Ideas to help preserve and grow your money
The idea behind this post comes from an article by Gordon A. Schaller Several years ago you purchased a life insurance policy. You did this even though you always thought life insurance was a bad investment with returns of only 3-4%. However, this policy was supposed to be different; the premiums could be flexible and …
Continue reading Volatility Can Kill Your Variable Life Insurance Policy
Three organizing ideas and five policy ideas that could make the protests even more successful. By Eliot Spitzer | Posted Friday, Nov. 4, 2011, at 2:50 PM ET This is the question frequently—and properly—asked of Occupy Wall Street and its fans. Those of us who have written and spoken vigorously in support of OWS and …
As of 2011, The Investment Company Institute reports that the 401(k) plan retirement system holds over $3,000 billion in assets, over 50% of which are found in stock-based mutual funds. Despite their popular use, many investors are uncomfortable with them and unfamiliar with the "rules of the road" when it comes to the proper care …
Continue reading Top 5 Critical Retirement Plan Mistakes To Avoid
By Liz Ann Sonders - Senior Vice-President and Chief Investment Strategist at Charles Schwab Today, housing represents a record low of US gross domestic product at about 2 per cent compared with more than 6 per cent at its 2005 peak. But the psychological impact of housing on individuals, the stock market and the broader …
Continue reading Time for Policymakers to Get Real on US Housing
By Laszlo Birinyi The S&P 500 has been perilously close to a 20 per cent decline in recent weeks which would, by definition, terminate the bull market which began in March 2009. Given the economic circumstances and the continuing political turmoil on both sides of the Atlantic, most commentators believe it is only a matter …
Continue reading Reasons to Be Bullish, But With a Lower Case ‘b’
By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN CITIGROUP is lucky that Muammar el-Qaddafi was killed when he was. The Libyan leader’s death diverted attention from a lethal article involving Citigroup that deserved more attention because it helps to explain why many average Americans have expressed support for the Occupy Wall Street movement. The news was that Citigroup had …
By Gil Weinreich, AdvisorOne October 24, 2011 After years of housing market decline that has weakened the economy and depressed consumer sentiment, a number of analyses are strongly suggesting that a turnaround in the beaten sector may finally be at hand. Indeed, the market seems to be adding its endorsement to these analyses, with the …
Here is your Weekly Insights update from Curian’s Asset Management Group. This informative capital market update is designed to help those of you who want to manage your own money. Stay informed about important developments in economics and the markets… CONTINUE READING…
( I swore to myself that I would have a post today with a "positive" message. Sorry.) By Howard Gleckman on October 26th, 2011 The Metlife Mature Market Institute has released its annual survey of the cost of long-term care services, including nursing homes, assisted living facilities, adult day programs, and home care. And the …
As readers of this blog know already, I’m fascinated by the thinking and writing of Thomas P.M.Barnett. He is a strategic thinker with an ability to express complex ideas and to synthesize those ideas in a way that is understandable to those of us not so blessed. Here is a recent article by Barnett that …
Continue reading A Look Ahead at the Geography of Global Security
Helping Define Your Financial Future 