Weekend reads: How to know when to start buying stocks again

What if you are already bullish on stocks?

Mark Hulbert argues that we’re already close to the bottom for U.S. stocks. If you agree, here are 12 stocks to consider buying now.

More discounted stocks for bottom-feeders:

• Here’s the case for buying Netflix’s stock now
• Keep calm — there’s no recession on the way. These 13 stocks may rise as investors figure this out

What is going on with bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies?

This year’s rise in interest rates has hurt stock and bond prices across the board, but it has been brutal for investors holding bitcoin BTCUSD, -0.75%, which has fallen 34%. Frances Yue wraps up the latest events in cryptoworld in the Distributed Ledger column.

Here’s a look at the consequences of the crypto hype machine’s bull-market promotion drive, focusing on Matt Damon’s October 2021 commercial in which he said “fortune favors the brave.”

More cryptocurrency coverage:

• Coinbase CEO says company has ‘no risk of bankruptcy’
• Coinbase stock slides toward all-time low as crypto trading falls off
• Why is crypto crashing? Mark Cuban says ‘crypto is going through the lull that the internet went through’

A closer look at ‘stablecoins’

That’s right, the term “stablecoin” needs to be within quotation marks, because these virtual currencies, which are designed to be pegged to the value of the dollar, have been anything but stable.

TerraUSD USTUSD, +29.16%, one of the best-known stablecoins, crashed this week from its dollar-peg to a valuation below 10 cents early Friday. Here’s Frances Yue’s explanation of how stablecoins broke the buck and thoughts about how the stablecoin industry may shake out from here.

More about stablecoins:

• Yellen says run on UST stablecoin illustrates crypto’s risk to financial stability
• Meltdown of a stablecoin shows urgent need for regulation to protect consumers

ETF Wrap: A managed futures strategy

Christine Idzelis writes the ETF Wrap column. This week, in addition to rounding up industry results, she interviews Andrew Beer of Dynamic Beta investments, who co-manages the iMGP DBi Managed Futures Strategy ETF DBMF, +1.30%, which has greatly outperformed the broader stock market this year.

Here’s a look at three more funds that employ managed futures strategies, along with comments about its risks and advantages from Mike Loewengart, managing director of investment strategy for E-Trade from Morgan Stanley.

Related: A top hedge fund manager admits his tech mistakes and says recession is already here

Can the Federal Reserve really fix inflation?

We’re still at a very early stage in the Federal Reserve’s cycle of policy changes to reduce inflation. There were signs of moderating consumer price increases in April. Meanwhile, producer prices were up 11% from a year earlier — also an improvement.

But Rex Nutting points to a fundamental long-term inflationary force in the U.S. economy that the Fed cannot do anything about.

Sometimes your best decision is to do nothing

Quentin Fottrell, The Moneyist, helps a woman who is ready to retire but disappointed that the stock market has crashed right when she wishes to withdraw from her retirement account to pay for major home renovations. Here’s his advice.

The disadvantage of at-home Covid testing

Jaimy Lee explains why home tests for Covid-19 are a problem for government agencies trying to keep a handle on the pandemic.

The long view on investing to build a retirement nest egg

A diversified stock portfolio may be your best way of building up a huge retirement account over a period of decades. Here’s an easy way to be broadly diversified to match a strategy that has beaten the S&P 500 Index SPX, +2.39% significantly over a 52-year period, from Paul Merriman.

Navigating the epic shortage of housing

Here’s a new tool using data from Realtor.com that can show the current housing inventory in any U.S. county and how the local market has evolved.

Read on: Housing costs rise at the fastest pace in decades — but some Americans are already feeling the brunt

The evolution of the metaverse

“Metaverse” is now a familiar term, following Mark Zuckerberg’s decision to change Facebook’s name to Meta Platforms FB, +3.86%. Jurica Dujmovic explains how the current internet of “silos” is evolving into the metaverse and a budding threat to humanity’s social skills.

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