Andy

How and Where to Open an IRA or Roth IRA Account

I receive a lot of questions on Individual retirement accounts (IRA) based on related posts I have written on this topic. One question that seems to come up often, is how to actually open an IRA account and where is the best place to do so. An IRA  is your personal savings …

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A $630,000 Luxury Car and 2000 Buyers – The Rich are Back and Spending

Porsche 918 Spyder Concept

Demand for luxury cars is returning around the world and especially in Wall Street as firms add jobs for the first time in two years and offer guaranteed payouts to attract top bankers. The return of big pay checks and even bigger bonuses (up 17 percent to $123,000 last year) has fueled demand for a raft of new, very fast, very cool and very expensive cars which are ordered off manufacturer lots before they have been made. For example the new Porsche 918 Spyder hybrid, which soars to 100 miles in less than 5 seconds, starts at $630,000. The car has a seven-speed transmission and electric power flows from a liquid-cooled lithium-ion battery (that just sounds cool!) At least 2,000 individuals have put in non-binding expressions of interest for the car, which is still in the pre-production phase. That is a whopping $ 1.3 billion of projected sales for cars that cost more than most people’s homes.  Lamborghini SpA another luxury car maker introduced the Reventon Roadster supercar (pictured below) which goes for a cool  $1 million. Ferrari’s  599 GTO is cheap by comparison at $300,000.

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New Bills for 2010 Home Buyer Credit and Unemployment Insurance Extension

The home buyer credit, extended and expanded over the last 3 years is set to expire at the end of this month with Congress still unable to approve the extension as part of HR 4213. However, recently released data for May 2010 shows worrying trends of sharply declining sales of existing and new homes. Further, inventory data and foreclosure activity have not shown any signs of improvement. All this suggests that the expiration of the home buyer credit may have more of an impact than people thought.

This has prompted Congress to take more action with the stalling of the HR 4123 bill in Congress, due to other provisions. As such 2 new bills have been introduced to try and extend the home buyer credit and also unemployment insurance – 2 key bills that Congress is likely to approve given their importance to their constituents. These bills are:

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Financial Reform Bill Summary – What it Means to Your Future. Free Credit Score, Bank Stocks and Consumer Protection Measures

[Updated] Approved! Congress and the President have approved the financial reform bill (detailed below) that would revamp the nation’s financial regulatory system. It will allow for the creation of a consumer financial protection bureau at the Federal Reserve, give regulators new powers to liquidate failing financial firms whose collapse would threaten the economy and create a council of financial regulators to monitor systemic risk. It is aimed at curbing risk-taking by Wall Street firms and lessening the impact of any future financial crisis.

Financial reform will continue to be clarified by the regulating bodies over the next couple of months and will post these updates when available. I encourage you to subscribe (free) via Email or RSS to get the latest news.

Congressional negotiators approved a sweeping overhaul of U.S. financial regulation reshaping oversight of Wall Street banks, brokers and investment firms. It contains new laws covering how derivatives will be traded, credit agencies regulated, investor rights and more credit card company reforms. Consumers and business will be significantly affected over the next few years by the financial reforms.

Obama today praised lawmakers for agreeing on what he called the “toughest” consumer reforms in history. “Credit card companies will no longer be able to mislead you, The new rules in the U.S. will be a model for safeguards that “can protect all nations.”

Here’s how some of the main provisions will impact your financial and investing future:

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Homebuyer Tax Credit Fraud Puts Pressure on Further Extensions

As many readers of this site await to hear about a possible extension to the home buyer credit closing date, part of the latest Jobs and Tax Bill (HR4213), it was worrying to read some of the recently released IRS statistics on fraud surrounding the credit.

The IRS  doled out more than $27 million in fraudulent claims for the home buyers’ tax credit on returns for 2008, including claims by prisoners serving life sentences and people who purchased their home before the credit was in effect, according to a U.S. Treasury Department report. One group in particular, 1200 prison inmates, including 241 serving life sentences, defrauded the government of $9.1 million in tax credits reserved for first-time home buyers.

Treasury’s inspector general also found that

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