Blog

Over a beautiful Easter weekend we learned that according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the national unemployment rate held steady last month at 9.7%, with 162,000 jobs created. This is good if not great news for the economy. Democrats and Republicans each seized upon this latest opportunity...

The first quarter of 2010 is officially closed for the markets. Both the Dow and the S&P 500 are up over 4% on a year to date basis, and nearly 50% on an annual basis. If we think back to where we were last year at this time, few pundits and TV personalities would have dared to imagine we would be...

Many higher income parents gain little or no benefit from having their college bound children as dependants on their tax return. Your dependency write-off for your college kid is partially phased out between an AGI of $250,200 and $372,700 for joint filers and between $208,500 and $331,000 for heads...

Over the next several weeks, I will provide useful information related to the 2010 health reform legislation which is guaranteed to impact everyone. I will begin my initial focus on individuals and move into changes for businesses. Although my posts will be a brief overview of the changes, the mos...

...Your financial check-up, of course. With tax time less than a month away, there is a good chance that many of your important financial statements are on the kitchen counter or at least not too far out of your reach. Since you have them out anyways, it might be a good idea to take a look at your f...

What do all three have in common? (Hint: it's not classical architecture) The answer, sadly, is debt. Not just debt but growing debt. And possibly debt that is growing unsustainably. Worldwide, the Greek debt crisis has garnered headlines for threatening to sink the Euro as a common currency. Athens...

During the financial crisis and impending bear market, the carnage was everywhere affecting both good and bad investments. With respect to the good investments that went down, there were many relevant clich?s being tossed around: The baby was thrown out with the bathwater; don't switch horses mid-s...

On March 18, President Obama signed a bill carrying the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act, into law. The HIRE Act offers businesses incentives to hire unemployed workers and awards business who have retained employees over the past year. Although details of the Act have not receive...

Over the last year I have repeatedly criticized the executives of financial institutions who have very nearly wrecked their companies (completely wrecked, in some cases), received taxpayer-funded bailouts, and gone on to receive generous bonuses. Their cry of needing to retain "good employees" has r...

Trusts are an estate planning tool and are often used to solve problems that other forms of ownership cannot. There are many different types of trusts with different purposes. A revocable living trust is often used to avoid the probate process. This type of trust lets you keep full control of trust...