Insights

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

Every once in a while, I am prompted to ask the question, "How long can this go on?" I asked that in 1987 when interest rates went up 40% yet the stock market, which was also up 40%+ was still going up; I asked it in 1999 during the tech bubble when valuations seemed...

Well, today markets around the world seemed to have a bit of a hangover from celebrating not going over the Fiscal Cliff. Stocks were down a fraction today after 2.5% - 3% gains yesterday. Gold and natural gas were down over 1% today. The latter is getting back into...

Here is a brief rundown of the tax changes in the new tax bill. First, the positives Finally, the income at which the dreaded Alternative Minimum Tax kicks in is indexed for inflation and will not need to be annually "fixed" The severe cut in Medicare payments to...

Thanks for bearing with me while I cut back some during December and did not post very much, especially the last two weeks. You should see posts from me on most days. Over the next few days, there will probably be more than one post a day so keep checking back. There...