Variable Annuities Down 7%
The free lunch may be over. That’s the thinking by insurers offering variable annuities. They’ve gotten pretty fat at the trough during the secular...
Prepare Your Portfolio For More Money Printing
That didn’t last long. The post-meeting euphoria from the 20th summit to once and for all put an end to the euro-area debt crisis...
How to Get Rich
I suspect that not many investors would own variable annuities if they knew more about them. But learning the ins and outs of variable...
Northern Lights: Investing in the Nordics
Citizens in the four largest Nordic countries enjoy peaceful, happy lives. The U.N.'s World Happiness Report ranks Denmark as the happiest nation in the...
School’s Out for Summer
School’s out and report cards are in. If you own the Vanguard Wellington or Wellesley fund, you’ve done just fine. Through Thursday of last...
Housing Market: Looking for a Direction
Housing market data released this week revealed a mixed bag. Home prices measured by FHFA were up 0.8% compared to the month before and...
Stand Down Dr. Bernanke
Yesterday, as was widely expected (yet somehow still disappointing to Wall Street) Dr. Bernanke unveiled the Fed’s latest installment of market manipulation. The Fed...
6% Income in Retirement
I came across a special report on retirement income last week during my daily reading regimen. I was surprised by one particular article on...
Taxpayers on the Hook for Risky Student Loan Bet
In early 2010 at the urging of the Obama administration, Congress forced the private sector out of the student loan business. Two-and-a-half years later...
Show Me the Money
Last week the Federal Reserve approved a proposal that will require all 7,307 U.S. banks to comply with international capital standards known as Basel...