Thinking of Temporarily Reducing my 401k Contributions

I am going to take a contrary view of retirement savings and say that in current market conditions you should think about reducing your 401(k) contributions to only invest the amount that is needed to get your company match. I am normally a strong proponent of company sponsored 401(k)and traditional …

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Financial Crisis: Mark to Market Accounting Demystified

Of late there has been a lot of negative press around the accounting requirements for companies and the methods by which they have to value their assets. Some critics and company executives have even attributed the accounting requirements, and specifically the Mark to Market valuation method, as a major cause …

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American Employees: Cheap to Fire

Interesting graphic from the Economist on what it costs to sack long-term employees. As shown, costs vary enormously across the world. America and New Zealand are among the most company-friendly countries, requiring no penalties or payouts to fire a full-time employee of 20 years or more. By contrast, a business …

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Tax-Exempt Money Market Funds are Rocking

Why are tax free money market funds providing relatively decent yields compared to leaving your money in a regular bank account? Pamela Wisehaupt Tynan, who oversees Vanguard’s municipal money market funds says “These unusually high yields are simply a function of how the money market arena is reacting to events …

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America’s Growing National Debt Passes $30 Trillion in 2022

Well the time is here now to get an update on our national funds and the picture isn’t pretty. All the federal bailouts, treasury cash injections and foreign infusion of funds into our institutions/stocks has meant that America’s national debt recently passed $30,000,000,000,000. This is equivalent to 130% of America’s …

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