London (AFP) – Prime Minister David Cameron vowed to defeat jihadists and defended Britain’s secret services on Friday after media reports named Islamic State executioner “Jihadi John” as London graduate Mohammed Emwazi.”We will do everything we can with the police, the security services, with all that we have at our …
Category: Finance
Social Security Works!: the Book.
Publisher’s (New Press) webpage: Social Security Works! More below the fold. Non-disclaimer: I bought my copy. Nobody gave me one for review or to plug. Disclaimer: I am a casual friend of auther Eric Kingson and a somewhat better friend of Nancy Altman. Disclaimer: It would not bother …
Stifel Financial buying rival Sterne Agee in latest deal
Stifel Financial Corp. is buying rival financial services firm Sterne Agee for $150 million, boosting its presence in money management and fixed income. It’s the latest move by Stifel, whose other large purchases include the investment advisory unit of Legg Mason last year, the investment bank KBW in 2013 and Thomas …
TurboTax Review – 2014 Tax Year Features and Screenshots
Although I’m still waiting on some 1099 forms (*cough* TD Ameritrade), I’ve already got most of my paperwork in order for my tax returns. I plan on comparing the three major tax preparation websites again this year: TurboTax, H&R Block, and TaxACT. I like shopping around as with…
Closing 1 Trade ($TRIP, $NILE)
Great news today as I’m closing my first long & short trade of the year. Two trades are currently over the +20{04524d497bea0ade6defd1388b5c9b25998d95475e2938b4fa9d615e63ad1540} ratio but for now I will keep the long Apple (AAPL) & short AOL Inc. (AOL) trade live for now. This morning however I’ll be …
Free Webinar: How You Generate Consistent Trading Results in Today’s Markets
Our trading partner John Carter is back this Tuesday February 24th with another one of his wildly popular free trading webinars. This time John will be covering his trading strategy using “premium decay”.If you have attended one of John’s free webinars you know that he has a unique ability …
Health Care/Biotech Names Still Dominating
The average stock in the Russell 3,000 (which makes up roughly 98{04524d497bea0ade6defd1388b5c9b25998d95475e2938b4fa9d615e63ad1540} of US-listed stocks) is now up 1.68{04524d497bea0ade6defd1388b5c9b25998d95475e2938b4fa9d615e63ad1540} in 2015. Below we have calculated the average year-to-date performance of stocks by sector. As shown, Health Care stocks are up by far the most with an average YTD gain …
Greece’s fate relies upon the Scarves of Varoufakis
Save us Scarf Man. The fate of world markets rests on the many scarves of Greece Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis. Tied, open, loose, plaid, solid — what does it mean for stocks? Which one will impress world leaders the most? Will it help get Greece get the deal they need? If…
Here’s Why Being Frugal Gets Easier Over Time
How could you say no to that face? Resisting the urge to splurge on your kids can be extremely tough when you first try to curb your spending. But being frugal gets easier and more second-nature the longer you do it. Photo: Harsha K R Becoming frugal is a …
Singapore raises taxes on rich to fund rising social spending
Singapore on Monday announced income tax rises for the top five percent of the population to fund rising social spending targeted at the poor and elderly in the rapidly ageing city-state. The marginal personal income tax rate for those earning above Sg$320,000 ($256,000) a year will rise to 22 …
Everyone Loves Tech: Nasdaq Wining Streak Hits Nine Days, Dotcom Highs in Sight
Stocks went nowhere today, but that didn’t stop the Nasdaq Composite from rising for a ninth consecutive day. Getty Images The S&P 500 was little changed at 2,109.66, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 0.1{04524d497bea0ade6defd1388b5c9b25998d95475e2938b4fa9d615e63ad1540} to 18,116.84. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.1{04524d497bea0ade6defd1388b5c9b25998d95475e2938b4fa9d615e63ad1540} to 4,960.9, giving the tech-heavy benchmark its longest winning …
Saudi’s Mobily set to slash dividends after earnings scandal
* Restated profits $381 mln lower in November * Analysts blame over-ambitious revenue recognition * Dividends to be reined in as company rebuilds * Problems a warning for potential foreign investors By Matt Smith DUBAI, Feb 24 (Reuters) – An accounting scandal at Saudi Arabia’s Mobily is set to constrain dividend …
25 Social Media Channels You’re Probably Not Using Now
Chances are your small business has used social media in one way or another. There are the big guns like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. And other familiar names like Instagram, Pinterest, and Vine. However, these are just a drop in the bucket when it comes to all of the social …
Tempting Tuesday – Will Yellen Push Us Past 2,200?
Look at those makets go! ; Nasdaq 4,960 – just 40 points to 5,000 after popping up from 4,600 at the beginning of the month. ;That will be almost 10{04524d497bea0ade6defd1388b5c9b25998d95475e2938b4fa9d615e63ad1540} in a month if we pop 5,000 – no wonder no one wants to buy a home or put money in the bank when the stock…
U.S. existing home sales, economic activity gauge rise
The National Association of Realtors said on Friday existing home sales increased 2.4 percent to an annual rate of 5.04 million units last month. "The still-tight mortgage credit conditions and more challenging first-time homebuyer affordability that were revealed by the failure of home sales to continue recovering last year …
Options Expiration – February 2015
I have four different options expiring today on three separate underlying positions for another profitable options expiration. The first two options were easy and will close out my exposure to both of the underlying stocks. I had one BA February $135 put expire worthless and one FB February $72.50 put …
What Is Estate Planning, and Do I Need to Worry About It?
When I recently asked for suggestions of specific estate-planning-related topics to write about, one thing that immediately became clear is that many people aren’t entirely sure what estate planning is — and whether it’s something they should be thinking about. To put it bluntly, estate planning …
AssetBuilder 2015 Annual Letter: Currency Effects and Interactive Returns Tool
I enjoy reading articles by Scott Burns (also here) because he sometimes offers a unique perspective on things. He recently released the 2015 Annual Letter for his asset management company AssetBuilder. The whole thing is a good read, but here are two items of note: Keep in mind the effect of …