Insights

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...

Nearly all major world stock markets are up more than 2% today on the news of a fiscal cliff deal. The US should open up at least 1% today and will probably trend up throughout the day, making a nice start to 2013. I will have a detailed writeup on the deal later.

What is more prestigious, more higly sought, the object of more media coverage and billions of dollars than being elected to the White House or Capitol Hill? Nothing. And, this bunch is the best America can do? Unbelievable! On the House side, Speaker Boehner could...

Today we got the 3rd estimate from the Commerce Dept. on how fast the US economy grew last quarter. The last estimate was 2.7%. This estimate was 3.1%. That's a pretty decent number and is much better than any country in Europe and much higher than Japan. Excluding...

Rep. Boehner said today that the negotiations over the so-called Fiscal Cliff are stalled. I doubt that behind the scenes they are completely stalled and still expect a last-minute deal before New Year's. That will make it tough on the IRS, who needs to print and mail...

I hope there is something going on behind closed doors on the Fiscal Cliff negotiations because there is no meaningful progress being reported publicly. Republicans are very frustrated with the idea the president seems to have of what balance means. Apparently, it...

A quick look at a chart of the US stock market compared to Europe and emerging markets will tell you that the foreign markets have continued on an upward path this 4th quarter while the U.S. has been down. Now, the U.S. market hit its low for this quarter exactly at...

Hallelujah! The unemployment rate dropped to 7.7% and the economy added another 146,000 jobs. Way to go - we're on our way, now! But wait; there's more. 1) A whopping 346,000 people dropped out of the labor force, shrinking the labor pool, making the unemployment rate...

Sorry, this time of year I take a little time off to look for Bambi, so I have not posted much lately. I thought you might appreciate this little cartoon Barron's published a little while back. It pretty much sums up the current negotiation, er, standoff...stalemate...