Author: Dan Brown

Wall Street is increasingly worried about the direction of the economy, and as a result investors are selling off companies that could be most exposed to a downturn. Shares of American Airlines Group (AAL -4.07%), arguably one of the most vulnerable of the airlines, traded down 5% as of 1:30 p.m. ET. Headwinds on the horizon Airline stocks tend to be cyclical, doing better when times are good and falling off when consumer confidence falls. Households are more likely to forgo a vacation than a grocery store run, so demand typically falls off if consumers are feeling pinched. In years…

Shares of electric vehicle (EV) maker Tesla (TSLA -7.15%) were trading about 7% lower as of 1:03 p.m. ET Monday. That sell-off came as tensions between the U.S. and China continued to escalate and as investors looked ahead to Tesla’s first-quarter earnings report, which is due out after the market closes Tuesday. Musk will face the music U.S. stocks broadly fell on Monday morning after China’s government warned that it will retaliate against any countries that partner with the U.S. on trade in ways that hurt China economically. In addition, market watchers pointed to President Donald Trump’s tariff policies and…

In this podcast, Motley Fool analyst Jim Gillies and host Ricky Mulvey discuss: Fund managers cutting their positions in U.S. stocks. How long-term investors should react to fear in the markets. If Abercrombie & Fitch’s stock deserves to be in the bargain bin. Then, Motley Fool personal finance expert Robert Brokamp joins Ricky to discuss what your tax return reveals about your finances. To catch full episodes of all The Motley Fool’s free podcasts, check out our podcast center. When you’re ready to invest, check out this top 10 list of stocks to buy. A full transcript is below. This…

Ackman aims to emulate some of the qualities that made Warren Buffett so successful. Billionaire investor Bill Ackman hopes to follow in the footsteps of his longtime hero, Warren Buffett. He has even explored some ways to create a modern-day version of the company that Buffett currently runs, Berkshire Hathaway. Ackman’s investing style involves taking significant stakes in stocks he feels are meaningfully mispriced by the market. He typically holds stocks for a long period of time, often pushing management to make changes to help unlock value for shareholders. While most individuals can’t directly invest alongside Ackman, they can copy…

If you’ve been tucking money away into a traditional IRA, SEP IRA, SIMPLE IRA, or employer-sponsored plan like a 401(k), you’ll eventually have to take required minimum distributions (RMDs) and pay taxes on the money withdrawn. Generally, RMDs kick in the year you turn 73 (or 75, if you were born in 1960 or later). The IRS is pretty strict about RMD rules and anxious to collect the taxes that weren’t paid when the money was invested. The following five strategies can help you avoid the ire of the IRS and potentially save money along the way. Image source: Getty…

Jillian Johnsrud was falling apart. After suffering a miscarriage, she couldn’t pull herself together to return to her job as a youth pastor in DC. She decided to take a month off. That unexpected break became Jillian’s first “mini-retirement” — a deliberate step away from work for at least 30 days to focus on something meaningful. Today, Jillian is a mom of six who has taken more than a dozen mini-retirements with her kids, who currently range in age from 8 to 17. During her first mini-retirement, she and her best friend piled into her green Honda Civic and drove…

When it comes to saving for retirement, knowing which account to fund first is like knowing which steps to take when climbing a mountain. You want to reach the summit with enough oxygen (money) and energy (tax efficiency) to enjoy the view. For those aiming to retire early, funding retirement accounts in the right order and amount takes a bit more strategy. Over the years, I’ve contributed to just about every retirement account out there—401(k), Roth IRA, SEP IRA, Solo 401(k), HSA, and good old taxable brokerage accounts. After retiring in 2012, I’ve had over a decade to keep funding…

The recent stock market sell-off left nearly all stocks down from their all-time highs. However, some stocks were beaten down before the broader sell-off began, so they look unbelievably cheap now. This opens up a massive buying opportunity for long-term investors, as it’s not often that you can scoop up shares this cheap. Three stocks that look like absolute bargains right now are Alphabet (GOOG -1.44%) (GOOGL -1.44%), Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM 0.13%), and Adobe (ADBE 1.26%). All three of these companies are well off their highs, yet they don’t have a good reason to be trading this cheaply. The S&P…

This unloved EV charging company might be a great contrarian investment. ChargePoint (CHPT -0.95%), a leading builder of electric vehicle charging stations in North America and Europe, has disappointed a lot of investors. It went public by merging with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) just over four years ago, and it opened at $32.30 per share on its first day. Today, it trades at less than $0.60. It’s easy to see why the bears mauled ChargePoint’s stock. Its top-line growth decelerated, it racked up steep losses, and it faced more competition from Tesla’s (TSLA -0.13%) Superchargers and smaller competitors…

Earnings season is here once again, offering us a look into our favorite companies’ latest performance and view of the future. Investors may feel particularly eager to hear the thoughts of chief executive officers, considering the challenge facing U.S. companies today: President Trump’s import tariff plan. Trump’s tariff announcement earlier this month dragged indexes lower as investors worried about higher prices on imports eating into corporate profits. This is particularly a concern in the tech industry as most players import materials and even finished goods from other countries. Though Trump placed an exemption on electronics, this may be temporary. So,…