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Why the CAT bond market is booming right now

Mar 13, 2024
They're called CAT — for catastrophe — bonds, and insurers and investors can't get enough of them.
If disaster does strike, CAT bond investors could potentially lose the principal, interest or both. Above, destroyed homes and storm debris in Florida after Hurricane Ian in 2022.
Giorgio Viera/AFP via Getty Images

Bitcoin devotees are rejoicing after the latest crypto thaw

Mar 1, 2024
The cryptocurrency's price is up about 40 percent this year, inching closer to its pandemic-era high of nearly $69,000 per coin, and vindicating those who held on through recent lows.
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What financial advisers are saying about the new bitcoin ETFs

Jan 17, 2024
Exchange-traded funds are basically an easy way to invest in bitcoin from one's brokerage account. The SEC approved the bitcoin EFTs last week.
The new ETF will make investing in bitcoin easier. But financial advisers aren't sold on the risk factor.
Photo illustration by Chesnot/Getty Images

Alternative investments went on a wild ride during the pandemic

Dec 19, 2023
Many investors dabble in collectibles, wine and art. The pandemic caused some to re-think that strategy.
Alternative investment opportunities, like rare trading cards or art, can be unstable in value. Magic the Gathering card collector Seth Robertson says card values skyrocketed at the start of the pandemic and have since fallen.
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Some investors are eyeing riskier bets following rate cut hints from the Fed

Dec 15, 2023
The assumption is that the economy will chug along and that borrowing costs will fall. But they might not. What makes these riskier stocks attractive?
Since the Fed hinted at possible rate cuts next year, some investors are buying up risky stock.
Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images

How do young adults view investing after COVID turmoil and market swings?

Aug 14, 2023
There are new products that make investing and trading easier than ever for people who have less money, through apps and fractional shares.
App-based and commission-free trading have helped make it easier for young people to invest.
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What's AI gonna do with your money?

Aug 10, 2023
Many of the ChatGPT plugins or other financial AI tools seem designed to make advisers' jobs easier, not replace them. At least for now.
“I think we will get to the point where AI is saying you should invest in 'X,'” said Sarah Hoffman at the Fidelity Center for Applied Technology.
AndreyPopov/Getty Images

Are stocks just not gonna do as well anymore?

Jul 12, 2023
Some economists — citing interest rates, taxes and market cycles — think we are entering an era of underperformance.
Some economists believe the stock market's strong performance of recent decades is unsustainable.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images

At bitcoin's annual convention, few feel the chill of crypto winter

May 31, 2023
Attendance was down from last year at Bitcoin 2023 in Miami, but faith in the cryptocurrency held on strong.
The Bitcoin Bazaar at Bitcoin 2023 in Miami Beach, where true believers in the cryptocurrency and critics of "centralized anything" gathered.
Matt Levin/Marketplace