Here’s our 12-days-before-Christmas Roundup of helpful reads on investing, personal finance, and stewardship...
Fed leaves rates unchanged, and forecasts show no change in 2020 (Bloomberg via Crain’s New York Business). And Fed officials removed an earlier reference to "uncertainties" about the outlook.
Paul Volcker, the Carter-Reagan Fed chairman who beat inflation, dies at age 92 (CNBC). "He embodied...the courage to do the right thing, even when it’s immensely unpopular."
Merrill Edge, Wells Fargo embrace zero commission (Barrons). A little late to the party perhaps, but two more firms join the no-commissions list.
Charitable giving rebounds, but still behind 2018 (Non-Profit Times via MinistryWatch). Major gifts continue to lag behind last year’s performance and total revenue from gifts, as of the end of the third quarter, is down -4.6%.
The making of a mammoth merger: Charles Schwab and TD Ameritrade (Visual Capitalist). Fascinating graphic showing the origin and evolution of each company. (I didn’t know that Schwab used to be named "First Commander Corporation"!)
And now from the bloggers and pundits...
Don’t expect the roaring ’10s for stocks to repeat in the ’20s (Nir Kaissar). What appears in the rearview mirror is no indication of the road ahead.
The rise and the fall (The Irrelevant Investor, Michael Batnick). History tells us there’s one thing you can count on in the world of investing: the future will not look like the past.
You can’t predict market movements. 2019 is a case in point. (Evidence Investor). The prediction game may be fun but it tends to be a losing one for investors.
The market is no benchmark. Here’s why. (Sarah Newcomb, Morningstar). The best benchmark is your own, personalized financial goal.
Financial gifts for your holiday wish list (Ben Carlson, A Wealth of Common Sense). Gifts that add to financial well-being.
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