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Here are a few items I noticed this morning on the wires: Contrary Indicators: US consumers apparently fought their way to the mall through snowstorms last month as retail sales rose, surprising analysts. At the same time, measurements of consumer confidence slipped, suggesting that people are sti...

There has been a lot of news surrounding Sirius XM these past few weeks, as they face a March 15th delisting deadline. Sirius XM has until Monday to satisfy a Nasdaq listing rule that requires a stock to maintain a minimum bid price of $1. Below is a list of 9 other stocks that are on the Nasdaq's l...

I have not personally seen any Toyotas zooming out of control, but the malfunctions, whatever their source, will ultimately be found and fixed, and it is unlikely that Toyota will suffer grievous financial harm over the long term. There is a reasonable argument that Toyota's stock is a worthy buy ju...

These days people tend to work longer, and they often do something else after they leave the job that they did for years. That is why the term "financial independence" may be more appropriate than "retirement". Achieving financial independence means that you don't have to work at your regular job...

I don't have a crystal ball, but I am smarter than the average bear (at least my daughter thinks so). The tax cuts implemented by the Bush administration are still in place during 2010. Taxpayers in the 10% and 15% tax brackets pay no capital gains tax. Taxpayers in the 25% through 35% tax bracket...

There is a large population of taxpayers who want nothing to do with taxes; they simply retain all of their mail that is labeled "important tax document" and hand them off to their tax preparer sometime before April 15th. Just as they hate filing their tax returns, they love anything that can be ta...

It is usually during this time of year we begin to receive calls from our tax clients inquiring about their tax refunds. Although we do not have access to that information, there is a proven starting point to find out information about your federal and state refunds. The IRS has a link on their w...

As I have blogged about in the past, the sooner you start saving for retirement, the more likely you will be able to live comfortably during it. Today I wanted to zero in on a type of retirement plan that can make your life a little easier down the road: The ROTH IRA. A ROTH IRA is a type of retirem...

Every day lately it has been lighter as I leave for work, with hints of an orange sunrise in the east. Today should be sunny with a high in the 40's; a beautiful early spring day in Rochester. A year ago today it was in the 30's with clouds and light rain - and weather wasn't the worst of it. Exactl...

Newspapers, business news shows, and the Internet are all helpful resources that can help you gather data on publicly-traded companies. Another important source is research reports written by analysts who make a living following various companies and reporting on their financial activities. Howeve...