Yesterday saw the major US equity indexes fall over 2%. Headlines blared "markets tumble!" (Why say fall when they can say tumble? Does 2% qualify as tumbling? Which is the more image-evoking word? Which is designed to get us to click on the headline or watch the story? For shame ‘trusted' media!) The talking heads [...]
Come back in time with us to the glory days of The Simpsons. An episode entitled Like Father, Like Clown - season #3 if we're not mistaken - offers a parody of The Jazz Singer. (We're partial to the Neil Diamond 1980 remake but for the purists there's also Al Jolson's 1927 original.) In one particular scene several young Jewish scholars [...]
When we advise that strategies are means to an end rather than ends in themselves we like to joke that our clients have tuned us out or drank the Kool-Aid. It's also possible we've worn them down to the point where they believe resistance is futile. Kidding aside no investment or tax or insurance solution can be [...]
The Internal Revenue Service has raised most of the standard mileage rates by $0.01/mile for 2013 when calculating the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business, charitable, medical or moving purposes. Beginning 1/1/13 the standard mileage rate for the use of a car, van, pickup or panel truck will be $0.565/mile for business miles [...]
Food for thought courtesy of the WSJ. Happy Labor Day!!
According to a recent survey by John Hancock investors trust their financial advisor more than any other institutional professional. Of the 1,005 investors surveyed 85% "strongly trust" their financial advisor. Primary doctors and accountants received 79% and 74% scores respectively. Further down the list are contractors (52%) and real estate agents (43%). It's interesting to [...]
From the immortal Pauly Shore came this gem: "Karma is a bitch!" Last week TaxMasters, the firm claiming to solve everyone's IRS problems, filed for bankruptcy making it the latest high profile tax resolution firm (following JK Harris and Roni 'Tax Lady' Deutch) to go out of business. There's no need to fret. For those who missed their opportunity to be taken by [...]
The holiday party season is in full swing. Everyone's decked out in their festive sweaters opining about how long it's been since they last saw one another while imbibing on watered-down eggnog. Along comes a new face that gets drawn into the conversation: "Hi. I'm so and so. This is my friend blah blah blah." [...]
In an interview yesterday with ABC's George Stephanopoulos President Obama admitted Americans are "not better off" today than we were four years ago. He added, "I think that what we've seen is that we've been able to make steady progress to stabilize the economy but the unemployment rate is still way too high." When asked if he's [...]
Tom Friedman has teamed with Michael Mandelbaum on a provocative new book. They argue America is failing at what it's always done best: educating its citizens to or above the current level of technology attracting (and retaining) the best and brightest immigrants investing in top notch infrastructure maintaining an atmosphere encouraging capital formation and investment They hypothesize that the [...]