That would be the home stretch for this year’s mid term elections and not your local race track for the thoroughbreds or trotters. If you have been to the track on a rainy day and saw that mud splashing as those pounding hoofs make their way to the finish line, I have to believe that amount of mud pales in comparison to the mudslinging that is going on in this year’s political contests. I just don’t know that I can recall such pervasive dirty politics ever before… Continue reading
I have to admit that I have a great deal of frustration attempting to reconcile the difference between the recent momentum move up in the stock market and the underlying anemic growth in our economy. As I absorb today’s (Oct.8) news on unemployment data and reflect on statistics I recently read about mortgage foreclosures I can’t help but think that the combination of both issues remains a serious anchor weighing down the economy. 
Oftentimes our mature clients inquire of us if a Revocable, or “Living Trust” is applicable to them and warranted. The biggest issue to note is that while a Revocable Trust will remove the assets from probate, it does not have any tax advantages as assets in a revocable living trust are included in one’s gross estate for federal estate tax purposes. A trust is created when one person (the grantor) transfers to another person or trustee a property interest to be held for the benefit of… 
With the market in such turmoil of late, it’s easy to forget the basic needs of overseeing your 401k account. They say the only thing we can be sure of in this life is change (not counting death and taxes) so you can also count on the fact that the market will change, and it’s your job as the “keeper” of you 401k to keep up on your account, and the general plan supplied by your employer. In times of confusion, it is human… 
This past Friday, September 24, the price of gold managed to break through, albeit briefly intraday, $1,300 an ounce. As I write here today, Monday September 27, it set another record by closing at $1,298.60 an ounce. So the typical question that keeps surfacing among potential investors is whether they should be buying the metal at these levels? The truth is that there is no simple answer to that question and, as in most cases involving investment decisions, it becomes a matter of individual goals and objectives… 
Oh, I know what you are thinking, summer is over and the fall has arrived. However, that’s not what I am referring to at this time. Rather it is the political season that I am thinking about and we know that it got into full swing once we went beyond Labor Day. So this year’s November elections are referred to as the midterm elections since we are approaching the middle of the current term for President Obama. There is quite a bit at stake for… 
It seems lately that I’ve been surrounded by a plethora of good news about my family and friends with regard to grown children. At my age (29) the discussions around friends seem to center around the exploits and travails of our children, now out of college (ok- I’m not 29) and progressing into the real world. New jobs, marriages, children…it’s all in the package. We, as parents, try to help our kids keep on the straight and narrow, but you know the score…what 
Your first question might even be what do you mean by a PAC? Well it is the abbreviation for what we refer to here in the United States as a Political Action Committee. As a member of a number of organizations in the financial services community I frequently find myself receiving something in the mail at dues paying times or occasionally in a special letter of request to support the efforts of the organization. Just recently such a request came… 
August was indeed a rather abysmal month for the stock markets with performance for the month ranging from minus 4.28% on the Dow to minus 6.22 for the Nasdaq. Ok, I admit it, I took personal sanctuary at the Jersey shore for the last few days of the month. With no television or internet capability where I stayed, it basically offered some good R&R on the beach. But yes, I do have a blackberry and could not resist the temptation to peek at market results. My… 
Once reaching the age of 65, the Government provides you the pleasure of receiving from them Medicare Insurance to replace your personally owned and paid for health insurance policy. The reaching of this milestone means that your monthly expenditure for health insurance, one of the biggest outflows of Americans today, will vastly decrease. However, you must be aware that the Medicare program may not afford you the full coverage that you have been used to with a privately owned policy. -
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