Trump and the Stock Market

Written by Rob Copeland | 16 November 2016

Prior to the election earlier this month, many market commentators predicted that the market would crash if Donald Trump pulled off an upset victory. Of course, Trump won, and the market hasn't crashed; in fact, stocks have for the most part risen.

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Can Hurricanes Create Investment Opportunity?

Written by Rob Copeland | 11 October 2016

Natural disasters are always bad—the impact on human lives and property is something that nobody wants.

That's certainly the case with a storm like Hurricane Matthew, which hit Florida and the Southeast earlier this month. But the truth is that the storm, like other unfortunate events, has had an impact on the economy and on certain investments. And that may lead to investment opportunity.

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When That High Yield is a Trap

Written by Rob Copeland | 14 September 2016

<p>Yields are miserable out there: The S&P 500’s average dividend yield is just about 2%. The highest-rated 10-year corporate bonds, meanwhile, are paying just a bit more than that on average.</p><p>

So when income-hungry investors find a stock or bond with an exceptional yield, they understandably want to pounce. But reaching for yield can backfire if stock or a bond has underlying concerns. And unfortunately, companies that issue securities are adept at using accounting maneuvers to camouflage weaknesses.</p>

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Opportunities But Also Risks in High-Yield Bonds

Written by Rob Copeland | 12 August 2016

High-yield bonds are on a roll: The iShares U.S. High-Yield Bond Index ETF (ticker: XHY) is up more than 11% for the year.

But before jumping on the bandwagon, be aware that there's lots of risk in high-yield, particularly after prices of these bonds have run up so sharply. To invest in high-yield bonds right now, it's important to do company-by-company analysis, not just to buy a sector or the market as a whole.

A high-yield bond is debt issued by a corporation with a lower credit rating than "investment-grade" debt. They are rated below "BBB" by credit-rating agency S&P, and below "Baa" by its competitor, Moody's. Bonds with these sub-investment-grade ratings pay a higher yield to compensate for their greater risk of default.

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