Archive for February 2025
Managing Taxes on Retirement Income: Strategies for a Tax-Smart Retirement, March 19, 2025
Taxes can significantly impact your retirement income. But with the right strategy you can minimize what you owe and maximize what you keep. The key is diversifying your assets now — balancing taxable, tax-deferred and tax-exempt accounts — so you have flexibility when it’s time to withdraw. A well-planned withdrawal strategy later can help you…
Read MorePolicy-induced uncertainty creates market volatility
“There are decades where nothing happens, and there are weeks where decades happen.” This quote, often attributed to Vladimir Lenin during the Bolshevik Revolution, feels especially relevant today as global and domestic events unfold at an astonishing pace. While its historical origins are complex, the sentiment remains clear — markets, consumers and investors are facing…
Read MoreMarket resilience amid inflation jitters: A week of mixed signals
The past week delivered a fresh reminder that inflation remains persistently above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target. On Wednesday, Feb. 12, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported a hotter-than-expected Consumer Price Index (CPI) reading. January’s CPI rose by 0.5% month-over-month, pushing the year-over-year increase past 3% for the first time since mid-2024. Bond markets reacted…
Read MoreThierry Hasse: Keep both hands on the wheel
Navigating the U.S. financial markets increasingly resembles driving a race car through an obstacle course. Just as a skilled driver must anticipate sudden barriers, sharp turns and unexpected slowdowns, today’s investors need to remain focused, adapt to changing conditions and avoid overreacting to market turbulence. And much like driving through unpredictable terrain, keeping both hands…
Read MoreThe disruption, the tension and the balancing act: Suspense on Wall Street
The past week seemed to mimic the twists and turns of a suspense thriller. It began with AI disruption sparking market anxiety after news broke about DeepSeek, a relatively unknown Chinese artificial intelligence startup. The company unveiled its open-source AI model, R1, claiming it could outperform industry-leading models from U.S. tech giants like OpenAI, Google…
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