A look back at 2015 thus far The year in brief.While the S&P 500 surprised to the upside in 2014 versus the projections of many analysts, it has performed below expectations so far in 2015. As this year began, not many Wall Street pros thought the index would tread water. The consensus forecast among 13 top analysts (their opinions compiled by Business Insider) called for the end to benchmark this year at 2,213.At Thanksgiving, the S&P was hovering near 2,100. [...]
How Could a Fed Rate Hike Affect Retirees? As the central bank starts tightening, some positives & negatives may emerge. Economists widely expect the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates this month. Additional incremental rate hikes may follow in 2016. If you are retired (or soon will be), you will want to consider what gradually higher interest rates could mean for you financially. Some of the effects are already being felt. Glancing at Freddie Mac’s weekly surveys, average interest [...]
The End of File & Suspend for Married Couples A great claiming strategy to try & optimize Social Security benefits disappears. Congress just changed the Social Security benefit rules. On October 30, Capitol Hill lawmakers approved a two-year federal budget deal. As part of that agreement, they authorized the most significant change to Social Security policy seen in this century, disallowing two popular strategies people have used to try and maximize retirement benefits.1 Dreamstime image id 6253 The [...]
Terrorism & the Financial Markets Wall Street has the potential to recover quickly from geopolitical shocks. The worst terrorist attack in Europe since 2004 has rattled governments and investors. The French government has closed the nation’s borders and placed thousands of soldiers on the streets of the country’s major cities.1 As an anxious world watches the response of France (and perhaps other nations) to the ISIS attacks, there is also concern about European and global financial markets. Wall Street, which [...]
End-of-the-Year Money Moves Here are some things you might want to do before saying goodbye to 2015. What has changed for you in 2015? Did you start a new job or leave a job behind? Did you retire? Did you start a family? If notable changes occurred in your personal or professional life, then you will want to review your finances before this year ends and 2016 begins. Even if your 2015 has been relatively uneventful, the end of the [...]