Patchy fog early, then partly to mostly sunny with some increasing high clouds later in the day. Still warm, dry, and comfortable. The better weekend day. .
Becoming mostly cloudy with a few showers possible late, especially west of the Lehigh Valley.
The last few months have been tough for investors. The S&P 500 is down more than 17% since the beginning of the year, and many people are concerned that a market crash is on the horizon.
If you're feeling pessimistic about the future of the market, you're not alone. But a bull market is coming, and right now is the perfect time to take advantage of it. Here's how.
The bad news is that the stock market can be unpredictable, and nobody knows exactly how it will perform over the short term. There's a chance that stock prices could fall in the coming weeks or months, and a market crash is a possibility.
The good news, though, is that every single bear market in history has eventually given way to a bull market. In other words, no matter how bad the market gets, it will recover and go on to see positive average returns over time.
While that may not be too reassuring at the moment, it does mean that the stock market is safer than it may seem. Investing is a long-term strategy. While nobody knows exactly how long this slump will last, it's almost guaranteed that the market will thrive over time.
When stock prices are falling, it can be tempting to stop investing or pull your money out of the market. However, to take full advantage of the inevitable bull market, investing right now is key.
The best way to maximize your earnings in the stock market is to invest when prices are at their lowest, then hold your investments until the market inevitably recovers. If you only invest when the market is thriving, you're paying a premium for your investments and spending far more than necessary.
It can be intimidating to invest during downturns, but it can pay off big time. For instance, near the tail end of the Great Recession, the market hit its lowest point in March 2009. But in the year that followed, the S&P 500 surged by nearly 70%.
If you had stopped investing throughout the recession, you would have missed out on those gains. But the more you invest during market slumps, the more you can potentially earn when prices eventually rebound.
Not all investments are created equal, and some stocks will have a harder time recovering from downturns than others. The more research you put into your investments, the better your chances of surviving a slump.
The strongest stocks are the ones from companies with solid underlying business fundamentals. These stocks won't make you a millionaire overnight, but they're far more likely to see long-term growth despite market volatility. The more of these stocks you have in your portfolio, the more you can potentially earn over time.
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- The Cadillac Pub opens where Klingers used to be at 24 E. Main Street in Fleetwood
- II-VI Inc. (pronounced "two-six") will become Coherent Corp., taking on the name of a company it recently acquired.
- ABEC, a company that provides services and products to the pharmaceutical industry, with headquarters in Northampton County, will invest in a new disposable-container facility in North Carolina.
- A new Lehigh Valley Martial Arts center will hold a grand opening starting at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 10, with a ribbon-cutting shortly afterward.
- Bethlehem Township's planning commission has approved an Amazon parking lot with 248 spaces at Brodhead and Mowrer roads.
- The Bethlehem Zoning Hearing Board rejected variance requests that would have allowed multifamily homes to go up on the Southside properties at 508-512 Selfridge St.
- Northampton County Council voted 1-8 against a tax break for development of a proposed warehouse at the Dixie Cup building on South 25 Street in Wilson Borough.
- The former Valley Farm Market, now known as Gerrity's Valley Farm Market, will take on a new name as of Oct. 14: Gerrity's The Fresh Grocer.
- Hamsa Exoticz is already open at the Lehigh Valley Mall, but it will hold a grand opening at 5 p.m. Sept. 16 with the Whitehall Chamber of Commerce.
- A new Home Depot will open a 136,048-square-foot building on about 21 acres of vacant land just off Hamilton Boulevard in Lower Macungie Township.
- Rocco Ayvazov's Monocacy General Contracting received approval from the Bethlehem Planning Commission to put up a six-story building with 55 apartments and retail space on the first floor at 128 E. Third St.
- The old Allen Organ showroom building on Route 100 in Lower Macungie Township will come down and about 100 total apartment units will go up.
- Reading Hospitality's Catering by DoubleTree will handle food at events at Reading Country Club, after Exeter Township supervisors approved a new agreement.
- Natural healing is the goal at Reike Balance, which will open Sept. 9. on Reading Avenue in West Reading.
- The Pocono Chamber of Commerce held a grand opening at the Bartonsville branch of Farmhouse Cafe.
- The reopening date for the historic Frenchtown Inn building overlooking the Delaware River in New Jersey remains unclear.
- River Paws, a pet-supply store, is across Race Street from the Frenchtown Pharmacy.
- The planned reopening date of Aug. 13 for Toby's Cup was pushed back after ownership said a dispute about the occupancy of a home on the hot dog stand's property delayed the reopening.
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