Senate Passes Tax Cut Extension On July 25, the Senate passed the Middle Class Tax Cut Act (S. 3412) by a vote of 51 in favor to 48 opposed. Under the reconciliation rules for tax bills, the act required only a majority vote. Senate Finance Committee Ranking Minority Member Orrin Hatch (R-UT) offered an amendment […]
Archive | July, 2012
AAM Weekly Market Wrap – July 27, 2012
Weekly Market Wrap: Stocks reversed course this week. After an early week sell-off on Euro worries markets rallied on news of help for Euro countries. For The Week The S&P 500 finished the week up 1.71% to close at 1,385.97. Oil slipped 1.48% to $90.09. Gold moved up 2.56% to $1,625.03. The Dollar dropped 0.90% […]
High Yields Prove Elusive
Historically, many retirees and pre-retirees have looked to their portfolios as a potential source of income. In the current environment, finding these sources is no easy task. Ten-year U.S. Treasury bonds yield only 2.2%, and dividend-paying stocks within the S&P 500 are yielding 2.5%.1 But there are opportunities for higher yields that investors may want […]
Social Security Tips – July 25 2012
Social Security Tips : Social Security treats men and women equally. Men and women with identical earnings histories are treated exactly the same. Although treated equally by Social Security, there are trends and differences in lifestyle that can affect benefits. For example, women tend to care for many people: spouses, children, and parents. Taking time […]
Washington Hotline – July 24, 2012
Bipartisan “Fix the Debt” Campaign On July 17, a group of civic leaders, CEOs and budget experts met to organize a new effort to encourage a budget compromise. Erskine Bowles, co-founder of “The Campaign to Fix the Debt” stated, “We need our leaders to make these hard choices, these politically difficult choices.” He indicated that […]
AAM Weekly Market Wrap – July 23 2012
Weekly Market Wrap: This week a Friday selloff on increasing Spain bond yields erased the week’s gains and gave stocks a mostly flat finish. The S&P 500 index finished the week up 0.43% to close at 1,362. Oil surged or worries with Iran adding 4.97% to $91.44. Gold was flat moving 0.27% lower to $1,584. […]
Gimbal Capital Management Balanced Strategies June Update
July 3, 2012 Gimbal Capital Management Balanced Strategies Update Index June S&P 500 TR 4.12% Corporate Bonds 0.43% Treasury Bonds -0.33% Best & Worst Sectors Pharma 6.73% Oil & Gas 6.67% Healthcare 6.09% Cyclical 1.90% Technology 1.97% Commodities 2.56% Fears of a European catastrophe eased in the last week […]
Can Grandparents Save for a Grandchild’s Education?
Grandparents can help pay for a grandchild’s education by saving money in a taxable account and using the money for college-related bills, establishing a 529 college savings plan, and/or making an irrevocable gift to a grandchild through a Uniform Gift to Minors Act or Uniform Transfer to Minors Act (UGMA/UTMA) account. Taxable Accounts Some […]
Washington Hotline – July 17 2012
Economic Opportunity for Young People At a Senate Finance Committee hearing on July 10, the topic was the “Impact of Tax Reform on Economic Opportunities for Young People.” The purpose of the hearing was to examine ways that future tax reform might enable more young people from lower-income families to achieve success in pursuing the American […]
AAM Weekly Market Wrap – July 16 2012
Weekly Market Wrap: The markets staged a Friday rally to erase the week’s losses and halt a six-day market losing streak. The S&P 500 index added 0.16% to close at 1,356.78. Gold also moved slightly higher to add 0.30% to $1,588.68. Oil surged gaining 5.66% to $87.11. The dollar moved 0.05% higher against other major […]
