Written by Adam Sullivan on February 26, 2012.
Are you brave enough to consider investing some of your Isa money in Europe? With the €130bn (£110bn) bail-out for Greece approved last week, we’re looking at three of our favourite European funds from Citywire Selection.
If you think investing in Europe sounds mad right now, you might be right, but bear in mind that the best returns go to those intrepid souls who invest when others are too scared to.
Although European stock markets surged by as much as 8pc last month as confidence that the eurozone was getting to grips with the debt crisis grew, share prices on the Continent remain low after their battering last year.
Buying into a market when it is undervalued is the best way to achieve good long-term returns. However, it does not mean you will get a smooth ride.
The fear is that this is just another chapter in Europe’s debt crisis, not an end to the five-year saga. Cr
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Written by Adam Sullivan on February 19, 2012.
Its a game of skill, dedication, wits and nerve – a tantalising taste challenge thats capable of splitting the Tic from the Tac. Oh, OK, its a silly filler game I made up during a long car journey – but you may just enjoy it.
Its not quite as simple as you think – both are citrusy flavours and the tangerine can overpower the lime. The first go is usually the easiest as you have a clean palate, and the residual flavour of past ones makes it trickier as you go along.
Of course Mrs MSE finds the whole thing bizarre and doesnt get why I enjoy it, but she humours me and carries on. Thankfully though, on a recent journey to play golf, one of my buddies was more appreciative and happy to play the game with me on the drive back.
I think maybe I should shut up now.
Written by Adam Sullivan on February 9, 2012.
Citizens State Bank of Cadott, WI is offering a Variable IRA (VIRA) rate of 4.00% APY. The Variable IRA requires that you have a checking or savings account at the bank and make at least monthly transfers from one of those accounts into the IRA. There is no minimum transfer amount. The maximum total transfer amount is determined by IRA rules.
Variable IRAs
Variable IRAs are like savings accounts in a tax-advantaged IRA account. A variable IRA can either be a traditional IRA, in which income from the account is tax deferred, or a Roth IRA, in which post-tax income grows tax-free and can be withdrawn tax free. The main difference between a Variable IRA and a Fixed IRA is that the interest rate earned on money in a Variable IRA can change at anytime (think of the difference between a savings account and a CD).
Citizens State Bank
The VIRA can only be opened at a Citizens State Bank branch. The bank has four branches located close to Eau Claire, Wisconsin.
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Written by Adam Sullivan on February 2, 2012.
New research from the Principal Financial Well-Being Index shows that the economy is the greatest source of stress for Americans, followed by their personal finances, job and health. According to the 52 percent of retirees and 42 percent of workers, the cause of a high stress level is the economy, while according to the rest 30 percent of retirees and 34 percent of workers, personal finances is the cause of the stress. On the recent economic surface, personal finances are getting worse and people are incurring more into debt, and looking for ways to achieve debt relief. According to the latest statistics of Federal Reserve, the total amount of consumer debt in the United States stands at nearly $2.4 trillion and is expected to rise in the future.
Experts think that the main cause of the consumer debt is the indiscreet use of credit card and taking out incessant loans during the event of poor finances. Often people take out loans without understanding their terms and conditions that even cause people incurring debt.
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Written by Adam Sullivan on January 27, 2012.
Existing-home sales increased for the third consecutive month in December 2011, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) said in a recent report.
According to the NAR, existing-home sales rose 5.0 percent month-over month in December and came in 3.6 percent higher than one year earlier in December 2010.
The pattern of home sales in recent months demonstrates a market in recovery, Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said in a statement. Record low mortgage interest rates, job growth and bargain home prices are giving more consumers the confidence they need to enter the market.
Last week, 30-year fixed mortgage rates inched down to new record low and mortgage rates are forecasted to remain low in early 2012.
Overall, 2011 saw a 1.7 percent year-over-year increase in existing-home sales, the NAR said.
December continued the trend of a declining housing inventory. Total housing inventory in the month fell 9.2 percent month-over-month.
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Written by Adam Sullivan on January 22, 2012.
Robert Miller with the main City and business news as many Asia markets are shut for the Chinese New Year Europe’s bourses continue to fret about the Eurozone and lack of progress on talks to restructure Greek debt and talks that Portugal will need another bailout; Carphone Warehouse is on track even though underlying sales fell in third quarter; Imperial Leather soap maker PZ Cussons sees first half profit fall almost 12pc but the interim dividend is raised by 5pc and the annual World Economic Forum gets udnerway in Davos with Germany’s chancellor Angela Merkel due to give a keynote speech.
Written by Adam Sullivan on January 18, 2012.
The green masthead’s on its last legs, we’re in the process of a gradual redesign and a big element of this is the new masthead. It’s prime real estate on the site as it’s on every single page, so before we go for it, I’d love your views…
We’ve a few tweaks to make on exactly what goes where (the forum button needs to be more prominent), yet this is the overall look we’re going for.
There’s been much debate in MSE Towers about whether the picture with folded arms means business, or is defensive – overall, while I’m not so keen, the team think it’s a winner. We wanted to try something a bit different going for a very casual picture as the site is being smartened up and losing it’s done in a bedroom style – the aim of this pic is to keep something of the informality.
We’ve even had discussions about whether the colour of my shirt is right and whether it’s ironed enough (we can deal with the first in Photoshop, though this version is un-tweaked).
So I’d love your views. Do you like the overall image of
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Written by Adam Sullivan on January 9, 2012.
It’s hard to find rates in the 3.00% range but there are still a few insititutions keeping their rates above that mark. Navy Federal Credit Union takes the spotlight this week for its 3.00% APY 20-Month IRA CD. The retirement CD has a low minimum deposit requirement of $50. That’s a great rate considering that the best 5-year CD from a bank is 2.78% APY and from a credit union it’s 3.10% APY.
IRA CDs are certificates of deposit that are held within individual retirement accounts. They accrue interest just like regular CDs although because the certificate is held in a retirement account, the interest is tax deferred (Traditional IRA) or tax free (Roth IRA). The limit for contributing to an IRA each year is:
- Traditional IRA – An amount equal to your taxable income up to $5,000 or up to $6,000 if you are 50 or over.
- Roth IRA – Same as the Traditional IRA, with one exception: you cannot contribute if your income exceeds a certain level for your tax filing status.
Once money is in a Traditional or Roth IRA, you can move between different investment options, with an IRA CD being one of them.
The 20-month Navy certificate has a maximum balance limit of $18,000.
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