When the Federal Reserve speaks, the world’s financial institutions listen, and for good reason. Fed policy drives not only global financial markets but also the policies of other central banks. Therefore, any insights into the Fed’s thinking are worth paying attention to. One area that has been getting a lot of attention recently is the…
Change is a constant in the financial world. New services, products and technologies are always coming to the market. In turn, consumers are confronted with new ways to think about their finances. Some of the trends facing the field of finance this year include: Higher interest rates Tax reform An expanding role of artificial intelligence…
The number of articles being written about the “dangerous” levels of the U.S. stock market is coming at an ever-increasing rate. And perhaps, for good reason. The Dow Jones industrial average has notched 42 all-time highs in 2017, the S&P 500 index has booked 37 records, while the Nasdaq has ended at a record 49…
After a decade of holding interest rates near zero, the Federal Reserve has raised rates three times in a year. While many would agree that the “free money” environment following the financial crisis of 2007-2009 has fueled the stock market to its long bull run, savers have been seriously hurt by low money market rates….
The percentage of individual investors describing their outlook as “neutral” rebounded modestly in the latest AAII Sentiment Survey. Optimism pulled back, while pessimism rose slightly. This week’s changes brought the levels of all three indicators close together. Bullish sentiment, expectations that stock prices will rise over the next six months, declined by 2.4 percentage points…
Pessimism in the latest AAII Sentiment Survey surged to its highest level since mid-May, as neutral sentiment plunged to nearly a four-month low. Optimism rebounded modestly. Bullish sentiment, expectations that stock prices will rise over the next six months, rebounded by 1.7 percentage points to 36.1%. Optimism was last higher on May 3, 2017 (38.1%)….
The proportion of individual investors describing their outlook for stock prices as “neutral” is above 40% for a third consecutive week. This is the first such streak in nearly a year. The latest AAII Sentiment Survey also shows small declines in both optimism and pessimism. Bullish sentiment, expectations that stock prices will rise over the…
Last month’s Asset Allocation Survey special question asked AAII members to describe the impact that the Federal Reserve’s rate hikes are having on their asset allocation decisions. Half of all respondents (50%) said that the rate hikes have had no impact on their allocation decisions. Several of these respondents view the hikes as either having…
Last month’s Asset Allocation Survey special question asked AAII members to describe the impact that the Federal Reserve’s rate hikes are having on their asset allocation decisions. More than half of all respondents (57%) said that the rate hikes are either not affecting or are only having a minimal impact on their allocation decisions. Among…
This week’s Sentiment Survey special question asked AAII members how the FOMC’s raising of interest rates has impacted their market outlook. Approximately 60% of respondents said that the rate hikes are having no or very little impact on their outlook and/or their portfolio decisions. Many of these respondents said that last week’s announcement by the…
