These Nasdaq 100 Big Caps peaked months ago and have dropped in price steadily since then. Each stock has a separate, individual story but the Trump tariffs and their effects on prices play a big part on all of them. Fed Chair Jerome Powell this week said that the resulting inflation may affect interest rate policy. It’s not a good mix, according to investors who have shown their dislike by selling the shares of these well-known names. What had been hot stocks are now in the cold as ice territory as the price charts show serious downtrends for each. Wall…

Last year I reported on actions the previous administration was taking to make Medicare Advantage plans less attractive to beneficiaries and the consequences of those actions. For example, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services set the reimbursement rates to insurers who sponsor Medicare Advantage plans at much lower levels than expected. CMS took other actions that made the plans less profitable than the insurers offering them expected and in some cases made them unprofitable. The result was that fewer Medicare Advantage plans were available for 2025. Advantage plans that covered 1.5 million beneficiaries in 2024 were eliminated for 2025.…

The trends of the major indexes are identifiable by examining the direction of price and, more significantly, of the moving averages. The support levels are those price areas where buyers previously overcame sellers and the trend changed from down to up. A test of such levels – did price stop going down? did price go lower? – provides insights. The S&P 500 daily: The near-term trend is downward. This is clear because the price is trading below both the 50-day and the 200-day moving averages. The former has been trending down since mid to late February. The latter has been…

Managing finances in retirement is about more than just having enough savings—it’s about knowing how to spend wisely. While some retirees follow a strict budget, others take a more flexible approach, tracking their expenses without predefined limits. This brings up an important question: Should retirees focus on budgeting or accounting? Understanding the difference between these two financial strategies can help retirees maintain financial security while still enjoying their golden years. Budgeting: A Structured Approach to Financial Security Budgeting is a forward-looking strategy that involves setting spending limits for various categories—groceries, travel, entertainment—and sticking to them. This approach is ideal for…

An investment market decline can create financial opportunities for alert investors, whether the decline is short and sharp or long and drawn out. Market declines can present opportunities for those who put emotions aside, ignore the headlines, and consider which long-term actions could be best for them. One strategy to consider is to convert a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA. The converted amount is included in gross income as though it were distributed to you. You pay income taxes today instead of years from now. In return, after the conversion the income and gains compound tax free within the…

As the dollar drops and confidence in the U. S. bond market wanes, market participants are considering alternatives. Gold has been rocketing lately but it’s the other precious metal — silver — that’s been slowly and steadily rising from late 2022 to the present. The metal has industrial applications, used in the making of laptops and solar panels, for example — but the main interest is how it’s been trading recently better than many other assets. Investors concerned with inflation are finding it and buying the stocks that mine it. You can tell by the up trends in price. 4…

As the 2025 legislative session unfolds, wealthy families, their advisors, and the executives of family offices are watching closely. A series of tax proposals from Trump-aligned lawmakers in the House and Senate promises to reshape the federal tax code—particularly in ways that could fundamentally alter estate and succession planning for owners of family businesses, legacy real estate, and valuable collections. From permanent tax cuts to full repeal of the estate tax, these proposals signal a dramatic policy shift. Yet they also inject considerable uncertainty. Now is the time for sophisticated planning. The Trump Tax Agenda: Overview and Impact Several bills—each…

Stocks began trading lower last week, continuing the selloff after President Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariff announcements on Wednesday, April 4, which sparked the stock plunge in the previous week. The S&P 500 reached bear market territory intraday on Monday, down 21% from the mid-February closing high, as concerns about negative economic consequences from the tariffs grew. On Wednesday, President Trump announced a temporary reduction in the reciprocal tariff rates to 10% for 60 countries previously hit with higher tariffs. The tariff rate on China was increased to 125%. Stocks reacted with a record-setting one-day rally on Wednesday as the perceived…

These five gold mining stocks are soaring to new highs as investors look for alternatives to the dollar dropping and to U. S. government bonds sliding. That Trump’s tariff policies are creating uncomfortable uncertainties about the economy is now a given among Wall Street investment firms and their customers. Buying of precious metals and related equities is the result. The new 52-week highs in so many gold stocks is a reaction to the possibility of much higher prices thanks to tariffs. The chance of a recession is a major factor. This classic inflation-hedge is showing its strength as confidence in…

The artificial intelligence stocks have bounced back a bit after selling off along with most other stocks during the Trump tariffs on and off announcements. This group used to be among the hottest of all the sectors and just months ago had been making new all time highs. Those days are likely over as the price charts show evidence of a trend downward for these AI stocks despite this week’s bounce. It’s likely that other factors are at work besides the tariffs situation – analysts may have been re-assessing these names to see what’s there once the hype begins to…