Weekly Economic Update
June 3, 2013 CONSUMERS UPBEAT IN MAY, SPEND LESS IN APRIL Consumer spending slipped 0.2% in April, with a 4.4% drop in purchases of gas, electricity and other energy goods and services being a major...
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June 10, 2013 A REASSURING JOBS REPORT A jittery Wall Street liked the big picture it saw in the Labor Department’s May employment report. The economy added 175,000 jobs last month: decent hiring...
View ArticleIs Withdrawing From IRAs Last The Best Approach?
Conventional wisdom says yes, but there are exceptions. Shouldn’t you delay IRA distributions for as long as you can? According to conventional retirement planning wisdom, you should structure your...
View ArticleThe Major Retirement Planning Mistakes
THE MAJOR RETIREMENT PLANNING MISTAKES Why are they made again and again? Much has been written about the classic financial mistakes that plague start-ups, family businesses, corporations and...
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IMF: FED SHOULD WAIT 6 MONTHS TO TAPER QE3 On Friday, the International Monetary Fund called for the Federal Reserve to keep easing at current levels at least until the end of 2013 and to carefully...
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June 24, 2013 FED OUTLINES END FOR STIMULUS, STOCKS SLIP Last Wednesday, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke shared the central bank’s vision for winding down its current aggressive easing...
View ArticlePotential Sources of Income
Planning your retirement income is like putting together a puzzle with many different pieces. One of the first steps in the process is to identify all potential income sources and estimate how much you...
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CHECKING IN ON THE CONSUMER According to the Commerce Department, consumer spending improved 0.3% in May as consumer incomes increased 0.5%. The latest household sentiment polls seemed to reflect the...
View ArticleWork in Retirement
Planning on working during retirement? If so, you’re not alone. An increasing number of employees nearing retirement plan to work at least some period of time during their retirement years. Why work...
View Article401K Plan
Qualified cash or deferred arrangements (CODAs) permitted under Section 401(k) of the Internal Revenue Code, commonly referred to as “401(k) plans,” have become one of the most popular types of...
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July 8, 2013 AMERICA ADDS 195,000 JOBS IN JUNE Payroll growth in June matched that of May, according to the Labor Department (the May gain was revised upward). The private sector hired 202,000 new...
View ArticleShould you pay off your mortgage or invest?
Should You Pay Off Your Mortgage or Invest? Owning a home outright is a dream that many Americans share. Having a mortgage can be a huge burden, and paying it off may be the first item on your...
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WILL THE EASING END SOONER, OR LATER? Last Wednesday, Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke lifted stocks by noting that the U.S. economy needed “highly accommodative monetary policy for the...
View ArticleIRA Rollovers
IRA ROLLOVERS FOR LUMP SUM PENSION PAYOUTS Give those dollars the opportunity for further tax-deferred growth. A big payout leads to a big question. If you are taking a lump sum pension payout from...
View ArticleThe Major Retirement Planning Mistakes
THE MAJOR RETIREMENT PLANNING MISTAKES Why are they made again and again? Much has been written about the classic financial mistakes that plague start-ups, family businesses, corporations and...
View ArticleWeekly Economic Update
WEEKLY ECONOMIC UPDATE CONSUMER PRICES RISE 0.5% FOR JUNE Gas prices soared 6.3% last month, and they contributed greatly to the jump in the Consumer Price Index. Core inflation (minus food and...
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WEEKLY ECONOMIC UPDATE JOBS REPORT SENDS MIXED SIGNALS Unemployment sank to a 4½-year low of 7.4% last month, even as the pace of hiring declined a bit from spring. The Labor Department’s July report...
View ArticlePension Questions After the Detroit Bankruptcy
How many retirees face the possibility of less recurring income? On July 18, Detroit became the largest American city to file for Chapter 9 bankruptcy. What will happen to the pensions of its 20,000+...
View ArticleOther Ways to Save for Retirement
Direct & indirect opportunities than don’t get enough ink. Besides periodic IRA contributions and elective salary deferrals into 401(k) and 403(b) plans, there are other ways to amass retirement...
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August 19, 2013 CONSUMER PRICES RISE 0.2% IN JULY That was exactly the increase that analysts surveyed by Briefing.com expected, and it was a relief after the 0.5% rise in the Consumer Price Index for...
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