H&R Block is in hot water once again. The biggest tax preparer in the United States has been ordered to pay a $62.5 million to settle various class-action law suits that allege they charged mafia-like usurious interest rates on loans to customers awaiting tax returns. The settlement involves about 8 million customers in over 26 […]
We have received many phone calls and e-mails from investors regarding the poor performance in their 401k plans. Unfortunately what we have discovered is that many plans are not diversified enough, they are under funded, and the fees being charged are off the charts. 401k plans tend to fall under the “set it and forget […]
“If you would like to beat your broker with a stick press one.” The NASD has finally started an investigation into the infamous Merrill Lynch customer call centers. We warned everybody about these houses of horror five years ago when Merrill the Bull started rounding up all its POOR customers and herded them off to […]
In a painful reality check for victimized investors looking to recoup some of their losses via securities litigation, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce stated that forty percent of institutional investors reap gains as a result of securities fraud litigation, but undiversified small investors recover only TWO CENTS of every dollar lost to fraud. Anjan V. […]
Ned Ryerson: Do you have life insurance, Phil? Cause if you do, I bet you could use more-who couldn’t?-but I got a feeling you don’t have any. Am I right? Phil Connors: You know Ned, I’d love to talk to you but I really have to… Ned Ryerson: That’s okay. I’ll walk with you. When […]
I grew up listening to New York Yankee broadcasts. My favorite announcer had to be Phil Rizzuto. He had this knack of making routine fly balls sound like they were going out of the park and mixing it up with Italian cooking in every broadcast. “Deep to right…Holy Cow that ball could be…nope caught by […]
I usually get a kick out of the ridiculous advertising and marketing Wall Street uses to lure unsuspecting victims in. However, the ad campaign used by Morgan Stanley over the past two years makes my skin crawl. Whether it is…the ad with the actor playing the advisor who gives the ridiculous speech at his client’s […]
“Would you go to a dentist whose teeth were rotted and black?” Unless you were a recent contestant on Fear Factor and revel in consuming insects or rotten food, your answer, I assume, would be in the negative. Using the same logic or common sense, I am perplexed, confused, and bewildered at why so many […]
Due to the tax cuts of the past few years it is important that individuals take a hard look at the tax implications of their portfolios. Certain assets that were prudent to hold in taxable and taxdeferred accounts need to be rebalanced based on the rule changes. For example: tax rates on qualified dividends and […]
After plenty of new tax legislation in 2001 and 2003, Congress has not enacted any major new tax changes for 2005. What we have left for this year is essentially leftover legislation that will continue to be phased in until 2010. The leftovers include the rollout of the Roth 401K discussed earlier and these other […]