What If Fannie & Freddie Went Away?
Right now, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac backstop almost 90% of U.S. home loans. Is a new home financing system ahead?
August Economic Update
Basically, U.S. stocks just achieved about two years of gains in seven months. This begs a question: how much higher can the S&P 500 climb this year? When 2013 started, especially bullish analysts thought the index might hit 1,700 before 2014 arrived. At the start of August, it was already at that level. When the market is this hot, warnings of a pullback or a correction reliably appear – and they certainly have, but few investors seem to be paying much notice to them. With luck, 2013 could wind up a truly exceptional year for Wall Street. Read more in our August economic update.
Beneficiary Forms and Social Security Trust Funds
It is not true that you are done with estate planning once you have a will. When you open a bank, brokerage or retirement account you might undo all your estate planning. Learn about the importance of beneficiary forms, and about Social Security’s trust funds in...How Do You Know If You Have Enough to Retire?
Retirement calculators are useful – but only to a point. The dilemma is that they can’t predict your retirement lifestyle. Read about this, and take a personal financial quiz in our June issue.July Economic Update
Sometimes the direction of the stock market can change on a few sentences, even a few words. That was certainly the case on June 19, when Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke mentioned the possible end of QE3 in 2014 and the prospect of reducing the central bank’s monthly bond purchases later in 2013. Still, the major U.S. indices fared pretty well compared to foreign benchmarks. June brought a lot of good news about the economy. Consumer confidence rose in June– the month’s final survey from the University of Michigan came in at 84.1, approaching a six-year peak. Inflation was again trivial: the Consumer Price Index had advanced just 0.1% for May and but 1.4% in a year. Read more in our July economic update.