Yesterday, Ben Bernanke talked about the fact that the jobs market appears to be stabilizing as part of the policy statement from the Federal Reserve Board. However, today the news isn’t so rosy. Initial jobless claims rose unexpectedly this past week. Initial claims are still below 500,000, and that is encouraging, but it underscores the fact that there is still quite a ways to go in terms of economic recovery. Indeed, there are some that think that a double dip recession could be on the way, and that the current jobs market is one of the reasons for it. This is because many companies are holding off on making new hires until the economy shows marked improvement, which may not happen until the second half of 2010. This sets off something... [Read more]

The stock market is rather flat today as investors await the latest Fed policy statement. Members of the Federal Reserve will conclude a two-day policy meeting today. The interest rate is not expected to change, so investors are waiting to see what Ben Bernanke, the Chair of the Federal Reserve, has to say about the economy and the expectations of policy going forward. Many expect Bernanke to acknowledge that the economy is showing improvement and that stimulus measures have been doing their job. However, there is also an expectation that he will drop hints of when interest rates might start to rise again as the Fed works to keep a lid on inflation. Ben Bernanke has had a great deal of influence on the markets lately, since Fed policy and statements... [Read more]

I recently received this question from a reader: I have been hearing a lot about the comeback of the charge card. What is a charge card? Is it difference from a credit card? There is no denying the convenience of plastic money. However, even though a debit card is preferred by many, the debit card lacks a number of advantages and protections available withe a credit card. Many people, though, are justly concerned about the potential for problems with using a credit card. Is there some sort of happy medium? Actually, there is. It’s called a charge card. The charge card was the forerunner to the credit card, but it never completely went away. I received a recent email on behalf of American Express with helpful information about one of the... [Read more]

We often look at celebrities and other high earners and think that they must have so much money that they could never exceed their incomes. However, this is not the case. Free Money Finance has an interesting list of celebrities that made tons of money and then blew it because they failed to abide by the #1 rule of personal finance: Spend Less Than You Earn. Here are some of the celebrities listed by Free Money Finance: Michael Jackson Mike Tyson Nicolas Cage Kim Basinger Gary Coleman Corey Haim And, of course, I can think of a few more off the top of my head, including Elton John, Britney Spears and Lawrence Taylor. These starts have all had money problems. And Kevin Bacon has fallen on tough times, since he had put his trust in Bernie Maddoff. So,... [Read more]

Of course, the only reason we give shouldn’t be for a tax deduction. But it is a nice bonus that you can get a tax advantage when you choose to donate in order to help others. And, with the holiday season prompting a little more generosity — and the end of the year providing a catalyst for improve tax efficiency — it is little surprise that many are trying to figure out what they can donate. The good news is that there are some tax advantaged ways to give. You probably already know that you can write a check and deduct that (as long as you have a receipt to back it up in case of audit). But there are a couple of other charitable donation options that can net you a tax advantage: Investments: You can donate investments that... [Read more]