You hopefully read my urgent items on safe deposit boxes and why you should treat your disaster cash like gold. Remember, you have zero downside in being prepared for the unexpected. But, listen-up, it’s also imperative to build and cater your security around your situation. Here’s why. A client emailed me his concerns about safe deposit boxes that you need to read and then apply to your specific situation: E.J., I read about one case where some bank employees pilfered a number of safe deposit boxes and it was difficult to identify the losses as few or no records were available … [Read more...]
Banks Are Selling Your Private Info to Strangers
Most Americans have become accustomed to the idea that when they use Google or Facebook, information on their Internet habits is being sold to advertisers who want to target them with ads. But until now that phenomenon has been mostly confined to cyberspace, and there are ways to avoid them. That's all beginning to change though. Now industries that were around even before the Internet are attempting to make profits from your private information. The most dangerous of these is your bank. The Associated Press has reported that banks are selling information on customers' spending habits to … [Read more...]
Phone Scams are Getting Better: Here’s How to Protect Yourself
Just this week alone, two investors told me they have recently received calls that were believable scams. The robocall scams that regularly target your phone are evolving. As criminals learn what works and what doesn't, they make adjustments and adapt. Falling victim to a phone scam can change your life, for the worse. Here's the story of one victim as told by Sarah Krouse at The Wall Street Journal: The FBI agent sounded official on the phone. He gave Nina Belis his badge number and a story about how her identity had been compromised. She gave him her life’s savings. For most … [Read more...]
Blockchain Can Bring Speed, Efficiency and Competition to Stock Settlement
I am a fan of blockchain technologies, though I am skeptical of the crypto-currencies that are so far the best-known uses of blockchain. Despite a history that is closely tied to crypto-currencies, blockchain technologies are finding their way into other industries. Now, the Wall Street Journal reports, blockchain has the chance to bring speed, efficiency and much-needed competition to the business of stock transaction settlements. Alexander Osipovich reports: Last week, the Securities and Exchange Commission gave the green light to a pilot project in which blockchain—the technology behind … [Read more...]
Growing Up Must-See TV and the Soul of America
Growing up must-see TV was Thursday nights with The Cosby Show. Next Thursday’s must-see TV will be the Joe Biden show as the Democrats will debate for three hours. “Biden will be on stage, taking incoming missiles for 180 minutes from nine rivals, each of whom is hungry for the Democratic nomination and has a huge investment in seeing him stumble and fall,” writes Pat Buchanan at TAC. It’s hard not to feel bad for Sleepy Joe. And to see the truth in what PB writes. Because it may be a long night for Joe. “If he stumbles that night, misremembers or misspeaks repeatedly in the … [Read more...]
196,000 Millionaires Agree That This Is the Place to Keep Your 401(k)
At Fidelity, 196,000 401(k) accounts are worth at least $1 million. It turns out, I'm not the only one who likes working with Fidelity. In the past, I have written to you about my positive experience with Fidelity's services. You can read more about Fidelity here: Fidelity Investments: Why it’s #1 My Personal View on Fidelity Investments for You This Money Market Fund is Paying 47 Times More than its Competition Identity Fraud on the Rise: Here’s Fidelity’s Customer Protection Guarantee Now, Fox Business reports that the number of millionaires at Fidelity is rising. Ken Martin … [Read more...]
Can You Rely on the Experts to Protect Your Privacy?
Unfortunately, the short answer to my headline question is, no. You cannot rely on cybersecurity experts to protect your personal financial information, as evidenced by the numerous breaches of personal information at companies employing large staffs of such experts. Marriot, Equifax, J.P. Morgan, Yahoo (twice), and now Capital One, among many others, have all fallen prey to serious breaches of their customers' information. The Wall Street Journal reports of Capital One's recent breach: The cybersecurity unit—responsible for ensuring Capital One’s firewalls were properly configured and … [Read more...]
Pensions, Unsurprisingly, Miss Their Mark
I have warned for years that public pensions are overestimating their future returns, and therefore are a giant source of debt for future taxpayers who will be forced to pick up the deficit. At the end of the fiscal year in June, median public pensions had missed their expected returns by 1.1 percentage points. Bloomberg's Martin Z. Braun reports: U.S. public pensions posted their weakest performance in three years, falling a percentage point short of their investment targets, and the prospect of rock-bottom interest rates and a trade-war induced recession could put a greater strain on … [Read more...]
Can You Put the American Dream on Your Credit Card?
According to reporting from The Wall Street Journal, Americans are increasingly turning to debt to finance what many consider typical parts of the middle-class American lifestyle; cars, college, houses, and healthcare. AnnaMaria Andriotis, Ken Brown and Shane Shifflett report: Consumer debt, not counting mortgages, has climbed to $4 trillion—higher than it has ever been even after adjusting for inflation. Mortgage debt slid after the financial crisis a decade ago but is rebounding. Student debt totaled about $1.5 trillion last year, exceeding all other forms of consumer debt except … [Read more...]
How Well do You Really Know Someone?
Jason Zweig and Andrea Fuller report for The Wall Street Journal that there are deficiencies in one of the most popular tools for finding help with investments online. They write: Many people seeking a financial adviser begin their search at LetsMakeAPlan.org, a directory operated by the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc. The Board, which controls the CFP label coveted by financial planners, boasts of its high standards and has touted its directory of professionals as a place where people can find a screened, skilled and trustworthy financial planner. What they won’t … [Read more...]
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