What is Bitcoin and how does it work?
Not only is Bitcoin the first cryptocurrency, but it’s also the best known of the more than 5,000 cryptocurrencies in existence today. Financial media eagerly covers each new dramatic high and stomach churning decline, making Bitcoin an inescapable part of the landscape.
While the wild volatility might produce great headlines, it hardly makes Bitcoin the best choice for novice investors or people looking for a stable store of value. Understanding the ins and outs can be tricky—let’s take a closer look at how Bitcoin works.
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The past year has fractured our world in countless ways. Now, as people look to pick up the pieces, those managing debt need to account for their position in our uneven economic recovery.
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If credit cards are what got you into debt in the first place, why on earth would you go and apply for another one as you’re trying to tackle that debt? You could risk making things even worse.
That certainly could happen. But if you have a plan — and if you strategically apply for the right kind of new credit card — it can actually be one of the best get-out-of-debt tools available to you.
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There are advantages to not following the market on a day-to-day basis, but you’ll still need a strategy to ensure you’re on track to meet your financial goals. Here are four tactics that can help you succeed in the stock market even if you don’t follow it.
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One size most definitely does not fit all when it comes to retirement planning. Here are some of the more popular retirement myths — and their corresponding realities.
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If your spending has recently gotten a bit out of hand and you want to cut back, one method to save money that you may want to consider is a “no spend month.” Here’s how it works.
Whether or not you are a big investor, most Americans know that a glance at the stock market is usually a dependable gauge of the financial temperature of the country. Even now, as COVID-19 affects daily life, the performance of the stock market has provided some indication of how the public is reacting to the pandemic. There was a momentary jump in gains when Congress considered passing aid packages in early March, but steep drops followed, as more of the country shut down for the health and well-being of its citizens.
Stacker compiled historical total annual returns, including both price appreciation and dividends, from 1920 to 2020. Stock returns data from 1928 to 2020 is from YCharts and New York University finance professor Aswath Damodaran. The 1920 to 1927 stock returns are based on Robert Shiller’s Standard & Poor’s (S&P) Composite total returns, originally published in his 1989 book “Market Volatility,” which has been revised and updated. In 1957, the S&P transitioned its major index into an examination of 500 select companies, creating the well-known S&P 500 index. The index tracks companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and the Nasdaq Stock Market, using a market capitalization weighting methodology—giving more weight to larger companies—as compared to the price-weighted approach employed by the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Annual returns for three-month U.S. Treasury bills—short-term bonds that serve as an indicator of the risk-free rate—are included as a basis for comparison to stock market returns. All current stock prices listed are from the week of March 16.
Whether you’re a finance buff, a history fiend, or looking to relive a slice of American life from your youth, the following slideshow is sure to inform. During the history of the American stock market, Wall Street has experienced bombings, shocking closings, and ticker-tape parades. Click through to read about this and much more stock market history from the year you were born.
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