Insights
1/30/13 10:48 AM – US Economy Shrinks in 4Q
Surprise? After a stronger than expected growth of 3.1% in the 3rd quarter of 2012, the first estimate of 4Q growth showed a DROP of 0.1%. Analysts were only looking for growth of 1% but not many expected a drop. Contributers were a big drop in defense spending and...
1/24/13 10:06 – Should You Sell Apple Stock?
Yesterday, Apple did what it almost never does - disappoint analysts with its quarterly earnings report. Worse, it reported earnings no higher than the same quarter (4th quarter) as a year ago. And, unit sales of iPhones and iPads came in at the low end of...
1/22/13 11:18 AM – WSJ Article on Abortion Attitudes Survey
The Wall St. Journal did a sizeable article today on American attitudes toward abortion, yesterday being the 40th anniversary of Roe v Wade, the Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion in the U.S. The percentage of people wanting Roe v Wade overturned was 24%....
1/22/13 10:38 AM – Inauguration Speech Portents
Several things about President Obama's inauguration day yesterday were very telling. 1. The media love affair with Pres. Obama - Our local paper gave the headline and a picture of the first couple over 80% of the first page this morning. There was actually next to no...
1/17/13 9:29 AM – Deadline for Direct Charitable Contributions from IRAs
The deadline for making a charitable contribution directly from an IRA is the end of January. The deduction would apply to your 2012 income, even though the year is over. In other words, you can still reduce your 2012 taxes. The limit is $100,000. After Feb. 1 you can...
1/14/13 1:21 PM – Emerging Markets & Inflation
US stock markets are lower today, probably on worries over the debt ceiling. European markets are mixed, while Asia, which always opens much earlier, was up nicely, following good gains last week. I think it is important to have some exposure to emerging markets like...
1/11/13 4:07 PM – Earnings Reports
Earnings reporting season kicked off this week and will run for several weeks. Earnings increases are expected to be rather tame this time, on the order of just 2.4%. I think the rise in corporate growth peaked last year, after several years of cost-cutting and a...
1/8/13 5:50 PM – Buying Gold and Silver Coins
Some clients have asked me lately about buying gold or silver coins. I think most have in mind a doomsday scenario in which the U.S. economy collapses under the weight of runaway inflation and/or excessive debt. I do not normally advise buying gold or silver coins in...
1/8/13 10:35 AM – New Year Resolutions for 401k Plans
If you are a business owner or executive with input on the 401k plan you should resolve the following in 2013: 1. Get a free FIDUCIARY RISK ANALYSIS - you are normally a fiduciary with PERSONAL FINANCIAL & legal responsibility & LIABILITY. You normally pay any ordered...
1/4/13 3:45 PM – Put Your 401k Contributions Into a Roth 401k
If you are not putting your 401k contributions into a Roth 401k, you ought to be. If your employer doesn't offer a Roth option in your 401k, have them call me. I can get it added. The main reason you ought to contribute to the Roth 401k is twofold - 1. taxes are going...
Questions?
Follow us!