Blog

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...

The first round of the NCAA tournament is complete and as everyone scans over their bracket, some will boast that their pick for champion is still alive while others, myself included, are left to ponder how Kansas (the supposed best team in the country) could lose to Northern Iowa. Next Monday will...

Last Friday we held our quarterly State of the Firm meeting, something we have done since mid-2009. The finance and investment industries were in turmoil: Merrill Lynch had collapsed, Lehman Brothers went bankrupt, AIG was bailed out by taxpayers - you've heard all of it. I was never worried about...

If you are thinking about traveling on British Airways, you might want to hold off for a few days. A three-day strike of cabin crews is set to begin this Saturday. This comes after British Airways CEO Willie Walsh and Unite labor leader Tony Woodley were unable to come to terms on salary. British...

Jodie joins the Brighton Securities team as a financial advisor from a successful start of her career at Waddell & Reed. A native of Genesee County, Jodie lives in East Bethany, NY and will be based out of our Batavia office where she looks forward to continuing her tradition of helping her client...

When you file your tax return it is important you choose the correct filing status as it determines your standard deduction and the amount of tax you will owe on your income. Here are eight facts about the five filing status options the IRS wants you to know in order to choose the correct filing sta...

Investors in their 20's and 30's saving for retirement should be concerned with one thing: Share Accumulation. Believe it or not when the market falls it's not necessarily a bad thing for a young investor who is making periodic contributions to either an IRA or 401k. When the share price of your mu...

On March 10, the Senate passed a bill carrying the "American Workers, State, and Business Relief Act" (AWSBRA). The Senate-passed bill will have to be reconciled with the version the House of Representatives passed on December 9, 2009 as the "Tax Extender Act of 2009". Although there are reconcili...