tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13417173287687755432010-04-22T18:06:25.788-07:00Lionellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06681502553870979219noreply@blogger.comBlogger1182125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341717328768775543.post-13686161349066164502010-04-22T17:58:00.005-07:002010-04-22T18:06:25.798-07:00

Last week's column talked about some of the "everyman" tax shelters available these days — including 401(k) plans and IRAs. Today I want to talk about how those two different accounts relate to each other. Let's start with a simple question … Which Is Better — A 401(k) Plan or an Individual Retirement Account? We'll assume that your employer offers a 401(k) plan and that you also meet the

Lionellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06681502553870979219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341717328768775543.post-45859621265923960152010-04-22T17:58:00.003-07:002010-04-22T18:06:23.729-07:00

I have often read that the way to know if a bear market in stocks is coming to an end is by checking the headlines of major magazines like Time, U.S. World News, etc.  When you see a headline such as, "Is this the death of stocks?", that's the time to call your broker and bet the farm on a new bull market. A walk through Google (GOOG) reveals that there were many financial web sites (and even

Lionellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06681502553870979219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341717328768775543.post-40370799156114134342010-04-22T17:58:00.001-07:002010-04-22T18:06:21.642-07:00

In the second our PetMed Express (PETS) posts last July, we wrote the following: Lastly, what about perceived low barriers to entry on the Internet? We argue that barriers to entry are larger than persons appreciate once an Internet franchise successfully carves out a specific niche and has scale - think Amazon (AMZN), Blue Nile (NILE), eBay (EBAY), 1-800-Flowers (FLWS), Youbet.com (UBET). There

Lionellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06681502553870979219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341717328768775543.post-71057541250230541742010-04-21T09:49:00.011-07:002010-04-21T10:03:40.276-07:00

By now you should know I believe the biggest story for the capital markets is no longer housing. It's interest rates. But that doesn't mean I'm ignoring the housing market. Far from it. Heck, you could say I'm more interested in housing than ever before for a simple reason: I have a home to sell! So are my personal experiences lining up with the professional prediction I made back in May

Lionellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06681502553870979219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341717328768775543.post-25205719634509571062010-04-21T09:49:00.009-07:002010-04-21T10:03:38.330-07:00

~ This exercise is pretty much guaranteed to make you a much more profitable trader or investor over time. I know some pretty savvy traders, mainly in NYC and Chicago, but all over the globe.  I was visiting a major brokerage house recently where they recruit traders who are "up and coming."  What they do is they let the multitude of new traders, using their technology, trade their own money

Lionellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06681502553870979219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341717328768775543.post-60872757799073922352010-04-21T09:49:00.007-07:002010-04-21T10:03:31.340-07:00

It certainly looks that way to me. Throughout my eight years in the financial planning profession I've watched the rapid transition from commission and transaction-based business models into fee models. Back in the 80's and 90's it was standard practice to buy and sell stocks and pay commissions to your broker based on the dollar value of your transaction. The same applied to other financial

Lionellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06681502553870979219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341717328768775543.post-8182019732977788472010-04-21T09:49:00.005-07:002010-04-21T10:03:29.681-07:00

The Pocket Change Portfolio (PCP) was first introduced on September 13, 2008 as a real money dividend income portfolio funded by the "pocket change" earned from my various online endeavors. Each month I report on the portfolio's progress and update its holdings. March Dividends Received Total dividends received were $120.51 for the month. It consisted of: $7.39 Vanguard Intermediate Bond ETF (BIV

Lionellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06681502553870979219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341717328768775543.post-69005894260788345772010-04-21T09:49:00.003-07:002010-04-21T10:03:28.070-07:00

As many of you know, I am a fan of Kelly formula because it allows us to maximize long-term growth of equity while minimizing the probability of ruin. However, what Kelly formula wont' prevent is a deep drawdown, though we are assured that the drawdown won't be as much as 100%! This is unsatisfactory to many traders and especially fund managers, since a deep drawdown is psychologically painful

Lionellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06681502553870979219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341717328768775543.post-64125212904004610482010-04-21T09:49:00.001-07:002010-04-21T10:03:26.147-07:00

