Personal Financial Advice from a former Certified Financial Planner
Nothing gets the financial press in tizzy quite like a run of “up days” for the stock market. And, nothing gets the mainstream media interested in the financial media’s excitement like a new RECORD! Dow Jones Record High The Dow Jones Industrial Average has notched some record high closes lately. …
A recent Money magazine tidbit on Twitter caught my eye. Someone asked how they should invest a small amount, in this case, $3,000. The response suggested a target-date retirement fund. However, I don’t think that is a very good answer in this case, or in most cases. How To Invest …
This past week featured the earnings release of several major technology companies, coming closely on the heels of major earnings announcements from other tech companies, including Google and Apple. IBM Earnings First up, IBM reported revenue of $24.7 billion leading to earnings of $2.78 per share. The consensus estimates from …
Apple (AAPL) announced that after years of building up a massive pile of cash with its record earnings that it will begin to return some of that money to shareholders. Apple will pay a quarterly dividend of $2.65 per share starting in July. It will also repurchase up to $10 …
Sometimes it seems like the stock market is just messing with people. After seemingly running off of a cliff to end the third quarter of 2011, the market has recently staged a rally. Take a look at a chart for the Dow Jones Industrial Average and you’ll see a low …
Ever since the iPhone became the must have gadget and was followed up by an even more impressive iPhone 2 and 3, people have been walking into my office declaring that they have bought Apple stock, or are going to buy Apple stock. The reasoning is almost always the same. …
Pimco Total Return is the biggest bond mutual fund in the world. It has a long-term track record that any bond fund would be jealous of. As a result, its fund manager, Bill Gross, has become something of an oracle of investing in bonds. Recently, the mutual fund reported its …
I am always a bit curious when I read a cover story headline like the one on Kiplinger Magazine this month. It says 18 Ways To Earn 5% or More On Your Money. A lot of readers will make an assumption that goes along with that headline that they are …
The U.S. Supreme Court in a 7-2 decision upheld the central tenant of most state’s municipal bond tax policy, specifically that a state can exempt it’s own muni bonds from taxes while taxing the interest on other state’s muni bonds. So, nothing changes from before. If you live in California, …