U.S. News: How to Spot the Bear Market and Beat It

By SIMON CONSTABLE

If stocks are in a bear market, the last thing investors need is to hear about it after the fact. It's as unhelpful as being told, "You should have been here yesterday." 

The pullback in the Standard & Poor's 500 index hasn't yet reached the classic definition of a bear market, which is a decline of 20 percent or more. But by that measure, the drop is nearly here. 

Are we headed for a bear market, and what should investors do? The answers are tricky.

Read more here.

TheStreet: Recession? We're Not There Yet, So Don't Hit the Panic Button

By SIMON CONSTABLE

The doomsayers may have jumped the gun a bit: Some pundits and analysts say a recession is just around the corner. 

The evidence isn't there, however. Not just yet, anyway. Yes, eventually we will have a recession in the United States. The world of commerce has always had business cycles -- expansions followed by contractions. This time is no different.

But is one imminent now? Not at all, according to some key measures. Read more here.

Forbes: Ten Things To Learn From Hunter S. Thompson

By SIMON CONSTABLE

I’ve long been a fan of Hunter S. Thompson, author of such classics as “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” and “Hell’s Angels.” So when I saw a book by his son, Juan F. Thompson, published in January I itched to get a copy.

The book, Stories I Tell Myself by Juan F. Thompson: Growing Up with Hunter S. Thompson, is a fine read. In some ways, it’s a love letter to his departed father. Perhaps more important, is that for us as outsiders it paints a three-dimensional portrait of a literary giant. People are complicated; Thompson Sr. more than most. 

Read more here.

Forbes: Worst Boss Possible -- Part 10

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Part ten of a continuing series, which outlines how you too can be an appalling manager. Read part nine here.

Apparently, there are more than a few awful bosses out there. Jobs site Monster.com just released a survey showing that almost one third of respondents said their boss was quote “horrible.”  The survey was conducted from December 7 through December 21 and asked the question, “On a scale of 1 to 5, how would you rate your boss?” The results they sent to me were as follows.

WSJ: Are Too Many Choices Costing 401(k) Holders?

By SIMON CONSTABLE

In investing, choice usually is a good thing. But new research suggests that having too many choices in a 401(k) retirement plan could be costly for participants.

Researchers studied a 401(k)-type plan that reduced the number of mutual funds it offered by close to half. They found that investors who were forced to shift their money out of the funds being eliminated from the plan tended to move into funds with lower fees—even though the funds available after the plan was streamlined had almost exactly the same range of fees as the menu of funds before the choices were reduced.

Read more here.

WSJ: What Is Capital Flight?

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Investors might hear the term “capital flight” a lot more this year. It’s important to anyone who has invested in emerging markets, especially China.

So what is it? Capital flight is the term for unusually large amounts of money leaving a country to be invested elsewhere. It often happens when investors en masse lose faith in a country’s economic prospects.

Read more here.

U.S. News: A Shoebox of Penny Stocks and Other Investing Horror Stories

By SIMON CONSTABLE

So very often the mantra of personal finance is simple: Make small changes now, and decades from now you'll make some huge gains. 

It might not be as thrilling as riding the Coney Island Cyclone, but it seems to work. Slow and steady wins the day, at least financially. 

But what about when all that prudent advice goes out the window? What happens when the counsel of trained financial whiz-kids and seasoned sages is ignored? The following real-world examples from financial advisers across the U.S. should give you an idea. And here's a hint – it's not pretty. Read more here.