By: Steve Selengut Tax Planning Views: 3237 | Comments: 0 | Votes: 0
Can lawmakers who don't have the courage or intelligence to outlaw texting while driving really be expected to create a saner tax structure? Hmmm. Politicians focus on one issue at a time, and pretend to have problems dealing with inter-related programs. Tenured politicians have a vested interest in resisting any change that involves their spheres of influence. More
By: Steve Selengut Insurance Views: 3816 | Comments: 0 | Votes: 0
The White House has released another of its health care reform clarification emails--- there will be more. It seems strange to me that the focus is on insurance coverage rather than on the spiraling costs of health care itself. But why should they care? This is Robin Hood politics, not business. Why do we continue to re-elect them is a far better question. to assure that this happens. More
By: Steve Selengut Investments Views: 6083 | Comments: 0 | Votes: 0
Value stocks are those that tend to trade at lower prices relative to their fundamental characteristics than their more speculative cousins, the growth stocks; they have higher than usual dividend yields and lower P/E and P/B ratios. So when all stock prices are down significantly, have they all become value stocks? If they aren't going to go up, don't buy them." The third? More
By: Steve Selengut Investments Views: 7329 | Comments: 0 | Votes: 0
Gets your attention, doesn't it? The unfortunate thing though, is that most people will react negatively to this intentionally inflammatory, media-ready, title statement. Has some Wall Street virus attacked our financial experience memory chip? Bouncing around unpredictably is precisely what the markets have always done. Volatility is not a bad thing--- a non-event, even. More
By: Steve Selengut Investments Views: 4520 | Comments: 0 | Votes: 0
Smack, right up alongside the head. Your 401(k) investment program deteriorated rapidly as the stock market and the economy weakened. Who would have thought that there was so much risk of loss in those mutual funds, and ETFs? How convenient for them. The income part just requires discipline, so it should be much easier to manage. More
By: Steve Selengut Investments Views: 5987 | Comments: 0 | Votes: 0
A correction is a beautiful thing, simply the flip side of a rally, big or small. Theoretically, even technically I'm told, corrections adjust equity prices to their actual value or "support levels". In reality, it's much easier than that. Prices go down because of speculator reactions to expectations of news, speculator reactions to actual news, and investor profit taking. 8. More
By: Steve Selengut Investments Views: 3255 | Comments: 0 | Votes: 0
First thing Monday morning I'm going to march into my boss's office and demand a pay cut so that I'll be in a lower tax bracket next year. Of course that's ridiculous, but isn't it about the same as the financial community's "Conventional Wisdom" (CW) for year-end tax planning? What are their motivations, and what discipline thought up these strategies in the first place? More
By: Steve Selengut Investments Views: 5613 | Comments: 0 | Votes: 0
We humans are as creative on the "Dark Side" of commercial activity as we are in developing beneficial new products and services. In the face of huge financial benefits, however, some corporate executives can't resist taking an extra dessert even before their shareholders have finished dinner. So why did the State Insurance departments cave in to the Variable Product lobby? More
By: Steve Selengut Investments Views: 3739 | Comments: 0 | Votes: 0
Many Investment Gurus, with a straight face and a gleam in their eye, will insist that successful investing is a function of expansive research, skillful market timing, and detailed technical analysis. Others emphasize fundamental information about companies, industries, and markets. The end result should be a near autopilot, long-term and increasing, retirement income. More
