Retirement Watch Weekly
Coping with Lower Long-Term Stock Market Returns
Much of Bill Gross’s latest monthly essay is devoted to a eulogy for his recently-deceased pet cat. After this touching section is the meat of the essay. Gross states that returns from assets (all assets, not only stocks) are likely to be lower in the relevant future than they have been over the course of […]
Beat the Flash Traders
Let’s revisit high-frequency trading and the stir caused by Michael Lewis’s new book, “Flash Boys.” Lewis says high frequency trading means the market is “rigged” against the little guy. This post says that’s always been the case. For a host of reasons, independent individual investors never have had a chance to trade better than the […]
Diving into High Frequency Trading
You’ve probably seen a fair amount of publicity about Michael Lewis’s new book about high frequency trading, Flash Boys. Lewis is an excellent writer, but his previous books often were criticized for focusing more on story telling and being attractive to readers instead of presenting the full picture. It’s the same with this book. Lewis […]
Medicare Cuts Delayed
In what has become an annual charade, Congress voted to defer until next year the reductions in reimbursements to doctors and hospitals under Medicare. The cuts, slated to be 24%, are used to seem to reduce Medicare spending. But each year they are deferred or changed because doctors and hospitals point out that they would […]
The New Focus of Estate Planning and Estate Taxes
Estate Planning’s been in turmoil for more than a decade, but the tax law is settled and the new rules and strategies are clearer. The turmoil began with the 2001 tax law that made multiple changes over 10 years and then scheduled a reversion to the 2000 law. Then, a 2010 deal temporarily eliminated the […]
Giving the Best Estate Planning Financial Advice to Grandkids
The best thing you can do to ensure the financial security of your grandkids isn’t to give them money or wealth, though that would be helpful. Sound advice based on the latest research is what the younger generations need more of, and they aren’t likely to get that advice from their parents or schools. The […]
Avoiding the Nation’s Silent Scam
About the middle of last year we became aware of a scam that’s been stealing money from Americans for a number of years. Law enforcement at different levels apparently has been aware of it for some time but has been unable or unwilling to do anything about it. The amounts stolen from each person are […]
Estate Planning with Roth IRAs
An IRA, especially a Roth IRA, is valuable for more than your retirement planning. Your estate plan can be much better when a Roth IRA is shrewdly used. Instead of looking at the front-end tax benefits and costs, take the long-term view. While converting a traditional IRA to a Roth can save estate taxes, Roth […]
