The red numbers in your 401(k) today might appear to vindicate warnings about an artificial-intelligence bubble and infirm economy. But don’t start tilting your portfolio toward full pessimism just yet.

The S&P 500 opened down about 4% Monday, with the Nasdaq falling a larger 6%. Investors have been selling the year’s best performers, concerned that disappointing second-quarter results from big technology companies such as Alphabet, Tesla and Intel are a sign that the AI frenzy is a fad. Also, consumer discretionary stocks have become the worst-performing sector in the S&P 500, as lackluster labor-market reports have raised worries that the Federal Reserve made a mistake by waiting until September to cut interest rates.

As a guideline, sudden market selloffs are less dangerous than those that unfold progressively over time. This is because investors who rationally price in bad economic data often do so slowly, as it trickles in. Flash crashes, conversely, are often a sign that some tidbit of bad news made speculative bets go awry, triggering a cascade of trades, many of them automated.

Below, some of the best analysis and insight from WSJ writers and columnists, the Dow Jones Newswires team and occasionally beyond, on investing, the wealth-management business and more.

Fears of slowing growth are rattling financial markets around the world, spurring investors to unwind many of 2024’s most popular trades.

From Dow Jones Newswires

A September rate cut is now a virtual lock, says BofA Securities in a note, but the firm's economics team does not think aggressive, recession-sized cuts are necessary. They say nearly all the rise in July's unemployment rate came from temporary layoffs and that this suggests only temporary weakness. The think employment could rebound in the August report and the unemployment rate could fall saying "recessions in the US do not happen without layoffs and those remain extremely low." BofA sees the rate cut cycle beginning in September, with 25bp rate cuts every quarter until a terminal of 3.25-3.5% in mid-2026. "Aggressive rate cuts of 50bp or more are done on an emergency basis, as are intermeeting actions. Could we get there? Sure. But we are not there yet." ([email protected])

The outlook on convertible bonds, a type of bonds that can be converted into shares, is positive in the second half of 2024 due to prospects of U.S. Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts starting in September, Arnaud Brillois, head of the global convertibles team at Lazard Asset Management says in a note. Lower interest rates would boost the performance of convertible bonds, he says. "We believe that convertible bonds offer a more defensive exposure to credit risk and represent an additional source of return due to the favorable industry composition (with a bias towards growth companies) and the less complex balance sheets," Brillois says. ([email protected])

Dollars saved while young have more decades to compound. and that makes a big difference in building a comfortable retirement.

New accounting rules should give investors an earlier warning, but surprises are cropping up and there could be more to come.

European energy giants Shell and BP are sticking to their core business as clean-energy investments make slow progress.

What if you wanted to go to the office five days a week? A new building in the Financial District is offering some tenants low rents with luxury amenities like free matcha, afternoon oysters and a full-service concierge.

Forget beer pong and karaoke, 20-somethings are throwing presentation parties. ‘I felt seen.’

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The Wealth Adviser Briefing covers topics of interest to wealth managers, financial planners and other advisers. The content is curated by the Dow Jones Newswires team using articles from the Newswires, Barron's, MarketWatch and The Wall Street Journal. The briefing is delivered to subscribers by email each workday morning at 6:30 a.m. ET. You can sign up here for email delivery. 

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