Money Life with Chuck Jaffe

Today's show covers a lot of ground, from Matt Zajechowski of Digital Third Coast talking about a survey on package thefts and giving out tips for foiling box bandits this holiday season, to Ben Hunt of EpsilonTheory.com talking about his big concerns for the markets that have been mostly overlooked by observers and experts, on to international value investing in the Market Call with guest David Marcus from the Evermore Global Value Fund talking about how the market's run to record highs hasn't curtailed his supply of companies that have been bloodied and bruised by business and that look like solid discount plays to him as a result of their troubles.

Chuck celebrates Black Friday with tips on the best and worst card deals and items to shop for from Jill Gonzalez of WalletHub.com, and talk about how to avoid the worst retail store credit card offers. There's also The NAVigator, where Jerry Raio of Arbor Lane Advisors gives his take on 2019 IPOs and the outlook for 2020, and the ETF of the Week from Tom Lydon of ETFTrends.com. Also on the show, Charles Biderman of Trim Tabs Investment Management discusses the market and his expectations for how long the current rally can last.

Jim Sarni, managing principal at Payden and Rygel, says that 2020 looks to be a year of heightened volatility, centered around market flashpoints like tariff and trade wars, interest-rate concerns, the Presidential election and more, but he notes that the environment will be one where cooler heads prevail. He urges investors to stay calm, to look for investments in quality companies with dividend-oriented stocks the focus for equities and shorter-duration high-grade bonds the focus in fixed income. Also on the show, Jimmy Hausberg of HighTower Advisors discusses the lessons investors should remember from the market meltdown that started right after Thanksgiving a year ago, Dr. Steve Giannoutsos talks about the value of do-it-yourself braces and teeth aligners, and Adrian Garcia of Bankrate.com discusses holiday pressure to overspend.

Frank Holmes, chief investment officer at U.S. Global Investors, says investors have plenty of reason to be optimistic right now, noting that the domestic and international economies are showing signs of strong demand, which should keep global markets rolling for the foreseeable future. There's more bullish praise for the market and its technical signals from Dan Zanger of ChartPattern.com, who is as fully invested as he has been in many months, despite his daily worries over how Tweets and news blurbs can ruin his short-term trades. Greg McBride of Bankrate.com chats about how ill-prepared many Americans are for retirement, but how it appears that they are falling further behind rather than playing long-term, slow-speed catch-up, and Charlie Bobrinskoy, vice chairman of Ariel Investments, talks stocks and value investing in the Market Call.

Alan Gayle, president of Via nova Investment Management, said he expects the storm clouds of trade wars and interest rate pictures to clear as the calendar hits 2020. Coupled with improvement seen in the markets of Europe, China and emerging markets, he is optimistic about results for 2020, especially for international investments. Gayle's comments were a bit more hopeful -- especially about returns and global investing -- than those of David Jilek, chief investment strategist of Gateway Investment Advisors, who expects muted returns and heightened volatility from stocks and bonds through 2020. Also on the show, Francesca Ortegren of Clever Real Estate discusses the high costs of commuting, especially in certain cities, and David trainer of New Constructs puts Zynga in the Danger Zone.

Karl Mills, president of Jurika, Mills and Kiefer, said that investors have to look beyond headlines, current events and present-day nervousness to stay focused on long-term goals, and should be considering long-term trends, needs and risk tolerance rather than today's news and the weekly market action when putting together an asset allocation. Also on the show, Nicholas Marshi, editor of the BDC Reporter, discusses the state of business-development companies through the third-quarter earnings period, Chuck answers a question about store and retail credit cards, and John Buckingham of the Prudent Speculator newsletter brings his dedicated value investing style back to the Market Call after a long absence.

Jeff Davis, chief investment officer at LMCG Investments, says that while investors have been frustrated by a decade of international investments lagging far behind the United States, he thinks giving up on international investing is a mistake, particularly now that investors are paying a premium on domestic stocks and can get relative bargains around the world. Also on the show, Tom Lydon of ETFTrends.com has the ETF of the Week, Chuck answers a question about investing in artificial-intelligence stocks, and David Brady of Brady Investment Counsel talks about growth stocks in the Market Call.

Bill Stone, chief investment officer, Avalon Investment and Advisory, said he believes investors have seen the worst of global economic numbers and that with better data ahead, plus strong investor sentiment and record amounts of cash on the sideline ready to be invested, there is a strong chance for another market rally in 2020. That said, he believes that the long lagging cycle for value stocks could be ending, and he suggested investors might want to rebalance their value and growth portfolios to take advantage of the change. Also on the show, Ted Rossman of CreditCards.com returns to talk about the states where people have the best and worst money habits, Jake Falcon of HighTower Advisors discusses how investors need to keep what they hear from the media in perspective, and author and money manager Mark Grimaldi discusses how to have a tax-free retirement.

Patrick O'Hare, chief market strategist at Briefing.com, said that low rates have steered a market through a time of no-earnings growth and have the market poised to keep pushing forward despite headline risks over trade concerns, impeachment, the upcoming election and more. O'Hare said he expects 2020 to not be quite as good as 2019 -- in part because some good news has been pulled forward and priced in already -- but he expects a positive outcome through the election and for the election year. Also on the show, we revisit a recent interview with Jim Welsh of smart Portfolios, Chuck talks rewards-card offers with Ted Rossman of CreditCards.com, and Charles Norton of the Vitium Global Fund (VICEX) makes his debut talking sin stocks in the Market Call.

Chuck is back from his weekend in Seattle with a bad head cold and some anger issues, especially after tuning into a program called 'Trading and Investing with Ryan and Larry,' and he shares some of the reasons why real investors should be able to ignore the ridiculous logic behind the sales pitch to become a trader. Also on the show, longtime business journalist Rob Wells discusses his new book on how some little-known trade reporters exposed the 'Keating Five' in one of the nation's largest business scandals, plus we rebroadcast a recent chat with Rob Howe of Stock Spin-Off Investing.