Witness the birth of fuzzy finance. What this new method of understanding seeks to achieve is a more precise way to measure how you think your money should be spent once you reach an age when the income stream is wholly dependent on what you have saved.
Vacation
Houses will still be built even as the marketplace slows demand to a more normal production level. I believe that demand is running around 1.75 million per year and the recent job numbers showed construction hiring is still brisk - all things considered.
On this Labor Day, let's take a look at three things that have garnered kudos from capitalists near and far. These events have forever changed the landscape for the American worker, no matter the color of their collar.
Learning that your mutual fund can betray that confidence with little more than a change in management at the top can be downright disheartening. Disguise it to make it seem like a windfall and you are doubly stung with the reality that all the good things that come from investing such as returns and profits may have an equally malignant dark side.
The Pension Protection Act tries to fix the lack of full enrollment where 401(k) plans are offered. It may, however only deliver on half of the intended promise.
Vacation
On August 4th, 2006, Congress approved a heavily debated bill that could have an effect on not only pensions but also how your 401(k) and similar self directed retirement plans work.
Our 2006 Outlook, revisited.
Now, Mr. Pitt has taken his ample opinion of himself to task by criticizing the direction of the agency, more specifically, the tenure of his replacement, William Donaldson. Where Pitt failed in his execution of the newly passed Sarbanes-Oxley, Donaldson did not. Donaldson's successor, Christopher Cox, has taken the torch for the agency during a particularly tumultuous time as Wall Street pushes for less regulation and more free market. Investors would be served by longer memories but in its place, the S.E.C. will do quite well as a reminder of what too free a market can do.
The ramifications of the Defict Reduction Act of 2005 will be far reaching and will affect an enormous portion of the American landscape. Not only will Medicare and Medicaid see cuts to their programs but the cost of college just took an enormous jump. This is particularly unsettling for the average American and not for the reasons you might think.
Vacation
Remember John Meriwether? This man exuded so much confidence at one point he even suggested that his activities make the markets more efficient.
The Investment Company Institute, the lobbying arm of the mutual fund industry suggested recently that the prospectuses issued by these investments be either eliminated or put online. The thinking goes like this: Investors receive these documents and even with advancements in layout and ease of use, they still do not use them as they were intended.
Vacation.
Financial writers have made numerous attempts to clearly define the word diversity. It can mean so many things at once, that an exact definition is often elusive.
Haitus
In a Parallel Universe, Part Two
In a Parallel Universe, Part One
Some states have begun to look at the mortgage industry with a regulatory eye. While the lenders are mounting a defense against this intrusion, both sides have something to learn about the current state of mortgage lending in the 21st century.
We hear a lot of talk these days about transparency. Defined, it simply means free of pretense, absent of deceit, readily understood. And now we hear it used when the new Federal Reserve Board chairman Ben Bernanke addresses us in clearer diction than his predecessor. But is clarity really transparency?
Vacation
Congress had a wonderful opportunity, once again, to do right by the voters who so naively put them in office and fix the pension problems facing far too many in the American workforce. It appears as though, also once again, they have squandered it.
Several weeks back, I wrote a column about the potential trouble ahead for mortgage holders in this country. The continued creativity of financing and this year's first interest rate reset will find a half a trillion dollars worth of adjustable rate and zero down mortgages suddenly becoming far more expensive that originally financed.
Are reverse mortgages right for you or your elderly parents? Plus, a look at why gold is so darned expensive.
American families fall into two categories: those that are buying a house or condo and those that are not. A look at the housing market in 2006
Ben Bernanke made his first semi-annual pilgrimage to Congress last week. No real surprises were had and for the most part, none were expected. He has billed as the "straight talking" Federal Reserve Chief, the opposite of what Alan Greenspan was, and for the most part, he delivered the goods as predicted.
During a time when housing became expensive as demand outpaced good sense, a time when the cost of a house outpaced the average income, and a time when the old rules simply would not allow the average American to qualify for the home of their dreams, bankers had an answer.
Back in October, NASA, the main coordinator of scientific data across a variety of agencies was directed by the White House to add the word theory to every report that presented the words "Big Bang" as a stand alone idea.
This is a direct effort to integrate the administrationšs policies and agendas into the world of science fact. Perhaps we should apply this thinking to a few of the recent state of the union proposals and, of course to the upcoming budget.
A tongue-in-cheek look at the state of the union address.
Freezing a pension basically wipes away the obligation of the company to direct the money it has invested on their employee's behalf. That cut-off point leaves employees close to retirement with lost benefits and a short window of opportunity to recover them.
Seems reasonable enough to request that we be honest with each other. Those mistakes are often quantified as "white lies" or fibs or unintentional fabrications are often expected in some places but are no less an affront to our sense of decency.
Let's assume that the economy really is doing as well as we have been told - a recent resolution delivered via this column in last week precludes me from mentioning the name of the giver of such good news, but nonetheless, the pronouncement was given.
Our 2006 Outlook
Archived articles and commentary reaching back to March 2002
The Blue Money Report
Financial Commentary covering a wide range of topics concerning money, investing, and how it effects the average investor and their financial health.
It is the World of Money and Investing Explained.
Our Publication
If you are interested in providing your readers with our syndicated column, you can request it here
COPYRIGHT 2002 - 2004 THE BLUE MONEY REPORT - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
