The price of a barrel of oil is up 300% since 1999 yet nearly all regions of the world continue to see their economies moving ahead full steam. What would happen if oil tops the psychologically important $100/barrel mark? Think it’s far-fetched? Not so. There’s fighting in the Middle East, voracious Chinese demand, concerns about [...]
So you want to buy stocks but don’t like losses, right? Well have we got the thing for you: a principal-protected fund. If stocks go up, you make money. If stocks go down, you get your money back. If this sounds too good to be true then you’re half right. Principal-protected funds do indeed exist. [...]
With apologies to Overstock.com, our latest musing is all about ‘The O’. The O in this case is Ownership. Bill Gross of PIMCO fame is today’s target. We’re not arguing with his track record. He clearly is a skilled fixed income manager. But we’ll throw caution to the wind and commit the ultimate blasphemy – [...]
Yesterday, President Bush signed into law The Tax Increase Prevention and Reconciliation Act of 2006 (“TIPRA”). Although the new legislation contains a number of revenue raising initiatives and items impacting corporations, the following highlights the tax saving items for individuals: DIVIDENDS AND CAPITAL GAINS: The current law (due to expire 12/31/08) provides for a maximum [...]
The bond market was aflutter when Ben Bernanke in his recent testimony to Congress hinted that a pause in Fed rate increases is a strong possibility. Maturities rallied across the board bringing the benchmark 10yr down to a yield just below 5%. With all the rhetoric about an inverted curve, rising energy and commodity prices, [...]
The cost of caring for our parents just got more expensive. Life for the “sandwich generation” can be a challenge. Not only must we raise our kids but we must take care of Mom and Dad. Doing so will now cost more. As part of the effort to control spending, new federal Medicaid restrictions make [...]
One popular myth surrounding the origin of Valentine’s Day is of an Italian Christian named St. Valentine. Valentinus, as he was known, ignored a decree from Emperor Claudius II that there should be no marriage ceremonies. He secretly wed couples until he was caught, imprisoned and sentenced to death. To add even more romance around [...]
Gold continues its meteoric rise and currently sits at multi-year highs. Content-thirsty Big Media has flooded the airwaves and newspapers with more and more stories about the surge in gold prices and speculation about the cause(s). Now retail investors are taking notice and starting to ask whether now is a “good” time to buy gold. [...]
On 12/13/05, The Federal Reserve raised the target Fed Funds rate 25 basis points to 4.25%. This widely expected move marked the 13th straight increase since June 2004. What wasn’t as widely expected was The Fed's decision to alter the language of its policy statement. By removing the word "accommodative", The Fed may be hinting that [...]
With all the rhetoric surrounding a possible real estate bubble, writing about real estate investing at this time seems to fly in the face of conventional wisdom. Well, we at Apollo have never been shy about taking a contrarian view. Please don’t misunderstand – we’re not suggesting anyone rush out and plunk down a good [...]