The $64,000 question . . .
by Guy Baker
So the $64,000 question (remember that game show?), should you be optimistic the recovery is in process or pessimistic and concerned it is going to get worse? All you have to do is read a few of the “name’ economists – Nouriel Roubini, Brian Wesbury, the WSJ and various other random sources to realize a lot is happening, but no one can read the tea leaves, yet. . . . -READ More-
Investors flock to stable value funds, despite their risks
Last year’s stock market turmoil sent a lot of 401k investors running for cover. According to industry sources, the most popular investment options for those who pulled money from the stock market were stable value funds.
Also known as capital preservation funds or fixed-interest funds, these funds promise to pay a fixed interest rate without fluctuation in share price.
Most stable value funds delivered average returns of about 4 percent last year, making them far and away the top performing choices in many 401k plans. . . -READ MORE-
Should you aim for a big tax refund?
Taxpayers have filed their 1040 forms (or asked for extra time to file) for the 2008 tax season and are now sitting back and waiting for refunds.
Traditional advice has advocated that a big refund is bad, because it means that an investor paid too much in withholding or estimated taxes and gave the government a tax-free loan. . . -READ More-
Just when the economy is at its low point, stocks begin recovery
A 
deep recession coupled with a bear market for stocks usually makes investors more and more pessimistic about the future.
Yet it is often just at that maximum moment of pessimism that the stock market begins to rally. In most cases stocks have produced double-digit returns in the 12 months following the economy’s bottom. . . -READ More-
Complex taxes, avoiding 401ks, and more
If you thought doing your income taxes this past season was more confusing than ever, you are not alone.
Nina Olson, the IRS taxpayer advocate, recently told Congress that it now takes the average taxpayer 26 hours and 40 minutes to prepare a 1040 form. . .-READ MORE-
Only luck, not skill, helps some active funds outperform
Stock mutual funds that actively investigate, select, buy, and sell stocks claim to have the skill to outmaneuver the mass of investors.
Yet another detailed study says there may be no truth to those claims. When individual active funds do manage to beat the market for a time, they do so merely by luck rather than skill.