Entering the Yellen Years A look at the economist newly nominated to lead the Federal Reserve. Janet Yellen – currently the vice chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve – has been nominated to succeed Ben Bernanke at the helm of the world’s most important central bank. A former UC Berkeley and London School of Economics professor and San Francisco Fed president, Yellen is a globally admired economist with many fans on Wall Street. The way it [...]
Dividend Reinvestment & Compound Interest Their combined power must be recognized & appreciated. Why reroute dividends back into your investments? Isn’t taking the income the preferred outcome when a dividend is produced? Retirees and pre-retirees are eager for dividend income in this era of historically low interest rates. Even so, the choice to buy more shares has merit for the long run. Reinvestment & compounding may have profoundly positive effects. As a hypothetical example, let’s say you own 100 shares [...]
End-of-the-Year Money Moves Here are some things you might want to do before saying goodbye to 2013. What has changed for you in 2013? Did you start a new job – or leave a job behind? Did you retire? Did you start a family? If some notable changes occurred in your personal or professional life, then you will want to review your finances before this year ends and the next one begins. Even if your 2013 has been relatively uneventful, [...]
RMD Precautions & Options A reminder about mandatory withdrawals from IRAs & other retirement plans. Just what is an RMD? After you turn 70½, the IRS requires you to withdraw some of the money in most retirement savings accounts each year. These withdrawals are officially called Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs).1 You must take an RMD from a traditional IRAs after you turn 70½, even if you are still working. If you dont, a severe financial penalty awaits you may [...]
When Technology Interrupts Trading Glitches, “flash crashes” & other disturbances are becoming too numerous. “Why is this happening?” Those words were undoubtedly spoken on Wall Street Thursday. Perhaps you uttered them, too. At 12:14pm EST, a glitch halted all trading on the NASDAQ for more than three hours. During that time, the New York Stock Exchange suspended trading in all NASDAQ securities and scratched orders; NASDAQ decided not to cancel any open [...]