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President Obama signed the Small Business Jobs Act on September 27, 2010. The Act includes provisions to provide support to small businesses and incentives to help them grow and hire. The Act includes one provision which impacts retirement accounts. The new law authorizes 401(k), 403(b) and 457(...

"We cannot direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails." -Bertha Callaway, historian It is not for us to choose the times in which we get to invest. It is only for us to decide what to do with our investments in the time that we are given. Most of us have somewhere to be and standing still is t...

This morning's wire report that Northeast Utilities (NU) will acquire NSTAR (NST) for $4.3 billion in stock. Not familiar with NSTAR? People in Massachusetts call it Boston Edison or Commonwealth Electric, depending on where they live. A little like we still refer to RG&E, even though the parent-com...

The well known story of Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice has title character Antonio borrowing money from Shylock. When Antonio cannot pay, Shylock is entitled to the terms of the loan: a pound of Antonio's flesh. Thus ensues a great drama.Today we are still living with the effects of our own gr...

Most people will pay the standard monthly Part B premium of $96.40 or $110.50 in 2010. Some people will pay a higher premium based on their modified adjusted gross income. Your monthly premium will be higher if you file an individual tax return and your annual income is more than $85,000, or if you...

In part one I promised a (brief) review of bond market facts, so here it is: Bonds are subject to two types of risk: default risk and interest rate risk. Default risk is simple: if the issuer of the bond cannot or will not pay - they default and the bondholder does not get the interest or principal...

Dow Hits 11,000 As I write this the Dow Jones Industrial Average is over 11,000 for the first time since May. The stock market tends to be a leading indicator. Where it is pointing - as it has been - is toward economic recovery. Bond Bubble Continued This week I have been unable due to time...

There is considerable buzz in the investment community lately about a possible "bond bubble." It's easy to understand the level of concern. Simply Google the phrase and you'll get nearly half a million hits. Investors are still licking their wounds from the financial crisis (caused by the bursting o...

The US stock market just finished its best quarter since 1939. You may remember that for much of this year naysayers have been chanting about doom, gloom, and the coming "double dip" recession. You will find some of our firm's forecasts here and here. But yesterday's news - you remember that two yea...

Some of us have brokerage accounts, annuities and life insurance policies "all over", with various financial representatives at different institutions. We may have accumulated these various accounts over time. If so... Are you able to track your overall asset allocation and how well your portfol...