OK, so your employer announces the following regarding: Your 401k: No more match. Should I keep contributing? In a word, absolutely. If you can swing it, you ought to continue to contribute. I have given this same advice out for my entire career, but more and more...
Did you know General Electric (GE) posted record revenues last quarter? That has not really helped their stock, has it? Remember always, price is the ultimate indicator, which is why I rely more and more on charts. Fundamental analysts and company management can...
I received a phone call this afternoon from someone who found my firm online. The gentlemen has received no guidance regarding his 401k at work. Last July, he had $286,000 in his plan. Today he has $166,000. I asked him what he had been doing lately. He had moved...
Mark to Market is a topic I have written about previously. You can read about them here. I don't like changing the rules of the game in mid-stream, but something drastic needs to be done. A terrific opinion piece was written in the Wall Street Journal recently by...
This was the headline on the Associated Press on the evening of February 17th, 2009. Is that a fact? This is how the media distorts. Pay attention. So many investment decisions -- made by investors, traders, mom & pop, everyone -- gets determined by the...
Warren Buffett writes an annual letter to the shareholders of Berkshire Hathaway each year. If you've never read them, you really ought to. They are priceless gems. Not a laugh a minute, but an interesting observation on what's happening. This year's version is...
This was the headline this morning on many websites and news sources. What you need to remember is this: they are reporting figures for the 4th Quarter 2008. That's right, the period from October 1, 2008 - December 31, 2008. That information is already TWO MONTHS...
Throwing good money after bad into these banks is not the answer. Now, I don't like changing the rules in the middle of the game. But I still believe the almost-immediate fix for this entire mess is suspending "mark to the market" regulations. Read this statement...
There have been several articles written recently regarding stockbrokers and retention bonuses. If you are outside the industry you may not know when brokerage firms are merged or acquired, the brokers (the salesforce) are sometimes awarded bonuses merely for...
What is left in the governments bag of tricks to get the banks back on track? One topic that I wrote about -- 5 months ago -- has popped up this past week with more and more frequency. We are finally starting to hear more and more chatter about relaxing "Mark to the...
