A little perspective by the numbers…As of December 15, 2008… BEAR MARKET – 100 days ago the S&P 500 was down 14.1% YTD (total return). As of last Friday, the S&P 500 is down 38.7%YTD. Thus the S&P 500 has fallen 28.6% in the last 100 days, a performance that would rank as the 6th […]
“I’ve got this thing and it’s $%&*ing golden, and uh, uh, uh, I’m just not giving it up for @#$%ing nothing. I’m not gonna do it. And I can always use it. I can parachute me there.” “I want to make money.” “Give this mother@#$%er (Barrack Obama) his Senator. @#$% him! For nothing? @#$% him!” […]
Bailout…What bailout? On September 26th, I made appearance on Mike Galano’s CNN television program to discuss the public’s fury over the “bailout” of our banking and financial services industry. My point of contention, or warning in regards to the $700 billion plan was not the dollar amount, or any of the other conventional objections being […]
Below are a few tax planning strategies that you can take advantage of before 12/31/08 (please note that each taxpayer’s situation is unique and these strategies may or may not apply to you): 1. Making your January 2009 mortgage payment on your residence before the end of this year allows you to deduct the interest […]
Use holiday bonuses to max out annual retirement plan contributions first and for presents second. Avoid year-end capital gains by gifting appreciated securities rather than cash. Make charitable donations before the end of the year to obtain better deductions. Use the $11,000 annual gift-tax exclusion (increases to $12,000 in 2006), but do not exceed it. […]
One of the most beautiful places I have had the opportunity to visit is the Greek island of Santorini. I am well-aware of my own limitations as a writer; therefore I do realize I do not have the descriptive abilities of a John Steinbeck, so I will not even attempt to illustrate how striking the […]
Scenario: You have a friend; a close business associate that is about to make a monumental mistake that could ruin his business at worst, or cripple it at best. Would you do everything in your power to stop your friend; save him or her from possible ruin? When markets are under duress like they are […]
It has been argued that the House Ways and Means Committee is the most powerful committee in Congress. The duties charged of the committee are to write tax legislation, and other bills that affect Social Security, Medicare and other entitlement programs. This committee wields the mighty power of our 67,204 page tax code. The committee […]
This past May, at the Berkshire Hathaway annual conference in Omaha, Warren Buffet stunned many investors with his statement, “If a stock I own goes down 50%, I’d look forward to it. In fact, I would offer you a significant sum of money if you could give me the opportunity for all of my stocks […]