JBvM
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Trump: tax cuts rocket fuel for US economy
"If we do this, then America will win again, like never, ever before."
"This is gonna cost me a fortune this thing. Believe me, believe me this is not good for me."
"Companies are gonna bring back jobs -- Retailers, restaurants, manufacturers, grocers, contractors, support this plan...We have tremendous support for this plan, tremendous Because these massive tax cuts will be Rocket Fuel for the American economy"
Almost nothing paid off for investors in 2018, as the bull market headed to the slaughterhouse
"If we do this, then America will win again, like never, ever before."
"This is gonna cost me a fortune this thing. Believe me, believe me this is not good for me."
"Companies are gonna bring back jobs -- Retailers, restaurants, manufacturers, grocers, contractors, support this plan...We have tremendous support for this plan, tremendous Because these massive tax cuts will be Rocket Fuel for the American economy"
In 2017, nearly everything investors touched made money.
Major stock indexes were up about 20% or more. Bonds turned in another solid year of gains. And the housing market was sizzling, with median home prices in Southern California up 8.2% from a year earlier to top the bubble-era high reached in 2007.
This year was looking to be even more promising. After all, big new tax cuts kicked in on Jan. 1 and were supposed to provide what President Trump called “rocket fuel” for the U.S. economy. Analysts expected that would help push an already soaring stock market to new heights.
Instead, 2018 has been a dud for investors across the board.
All the four major U.S. stock indexes declined at least 4.6% for the year through Friday — and they're poised to all finish with negative annual returns for the first time since 2008. And the poor performance was broad-based: nine of the 11 sectors in the benchmark Standard & Poor’s 500 index are in the red for 2018.
As interest rates rose, bond returns fell, with one benchmark fund down about 3%. Gold didn’t fare much better. And don’t talk about Bitcoin, the cryptocurrency whose value plummeted by nearly three-fourths.
Even residential real estate markets have slowed and, in some parts of the country, gone into decline.
For the first time in years, the best annual returns came from keeping your money in cold, hard cash and holding it in savings accounts, money market funds or certificates of deposit that have seen their interest rates rise from rock-bottom levels.
Just stuffing cash in the mattress, where its buying power eroded by the approximately 2% annual inflation rate, would have beaten the 7% loss incurred this year from a fund tied to the S&P 500.
Major stock indexes were up about 20% or more. Bonds turned in another solid year of gains. And the housing market was sizzling, with median home prices in Southern California up 8.2% from a year earlier to top the bubble-era high reached in 2007.
This year was looking to be even more promising. After all, big new tax cuts kicked in on Jan. 1 and were supposed to provide what President Trump called “rocket fuel” for the U.S. economy. Analysts expected that would help push an already soaring stock market to new heights.
Instead, 2018 has been a dud for investors across the board.
All the four major U.S. stock indexes declined at least 4.6% for the year through Friday — and they're poised to all finish with negative annual returns for the first time since 2008. And the poor performance was broad-based: nine of the 11 sectors in the benchmark Standard & Poor’s 500 index are in the red for 2018.
As interest rates rose, bond returns fell, with one benchmark fund down about 3%. Gold didn’t fare much better. And don’t talk about Bitcoin, the cryptocurrency whose value plummeted by nearly three-fourths.
Even residential real estate markets have slowed and, in some parts of the country, gone into decline.
For the first time in years, the best annual returns came from keeping your money in cold, hard cash and holding it in savings accounts, money market funds or certificates of deposit that have seen their interest rates rise from rock-bottom levels.
Just stuffing cash in the mattress, where its buying power eroded by the approximately 2% annual inflation rate, would have beaten the 7% loss incurred this year from a fund tied to the S&P 500.
Almost nothing paid off for investors in 2018, as the bull market headed to the slaughterhouse
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