Being a resident of Virginia and looking for information about health insurance? You might have flipped reams of pages and clicked a lot of online links while searching of Google or Yahoo! with various keywords. We offer a general guide related to health insurance in Virginia, which may equip you to buy a medical insurance policy that suits your needs to the best possible extent. Most of the

Lionellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06681502553870979219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341717328768775543.post-84248063673765338552010-04-18T16:10:00.005-07:002010-04-18T16:20:08.881-07:00

In the Weekly Standard, Andrew Ferguson notes the paradox of behavioral economics, that proving people are often irrational then begs the question as to why we think some subset of intellectuals or regulators are more rational: Thaler, in a recent interview, said, "If there's a regulatory philosophy in behavioral economics, it's that we should recognize that people in the economy are human and

Lionellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06681502553870979219noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341717328768775543.post-26019834005533179342010-04-18T16:10:00.003-07:002010-04-18T16:20:06.787-07:00

Tax Expert - Evelyn Jacks The following is an article by Tax Expert, Evelyn Jacks, President of The Knowledge Bureau and author of Master Your Taxes, Make Sure It's Deductible and Essential Tax Facts. Evelyn is a prolific and bestselling author of over 40 books, a sought-after international speaker and media commentator, known by millions as Canada's most trusted voice on tax and personal

Lionellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06681502553870979219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341717328768775543.post-63713952691676088772010-04-18T16:10:00.001-07:002010-04-18T16:20:04.898-07:00

http://www.zerohedge.com/article/financial-lexicon-101-summary-key-terms Even as Bank of America is preparing to restart securitization and thus provide the single greatest gift to creditors the world over, as this is merely the first step in wiping out/transferring yet more trillions in private sector debt, it has done the public a bigger favor by compiling the following list of key terms for

Lionellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06681502553870979219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341717328768775543.post-8685386467902905452010-04-17T10:36:00.005-07:002010-04-17T10:58:03.487-07:00

What would it be like to live in a world without credit cards? Well, it seems Americans are contemplating just that.  On April 7th, 2010, at 3:00pm, the monthly Consumer Credit report was released by the Federal Reserve Bank. For the 15th time in the last 17 months, households paid off their debts.  Consumer credit went down $11.5 billion.  Revolving credit, such as credit cards, went down by

Lionellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06681502553870979219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341717328768775543.post-30986979901326758382010-04-17T10:36:00.003-07:002010-04-17T10:58:01.425-07:00

It is often said that the absolute best time to buy is when "there is blood in the streets." The primary problem with this age-old Wall Street adage is the only way to tell if your particular buy point was good is with a healthy dose of hindsight. For example, I personally know many investment professionals who advised their clients to buy during the summer of 2008 and again that fall as Lehman

Lionellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06681502553870979219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341717328768775543.post-19114843524367865992010-04-17T10:36:00.001-07:002010-04-17T10:57:59.592-07:00

Last month, we discussed ITEX Corporation (ITEX) and noted that even though a couple of value investor groups hold significant percentages of the company, management seemed intent on protecting its own interests over those of shareholders. Last week, I had the opportunity to interview David Polonitza of The Polonitza Group, a group of shareholders that owns/controls 13% of ITEX's shares: What is

Lionellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06681502553870979219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341717328768775543.post-42188307008258383792010-04-14T15:07:00.005-07:002010-04-14T15:15:31.486-07:00

This in depth analysis seeks to update the stock market forecast for 2010 (Stocks Stealth Bull Market Trend Forecast For 2010 ) as included in the Inflation Mega-Trend Ebook (Download Now). This analysis specifically seeks to conclude towards a trend forecast for the next 2 months from into Mid May 2010. The INFLATION Mega-Trend - The world's subprime governments are sending their economies

Lionellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06681502553870979219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341717328768775543.post-45152571779079588582010-04-14T15:07:00.003-07:002010-04-14T15:15:29.258-07:00

I'm gnashing my teeth and wailing in disgust over newspaper headlines like this: "Oil Prices May Choke Off Recovery."  Or "Forecast of Rising Interest Rates Threatens Economic Growth."  Or even "High Lumber Prices Threaten Housing."  These headline writers flunked Econ 1.  For those of you who need a review, take a look at a basic Supply and Demand chart.  Let's say we're talking about widgets.

Lionellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06681502553870979219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341717328768775543.post-5379153726728003512010-04-14T15:07:00.001-07:002010-04-14T15:15:27.218-07:00

Did you know that second week in April historically marks the single busiest time of the year for mortgage applications in Canada as the Spring home buying season gets into full swing? Benefits of Mortgage Insurance The following is an article authored by Narrinder Dhanoya-Bhangu, Vice President, Pacific Region Genworth Financial Canada and outlines 10 benefits of mortgage insurance. Biography

Lionellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06681502553870979219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341717328768775543.post-15018206792957831972010-04-08T09:04:00.001-07:002010-04-08T09:24:55.040-07:00

A: I've often been told that when I complete my vision for this site and the end product is launched, that brokers will hate me! That brokers will find a way to discredit me, find a way to ruin the brand of 'UrbanDigs' that was built from years of commentary on the markets, and find a way to run this site to the ground. As I get closer to releasing the product that took so long to put together

Lionellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06681502553870979219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341717328768775543.post-81499663669760338392010-04-07T14:56:00.005-07:002010-04-07T15:03:53.540-07:00

It's still more than a month away from the 2010 tax deadline, April 15, 2010. If you haven't finished your tax return yet, there's still plenty of time to get it done before the deadline, so it may be a little early to talk about tax extension. However, if for any reason that you believe you won't be able to file your 2009 tax on time, you should prepare to request an extension of time to file

Lionellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06681502553870979219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341717328768775543.post-74704627658353768452010-04-07T14:56:00.003-07:002010-04-07T15:03:51.941-07:00

For years, I've heard senior managers tell branch employees to "act like owners" of their businesses. Managers encourage employees to make decisions, take action, and assume that they have the authority to do so.  And it's been my experience that, oh… about half of them actually mean it.  (That's a subject for another day.)   While recently visiting family back home, an encounter with the owner

Lionellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06681502553870979219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341717328768775543.post-40188437060075444952010-04-07T14:56:00.001-07:002010-04-07T15:03:50.019-07:00

Kevin O'Leary, host of  the television show Dragon's Den and Shark Tank, is a screaming head who never a person he couldn't talk over. Having said that, he should be admired as a canny entrepreneur and for understanding and exploiting the modern media game well- scream first, scream loud and scream last; it will get you on television. O'Leary is not a screaming head because he gives good advice,

Lionellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06681502553870979219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341717328768775543.post-41404760188048206312010-04-06T15:27:00.011-07:002010-04-06T15:38:45.128-07:00

Because 2009 was such a challenging time for those trying to manage their personal finances, millions of people have decided to make important financial changes in 2010 so that they can lower their debt load and get their finances back on the right track. If you are one of the millions of people who have taken a financial ‘hit' due to the troubled economy, there are a number of things you can do

Lionellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06681502553870979219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341717328768775543.post-15805258191089426702010-04-06T15:27:00.009-07:002010-04-06T15:38:43.601-07:00

March 17, 2010 by: Matthew Bradbard click on chart Why corn and why now? Since the January USDA report prices of corn have come down approximately 15% but failed on two occasions, most recently this week and early February, to get much lower than the current levels. On both the daily and weekly charts we are at oversold levels and as one can see from the chart above we are very near a

Lionellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06681502553870979219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341717328768775543.post-33339307002290951472010-04-06T15:27:00.007-07:002010-04-06T15:38:41.897-07:00

Cleo Hamel of H&R Block Canada Biography: Cleo Hamel brings a wealth of financial and tax experience to the Tax Advisory at H&R Block Canada. She is also the national spokesperson and has been interviewed across the country. Cleo joined H&R Block in January 2000 as a tax associate and was steadily promoted within the organization. She was a tax course instructor, an Assistant District Manager and

Lionellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06681502553870979219noreply@blogger.com0