An amazing thing happened last month: in the midst of arguably the worst market decline in the lives of most folks, massive amounts of funds are being moved from “safe” investments like money market funds, into junk bonds and emerging market funds. These are the most volatile of all the funds, risky even in the best times. [...]
Posts from ‘February, 2009’
Now is the time
No, I don’t mean that right at this moment we’ve experienced some sort of catalyst that indicates that the markets are ready to take off. What I mean is that, given the free-fall the markets have experienced in the past five months has presented us with unprecedented opportunities to re-balance, place cash positions in the [...]
Not Scared – Too Much Fun Ahead!
As I write these lines, it is Friday, February 13. Now, for many folks, the very prospect of a Friday the 13th is a frightening thing to behold. But from my perspective, looking out on a beautiful pre-Spring sunlit day, I am reminded that TODAY, for the Cubs and Cardinals, pitchers and catchers report for [...]
Taxing Issues for 2009
As occurs every year, several new tax laws come into effect at the beginning of the year. And this year, there is a high probability that we’ll have massive changes (if only temporary) as the Stimulus Plan comes into focus. Since we don’t have the details on that plan just yet, I thought I’d highlight [...]
Suspended RMDs Causes Confusion
Late last year, Congress passed a law that allows folks to suspend the Required Minimum Distribution from their IRAs for 2009. The idea is that, given the market free-fall that occurred late last year, if you would prefer to not take a distribution (since presumably your IRA balance is reduced dramatically), you would not be [...]
Stimulus Checks + Recovery Rebate Credit = Confusion
I doubt if Congress knew what kind of a mess they were creating when they included the 2008 provision for the Recovery Rebate Credit (RRC) in the tax law, but this provision has really tossed a spanner into the works. If you’ve started working on your tax return for 2008, you’ve probably already dealt with [...]
And if you've come here to learn about queuing waterfowl, I apologize for the confusion. You may want to discuss your question with Lester, my loyal watchduck and self-proclaimed "advisor's advisor".
