Blog
Measuring Inflation and the Fed’s Reaction to Higher Prices
Inflation is one of the primary risks to bondholders. Rising consumer prices erodes the “real” value of principal and interest payments making them worth less. However, the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) reaction to...
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Teaching Money Mindfulness to Your Children
At some point in a child's development, all parents wonder: how can I best teach my child the value of money? Parents who grew up in more modest circumstances than their own children can struggle to balance the desire to provide their...
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Out of the Shadows
Hi All, As the calendar has turned to May, the popular “Sell in May and Go Away” stock market cliché is getting a lot of airtime. This is the idea that the stock market tends to be weakest between May and October...
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April Market Insights – Economic Revival Signs Are At Hand
Index Performance View enlarged chart. U.S. and International Equities This month provided another set of positive results for the U.S. major market indexes. The top performer was the Nasdaq, rebounding from last month’s lagging...
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Coping with the Loss of a Spouse Checklist
Losing one's significant other is one of the most stressful of all possible losses, even if you've had some time to emotionally prepare for it. And while it can be tough to do more than put one foot in front of the other, losing a...
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End of Recession May Be Announced Soon
End of recession call may come soon Incredibly, the COVID-19 recession may have ended a year ago, but we still don’t have an end-of-recession call from the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER). But we may be a step closer...
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Valuations Matter in the Bond Market Too
“Price is what you pay; value is what you get.” – Legendary value investor Ben Graham. Valuations matter—at least in the long run. We believe it to be true in the equity markets and in the fixed income markets...
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Quarterly Market Insights – Economic Recovery, Redux
Index Performance View enlarged chart. U.S. and International Equities This quarter provided positive results for all major market indexes. The top performer and standout was the US small cap Russell 2000, returning over 12% for the...
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What to Know About Investing After Divorce
Divorce can deal both divorcing spouses one of the biggest financial blows of their lifetimes. In fact, experts estimate each spouse will need to increase their individual income by about 30 percent to maintain the same standard of...
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Revisiting Our Treasury Yield Forecast
Coming into this year, we expected longer-maturity U.S. Treasury yields to rise, consistent with improving economic growth dynamics. That is indeed what we have seen, with the yield on the 10-year Treasury higher by 80 basis points (0...
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Plan Your Finances as You Would Your Exercise
You exercise to benefit from your sweat equity in the future, right? Waking up early in the dark mornings of winter to exercise comes hard. Once your workout ends, though, you often begin the day with the payoff of a tremendous energy...
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Spring Into A Positive Outlook
“The real key to making money in stocks is not to get scared out of them.” Peter LynchThey say April showers bring May flowers. Well, after a lot of showers and storms over the past year, flowers are starting to bloom and things are...
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Stocks and Inflation
As we continue LPL Research’s Inflation Week, today we will examine how stocks have historically done at different inflation levels. For more color on our views on inflation, please read here and here, and look out for...
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Corporate Credit Markets Have Sold Off This Year. A Harbinger of Things to Come?
While most market participants have been (rightly) focusing on the sell-off in the Treasury markets this year, U.S. corporate credit markets have sold off as well. Corporate credit markets, as defined by the Bloomberg Barclays U.S....
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Women, Money, and Today's Retirement
Despite all of the other advances made in our society in recent generations, women continue to face unique challenges when it comes to preparing for their financial futures. Recognizing the Shortfalls For starters, women on average...
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Women, Wealth, and Legacy Planning
Women play a central role in establishing and preserving family wealth -- whether nurturing the values of children, fulfilling charitable goals, or making investment decisions that affect the financial security of themselves or their...
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March Madness—Stock Market Edition
March Madness: Stock Market Edition LPL Research share their “Final Four Factors” for the stock market in 2021 in this week’s Weekly Market Commentary, available at 1 p.m. ET. Daily Insights U.S. stocks open little...
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Rising Interest Rates Are A Global Phenomenon
Today is the one-year anniversary of the low in the 10-year Treasury yield. While we’ve discussed the sharp rise in U.S. Treasury yields that have occurred this year, rising rates have been a global phenomenon. Similar to the...
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A Financial Literacy Guide for Women
While millennial women are breaking cultural norms and diving into entrepreneurship headfirst, baby boomers are often more reluctant to take the risks of their younger colleagues. In fact, on a whole, women invest 40 percent less[1]...
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The Return of Normal is Approaching
It’s now been over a year since COVID-19 first hit American shores. While the pandemic has affected everyone to varying degrees, we can all agree that everyone’s life is different today than it was a year ago. It’s...
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Energy and Financials Fuel February’s Markets
Index Performance View enlarged chart. US and International Equities This month provided positive results for the major market indexes. The top performer was the Russell 2000 small cap index, returning over 6% for the month. Small caps...
