September 12, 2018
Brian Cornell, age 60, Target CEO, asserts that we are in the best consumer environment that he has seen in his 35-year career. Target reported the best quarterly results in more than a decade as shares gained 33% this year. With the strongest same-store ...
August 24, 2018
One of the biggest changes resulting from the new tax law signed in December 2017 is a severe limit imposed by the Republican-controlled Congress on state and local tax (SALT) deductions. Under the previous law, these deductions were unlimited for individ...
August 2, 2018
For the second quarter (Q2) of 2018, U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) grew by an annualized rate of 4.1%. This is an encouraging increase from Q1 growth of 2.2%. 2018 is on track to grow by 3% or more, which has not happened since 2005. This achievement ...
July 25, 2018
Under the new tax law effective in 2018, can you claim your home mortgage interest as a deduction? Would you save more money taking the standard deduction?...
July 3, 2018
The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 reached the end of the second quarter well below their all-time highs from January 2018. The Trump tariff activity did not start until after January, and it remains the dominant impediment to U.S. stock mar...
June 4, 2018
Imagine if President Trump would have adopted a period of reflection and silence after he signed the tax cut bill in December. This is what Rick Newman, columnist for Yahoo Finance, considers if Trump would just get out of the way of our strong economy: t...
May 9, 2018
Since the creation under the Small Business Protection Act of 1996, 529 accounts have allowed savers to contribute after-tax dollars for the purpose of paying education expenses to the beneficiary. The money is invested and can grow tax-free. Withdrawals ...
May 2, 2018
The stock market wobbles when the Federal Reserve consistently raises interest rates. This is normal as businesses and consumers need time to adjust to higher financing costs. In response to the Fed increases, the 10-year U,S, Treasury yield passed throug...
April 4, 2018
An analysis of the market, the most important investment principles, the threat of tariffs and trade wars...
March 12, 2018
The estate and gift tax exemption in the federal tax code (Form 706) applies to an individual’s gifts made during life and to assets left at death. Beginning in 2018, the exemption from tax is doubling to nearly $11.2 million per individual and $22.4 mi...
March 5, 2018
Be a Winner — Learn to Live with Volatility February brought the highly anticipated 10% pullback after the biggest drop in 2017 of only 3%. Corrections of 10% are evidence that the market does not continually rise, and they motivate technicians to corre...
February 27, 2018
This is an overview of a Health Savings Account (HSA), a unique savings & investment vehicle w/ tax benefits: who qualifies, advantages, restrictions, what medical expenses are covered, which aren't, what you can do before 4/17/18, 2018 caps, not to be co...
February 22, 2018
In December 2017, the U.S. Congress passed and President Trump signed into law a new tax law for American businesses and individual taxpayers. This new law is vast and complicated, so we think it is best to break it down into manageable subject areas rath...
February 12, 2018
On February 6, in response to the volatility that the markets were experiencing, we sent the following thoughts to our clients and other contacts for whom we had email addresses. (If you would like to be added to this list, contact info@bellinvest.com): ...
February 2, 2018
Believe it or not, I would have liked to have seen a greater pullback in the stock market than the two-day drop on Monday and Tuesday, January 29 and 30. The total drop for those two days was 500 points on the Dow, which sounds like a lot, but it was only...
January 5, 2018
Interest Rates: December proved to be an interesting month in the world of finance. Earlier in the month, the Federal Reserve raised interest rates. The quarter point raise marked the third interest rate hike this year, bucking a trend of less frequent ra...
December 5, 2017
The operative word above is reason, which frames the question in a rational context. We all know that investors and markets often move with irrational motivations, especially in short-term periods. After another strong gain in November, the U.S. market to...
November 7, 2017
Making contributions to your retirement accounts is guaranteed to strengthen your financial and retirement plan. This year December 31 is on a Sunday, which means you should be planning those 2017 contributions now and targeting Friday, December 29 to hav...
Brian Cornell, age 60, Target CEO, asserts that we are in the best consumer environment that he has ...
On October 8, 2017, a fire began in Calistoga, California, that would kill 43 people and displace 10...
The Bell Investment Advisors Investment Committee had the great privilege on July 11, 2018 to be visited by the distinguished John B. Emerson, American diplomat, lawyer, and former U.S. Ambassador to Germany, who was appointed by President Obama to serve on his Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations. He currently works in global distribution […]
