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April, 2010:

Charitable Contributions From Your IRA – 2010 and Beyond

12/19/2010 – with the passage of the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010, the provision for an IRA owner who is at least age 70½ to make a direct charitable contribution of up to $100,000 from his or her IRA has been extended through the end of 2011.  Such a direct contribution can be used to satisfy the IRA owner’s Required Minimum Distribution. See the article Charitable Contributions from Your IRA in 2010 and 2011 for more details. Photo by mikebaird

Economic Indicators – What’s Important to Watch?

You see them on the news, in the newspaper, on the internet.  Not every day, but certainly it seems like a new one every week:  Key Economic Indicators.  There’s the CPI, GDP, and Unemployment.  There’s also the Consumer Confidence Index and Leading Economic Index.  What’s this all about?  What do these numbers mean? And most importantly, which ones should we pay attention to? Below I’ve listed several of the more important economic indicators and what makes up the indicator, along with my commentary on what the indicator may tell us.  If I’ve left out any of your favorites, let me know! Key Economic Indicators Gross Domestic Product (GDP) – this is the value of all goods and services produced in the United States, minus the value of imported goods and services.  This broad measure of economic health shows the quarter-by-quarter growth or shrinkage of the US economic output.  Comparisons are […]

The Healthcare Plan – A Review

I haven’t had time to delve very deeply into the new Healthcare plan that the President signed recently.  Somehow the pile of tax returns keeps getting in the way… Never fear though, a colleague of mine, Curtis Smith, CFP®, of Sugarland, Texas, recently posted a couple of blog articles reviewing the major tenets of the plan, along with what we can expect over the remainder of this year, and for the next several years to come (unless things change). Curtis’s first article is called “Health Care Changes in America” – and you can view it by clicking on the article title.  This is the overview for the average American.  The second article is entitled “How Will Health Care Reform Affect Your Small Business” – and as the title indicates, it’s the small business viewpoint.  These articles are an excellent, balanced review of the plan – I think you owe it […]