Greece and its Echoes
Published June 20, 2011 6340 Views
Hardly a day goes by that financial markets are not buffeted by news of a looming default of Greek sovereign debt. After years of high government spending on public-sector salaries and an expensive social safety net, the bills are beginning to come due. With a large outstanding debt, Greece needs mo...
Are my social security benefits taxable?
Published June 15, 2011 6682 Views
This is a common question with a somewhat confusing answer .... (maybe).
You should receive a Form SSA1099 which will show the total amount of your benefits. Generally, if Social Security benefits were your only income, your benefits are not taxable and you probably do not need to file a federal in...
Summertime
Published June 15, 2011 6293 Views
We are off to a good start with a beautiful Rochester Summer. And at Brighton Securities, it's not all stocks & bonds - at least not all the time. Last night our BSC softball team took on the friendly CPAs of Insero & Co., who nonetheless ran a red-ink game against our mighty players: final score 9-...
Over one billion served and counting!!
Published June 13, 2011 6051 Views
No... I'm not talking about hamburgers.
The IRS has now processed over one billion electronically filed tax returns.This number should grow by over 100 million per year. Approximately 80% of all tax returns are now processed electronically. It costs the government 20 times less to process an e-f...
And Nobody Notices? - Part 2
Published June 9, 2011 6877 Views
The New York Times never did pen an article about Exxon's big oil & gas find in the Gulf (mentioned yesterday in Part 1) though late yesterday they did reprint a Reuters story on the topic.
But it's a new day, there is more natural gas news, and the Times is once again behind the times. Bloomberg...
And Nobody Notices?
Published June 8, 2011 6991 Views
Today Exxon Mobil announced two major oil discoveries in the Gulf of Mexico that could lead to production of more than 700 million barrels. I noticed the news on the Dow Jones news wire this morning and looked for additional detail about the story in my regular morning news source: The New York Time...
End of the World, Part 4
Published June 3, 2011 6489 Views
So, let's see: Congress can't agree about raising the debt ceiling, unemployment is stubbornly high, housing seems to remain mired in a slump, car sales are slowing, Greece needs another bailout, and tornadoes have wrought havoc down south. Nothing but bad news. (Unless you're Lady Gaga, who just s...
Well Worth a Brief Read
Published May 31, 2011 6081 Views
Today's Op-Ed piece in the NY Times by Joe Nocera reflects a sentiment that I have expressed before in this space. That he makes mention of a local company makes it all the more compelling.
Read the article here.
GTC
(This article contains the current opinions of the author but not necessarily th...
Help Yourself!
Published May 27, 2011 6675 Views
Who was it that said, "knowing is half the battle"?
In yesterday's USA Today, there was a simply written article with a good point: Baby Boomers are paralyzed by fear when it comes to their retirement. This is a phenomenon that is rather common and unfortunate because those that could benefit the...
Estate of the union
Published May 23, 2011 6190 Views
(Or estate planning for married folks)
The good news is that fewer people will have to be concerned with federal estate taxes. For 2011 and 2012 the estate tax exemption for an individual is $5 million.
If you and your spouse are US citizens and one spouse dies, you can take an unlimited marital d...