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Treasury Yields Are Rising. Now What?
Treasury yields started moving sharply higher this past month (remember that as yields go up, prices go down). And while the upward march began in earnest last August when the 10-Year Treasury yield bottomed at an all-time low rate of...
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Women, Money, and Today's Retirement
Despite all of the other advances made in our society in recent generations, women continue to face unique challenges when it comes to preparing for their financial futures. Recognizing the Shortfalls For starters, women on average...
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Managing Caregivers Stress
With more and more seniors aging in place, the rise in caregivers who are not health professionals has begun to increase as well. Informal caregivers may find that their work is rewarding, since they ensure that their loved one is...
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Got Yield? Hold the Rate Risk, Please
In LPL Research’s Weekly Market Commentary this week, we looked at some stock and bond options that may be attractive income-producing ideas for suitable income-oriented investors. On the bond side, many income-oriented investors...
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Inflation Expectations Highest Since 2014
The 10-year breakeven inflation rate, a market-based measure of inflation expectations, hit its highest level last Friday, February 5, since 2014. Still, at 2.21% expected annual inflation over the next 10 years, it remains a...
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Why Women Need to Save More Than Men
Men and women may not be on equal footing when it comes to investing for the future. On average, women work fewer years and earn less than men, but they also tend to live longer.1 Therefore, women must focus on the concerns that are...
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Stay the Course
“In the short-term, the market is a popularity contest. In the long-term, the market is a weighing machine.” Warren Buffett 2021 is under way, as our nation and the rest of the world look to begin to put the global pandemic...
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As Goes January, So Goes The Year
Stocks got off to a nice start in 2021, until the late January selloff, as everyone got GameStop fever. Should bulls worry about what a down January might mean for the rest of 2021? There’s an old adage on Wall Street that...
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Interest Rate Reversals Revisited
In LPL Research Outlook 2021: Powering Forward, we noted that large interest rate declines historically have been followed by reversals. With the 10-year Treasury yield continuing to climb, now’s a good time for an update. As...
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Tips for Organizing Your Financial Documents
In an increasingly paper-free society, organizing your financial documents can still be a challenge. No matter how simple or complex your financial picture might be, it takes some thought-out organization to keep your tax documents,...
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Credit Spreads Limit Bond Performance Outlook
Investment-grade credit spreads, the extra yield you get from investment-grade corporate bonds compared to similarly dated US Treasuries, have already tightened to a level you usually only see during the middle of the economic...
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The Importance of Financial Wellness
Financial wellness, like physical wellness, isn’t something you should ignore. Instead, it's a critical concept for anyone who wants to be knowledgeable and confident about their finances, and in fact, financial wellness is so...
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Treasuries Hit Key Levels
Economic Blog 1/12/2021 Treasury yields hit two key levels the first week of 2021. As shown in the LPL Chart of the Day, the 10-year Treasury yield moved above 1% for the first time since March 2020, and the 10-year breakeven inflation...
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Proper Financial Planning: Critical for Women
A key goal of investing for retirement is making sure you save enough to make your money last throughout your lifetime. On this score, women may need to save more than men. The current life expectancy of a female at birth is roughly 81...
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2021 Brings a Fresh Start
Happy New Year! A new year offers a welcomed turn of the calendar and a fresh start. However, it’s difficult to put 2020 completely behind us just yet because the COVID-19 pandemic still presents a significant threat. Healthcare...
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December Market Insights
Market Blog View enlarged table. US and International Equities The S&P 500 Index, Dow Jones Industrial, and Nasdaq Composite indexes, continued their November run in December. As noted last month, November was a record-breaking month...
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Three Fed Takeaways from an Extraordinary Year
2020 was an extraordinary year for the Federal Reserve (Fed). The Fed responded swiftly and decisively to the rapidly accelerating financial and economic uncertainty brought on by efforts to contain the COVID-19 pandemic. The current...
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Is Brexit Fishing For A Deal?
Brexit, the United Kingdom’s (UK) withdrawal from the European Union (EU), is making news again as it stumbles toward its apparent conclusion on December 31, 2020. The major sticking point now: fish. The UK officially left the EU...
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The Financial Fitness Challenge: Tips for Strengthening Your Financial Health
Diet books. Fitness apps. Live-streamed exercise classes. They all tell you the same thing: Maintaining good physical health requires discipline and adherence to a few simple habits, such as eating wisely, getting enough sleep, and...
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Charitable Giving and Donating Toys
As the holidays approach, many children start to make wish lists, but unfortunately, not all children have someone to give them gifts. Luckily, there are many charities that help get holiday gifts and joy to children. If you're...
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