Personal Finance: Don’t sweat the Chinese stock market
Casino (noun): a building or room used for social amusements; specifically one used for gambling.
Personal Finance: Tax breaks this year for everyone
If you are the proud owner of a thoroughbred race horse, good news: Congress just extended a tax break for you that allows you to depreciate the old gal over three years instead of seven, at least through the end of 2016. That doesn't mean a trip to the glue factory any sooner, just a lighter tax bill for a select few doyens of the Sport of Kings.
Personal Finance: Financial resolutions you can keep
OK, it's that time again, where every advice column offers up financial resolutions for the New Year.
Personal Finance: Year-end portfolio tips to minimize taxes
Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat, and Uncle Sam is itching to get his hands on your income tax for next year. Not much of a rhyme, but a good reminder to review your portfolio before year-end for ways to minimize the tax bite.
Personal Finance: Antitrust enforcement often counterproductive
Since the end of the recession in 2009, the U.S. economy has grown at a disappointingly tepid rate of around 2 percent per year. The factors conspiring to impede a more robust expansion are many, but a leading role must be assigned to policy mistakes and regulatory overreach. This past week brought another example, as regulators obsessed over competition in paper clips.
Personal Finance: Banks’ love-hate relationship with smartphones
Smartphone technology is forcing rapid change and is challenging traditional business models across scores of industries. But nowhere is the pace of change more evident than in the world of banking. And while much of this rapid evolution is being embraced by the financial institutions, some popular mobile apps represent a competitive challenge against which the banks are fighting back.
Personal Finance: Shoppers are in the driver’s seat this time of the year
Ah, Thanksgiving. A time to reflect upon our blessings, and formulate a battle plan for the annual assault on the retail redoubts and capture of the prized discount.
Personal Finance: Chip-enabled credit cards gaining acceptance
By now you have probably received new credit cards that feature improved capability to combat fraud. These cards incorporate a very thin microprocessor that is intended to replace the magnetic stripe with which are so familiar. And while the United States is behind the curve in adopting the more secure chip technology, merchants are increasingly adopting it in response to an impending shift in liability for fraudulent activity.
Personal Finance: New retirement savings plan is a good start
The looming crisis in retirement saving among American workers is now well documented. According to one recent paper from the Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis at the New School, 68 percent of the working age population is not participating in any employer-based retirement plan, despite regular entreaties to take full advantage of their 401(k).
Personal Finance: Crowdfunding set to pass SEC muster
New business startups have traditionally been the fount of job creation in the dynamic and often turbulent U.S. economy.