Personal Finance News

As the calendar turns to 2020, investors need to appraise the stock markets in a new light. 2019 came and went with three interest-rate cuts - not the hikes many suspected at the start of the year - and the longest economic recovery of the postwar era continued. The market has subsequently shot to sky-high prices, setting up a 2020 in which value stocks should be ... well, valued.

The S&P 500 trades at more than 23 times its trailing 12-month earnings - a level seen only a few times in the market's history. The index also trades at a sky-high 19 times analysts' estimates for future earnings. That's sustainable as long as investors have enough reasons to be bullish. But several things - another breakdown in trade relations, the U.S. entering recession and more - could spark an exodus from expensive stocks.

It's not all bad. The market's best value stocks - which often have defensive qualities, including paying significant amounts of dividend income - would likely thrive in a flight to quality.

Here are 10 of the best value stocks to buy heading into 2020. It's a short list, to be sure, as 2019's rally has driven a wide swath of stocks into frothy territory. But each of these stock picks offers value and a favorable fundamental outlook heading into the new year.

Read more: https://www.kiplinger.com/slideshow/investing/T018-S001-the-10-best-value-stocks-to-buy-for-2020/index.html

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The stock market sure has an itchy trigger finger when it comes to headlines about the U.S.-China trade war. Although analysts and investors have done their best to price in the uncertainty, any development - positive or negative - can set off a session or more of volatility.

Witness Tuesday, Dec. 3, when President Trump said the trade dispute between Washington and Beijing could continue into 2020 - and he threatened new tariffs on other nations. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by as much as 458 points on the news.

With so many multinationals directly or indirectly exposed to China - either by way of demand, supply or both - the uncertainty of trade negotiations remains a major risk heading into the new year.

Naturally, some companies are in a more perilous position than others. Here we take a look at seven of the largest, best-known companies trading in the U.S. that have more than their fair share of worries about the ongoing trade war.

Read more: https://www.kiplinger.com/slideshow/investing/T052-S001-7-stocks-still-at-risk-from-trade-war-shenanigans/index.html

Read more: https://www.kiplinger.com/article/taxes/T045-C005-S001-year-end-tax-tip-required-minimum-distribution-rmd.html

The stock market sure has an itchy trigger finger when it comes to headlines about the U.S.-China trade war. Although analysts and investors have done their best to price in the uncertainty, any development - positive or negative - can set off a session or more of volatility.

Witness Tuesday, Dec. 3, when President Trump said the trade dispute between Washington and Beijing could continue into 2020 - and he threatened new tariffs on other nations. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by as much as 458 points on the news.

With so many multinationals directly or indirectly exposed to China - either by way of demand, supply or both - the uncertainty of trade negotiations remains a major risk heading into the new year.

Naturally, some companies are in a more perilous position than others. Here we take a look at seven of the largest, best-known companies trading in the U.S. that have more than their fair share of worries about the ongoing trade war.

Read more: https://www.kiplinger.com/slideshow/investing/T052-S001-7-stocks-still-at-risk-from-trade-war-shenanigans/index.html