Korn Ferry: The Risk of Cutting Dividends

By SIMON CONSTABLE

If there is one pattern that is holding true in the global pandemic era, it’s that one company after another is making some hard choices about paying. Pay employees? Pay vendors? And increasingly, the knife is hitting the once unthinkable: dividends. Read more here.

WSJ: These Robots Want to Make Sure You Don’t Do Anything Stupid With Your Money

By SIMON CONSTABLE

One of the most persistent problems for individual investors is that they do things to mess up their finances even when they should know better.

But don’t worry. Robots are coming to the rescue. Read more here.

WSJ: Gold Funds Fell 21.4% in the Quarter, Despite the Coronavirus Panic

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Why did gold prices fail to rally on news that the coronavirus had morphed into a pandemic? It’s the opposite of what many would have expected.

Gold-oriented mutual funds and exchange-traded funds posted average total returns of minus 21.4% in the first quarter, according to Lipper data—in line with or worse than many fund categories. The average U.S.-stock fund, by comparison, fell nearly 24.6%. Read more here.

Andrzej Barabasz (Chepry), CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

WSJ: What Is ‘Buy the Panic’?

By SIMON CONSTABLE

What does it mean when investment professionals say, “Buy the panic”?

It’s a phrase that investors might hear frequently given the recent widespread selling in the stock market. Despite snapback rallies on several days, the S&P 500 is down 23% for the year so far. Read more here.

Photo by Jp Valery on Unsplash

John Batchelor Show: Scotland and the virus -- gold bugs awaken!

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Joe Piscopo Show: Coronavirus Special

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Forbes: French Economy “35% Below Normal,” Report Says

By SIMON CONSTABLE 

Now last week’s pessimists look like optimists.

The impact the coronavirus lockdown, which began less than two weeks ago on March 17, is already having a far worse effect on France than naysayers could have foreseen.

New estimates from government statisticians show that the French economy is operating 35% below normal, according to a recent report from UK-based financial research firm Capital Economics. Read more here.