Madison Hall | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Democratic Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez of New Mexico recently violated a federal conflict-of-interest and transparency law. Her office said an "electronic error" prevented her from disclosing a stock sale for nearly two years. A congressional stock disclosure filing from Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez, submitted in December 2022. In this particular instance, the aide noted, Fernandez directed the firm to sell the stock. Fernandez's aide, in a statement, told Insider that the congresswoman "supports a ban on members of Congress owning individual stocks."

☆ Finding the market tough right now? Here's how young investors can be smart with their money
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Sophie Kiderlin | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

And investing becomes trickier because of that, said James McManus, chief investment officer at investment firm Nutmeg. What history showsBut investing is still a good idea, Myron Jobson, senior personal finance analyst at investment platform interactive investor told CNBC's Make It. Think long termThat's why young investors should think long term, Jobson and Hollands said. To protect your investments from market movements, it's critical to make sure you invest in a range of asset types, Jobson said. "Nervous investors can drip feed investments monthly to help smooth out the inevitable bumps in the market," one analyst said.

☆ 100 years of stock-market history show the sell-off is likely only half done, says a 30-year market vet who called the downturn. Here are 3 criteria to watch to know when the worst is over.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-19 | by ( William Edwards | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Jon Wolfenbarger thinks stock-market investors are still too optimistic that a bear market bottom is coming sometime in the immediate-to-near future. When bear markets occur when valuations are relatively high, the bear markets tend to drag on longer. The median bear market length during periods of high valuation among those listed above is 17 months, Wolfenbarger said, compared to 13 months when valuations are attractive. Given that the current market sell-off began amid some of the highest valuations in history, Wolfenbarger said he expects the bear market to last 17 months or longer. Wolfenbarger's views in contextIn June, Societe Generale conducted a similar analysis to Wolfenbarger's and looked at bear markets over the last 150 years.

☆ Confessions of a personal finance reporter (Part Two): 3 more of my worst money mistakes
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-23 | by ( Sarah O'Brien | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Salvatore AgostinoI tried to time the stock market because I 'knew' where it was headedI was at least a couple decades into adulthood when I decided I could see into the future. That is, I just knew the stock market was on the verge of dropping and would stay down for a while. This crystal ball-reading talent emerged as I rolled over money from an old 401(k) into my then-current retirement account. That is, I knew that the stock market generally rose over time and was a good place to put long-term savings, such as for retirement. Now, this was long enough ago that I have no memory of the fund's performance or my account balance when I eventually moved the money to another retirement account.

We want firms that are profitable, that have real earnings right now. This is related to the idea of avoiding expensive stocks, which we'll talk about later. A key reason we're looking to avoid expensive stocks is because long-term rates are rising, in addition to the short end of yield curve influenced by Fed action. For example, a stock that trades at 30 times earnings is more expensive than a rival company that trades at 15 times earnings. But for the purposes of this particular story, it's important to understand that expensive stocks are more vulnerable to seeing their multiples contract in this current environment.

A day trader in her 20s will have much different view of stock diversification than a retiree looking to limit risk. Last week, we spoke about how to diversify a stock portfolio to both balance a longer-term view of your holdings while sharpening a shorter-term focus on factors that might necessitate changes. We're breaking this tutorial into seven sections: Understanding correlations Getting a portfolio started Is S & P 500 diversified? To better illustrate, let's consider the current make up of the S & P 500 — the diversification you'd achieve if you put an initial investment into an S & P 500 exchange-traded fund, or ETF. As of March 31, the end of the first quarter, the S & P 500 weighting was as follows: When you buy into an S & P 500 index fund, roughly 28 cents of every dollar goes into technology, while only 2.6 cents go into materials.

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