Written by Adam Sullivan on November 2, 2011.
Concerns over the European debt market led U.S. mortgage rates to nosedive to their second-lowest levels ever, Freddie Mac said yesterday.
Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey revealed that, for the week ending November 3, 2011, 30-year fixed-rate mortgages (FRMs) fell to an average of 4.00 percent after averaging 4.10 percent last week.
This mark of 4.00 percent is just a few ticks higher than the all-time record low of 3.94 percent recording back in the week ending October 6, 2011, Freddie Mac said. One year ago at this time, 30-year FRMs averaged 4.24 percent.
“Market concerns over the European debt market drew investors to U.S. Treasury securities, lowering bond yields and mortgage rates,” Frank Nothaft, vice president and chief economist, Freddie Mac, said in a statement.
Average rates for both 15-year fixed mortgages and 5-year adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs) both fell sharply for the week ending November 3, 2011, as well.
15-year FRMs averaged 3.31 percent, down from 3.38 percent one week earlier, while 5-year ARMs recorded a huge drop to an average of 2.96 percent after coming in at 3.08 percent last week.
Despite apprehension about the European market, Nothaft said that the U.S. econo Read more…
Written by Scott Barnes on October 30, 2011.
He wrote an article for the NY Times called (a little jab at ?), which covers one of the cognitive fallacies discussed in the book caused by overconfidence amongst professional stock-pickers and money managers. First, he covers what some of you may already know about the performance of actively-managed mutual funds:
Mutual funds are run by highly experienced and hard-working professionals who buy and sell stocks to achieve the best possible results for their clients. Nevertheless, the evidence from more than 50 years of research is conclusive: for a large majority of fund managers, the selection of stocks is more like rolling dice than like playing poker. At least two out of every three mutual funds underperform the overall market in any given year.
The second story was more personal, and had to do with a small group of financial advisors.
I asked for some data to prepare my presentation and was granted a small treasure: a spreadsheet summarizing the investment outcomes of some 25 anonymous wealth advisers, for eight consecutive years.
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Written by Admin on October 30, 2011.
Before deciding to plan out your retirement it is essential to decide as to which IRA will be a better option to invest. Roth IRA or traditional IRA’s? Hence stay witty. Check out the offers provided by various IRA’s. Then decide which one of them should bear your savings. For more information on Roth IRA and its rules visit the following link visit roth-ira.org.
When it comes to Roth IRA , the fact that it is tax free attracts individuals towards it. The fact that even the amount of tax you need to pay is being monitored by the computer makes it more convenient for the user. As you needn’t break your head in all those mathematical calculations. The l Read more…
Written by Adam Sullivan on October 28, 2011.
HANNAH EVE EDWARDS, BRI ASSET MANAGEMENT
I recently met Martin Gray, manager of the CF Miton Special Situations fund, and have been very impressed with the long-term performance. It’s a multi-asset global fund, driven by Martin’s macroeconomic views, and as well as achieving excellent capital growth it has been very defensive in times of market weakness. .
DARIUS McDERMOTT, CHELSEA FINANCIAL SERVICES
For low risk we tip CF Miton Special Situations and HSBC Open Global Return, a multi-asset fund. For medium risk, Artemis Strategic Assets and M&G Global Dividend, and for those with a high risk tolerance we like Rathbone Global Opportunities and Aberdeen Emerging Markets.
I invest in a combination of these.
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Written by Joseph Perry on October 24, 2011.
Wouldnt it be great if colleges handed out financial aid for events like Halloween, Christmas, etc? Sigh, if wishes were horses. However till that happens, all of us poor students living on a budget can make do with the following tips and tricks that allow you to make the most of Halloween on a small budget.
Whats the biggest budget buster on Halloween? You guessed it right, its the COSTUME. Time to go DIY! Skip the malls and visit the thrift stores. Youll be amazed that with a little bit of creativity you can make a costume as good as the store bought ones for a fraction of the price. Also have a look at our last years post which showed you how to make costumes for Halloween
Out of the box: Go for a masquerade!
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Written by Joseph Perry on October 18, 2011.
Successful stock investing can be very complicated and it can be very simple depending upon your approach. Successful stock investing starts with deciding on a strategy for stock picking, buying stock, and holding for long term investing. It includes knowing how and when to sell stock. Investing in the stock market involves homework, attention to detail, diversifying a stock portfolio and other strategies for managing investment risk management. The most successful stock investing comes from adhering to a few simple rules and not letting the psychology of investing or stock market tips distract you. Use of technical analysis tools such as Candlestick chart formations will help find stocks that are at the bottom of their cycle allowing for cheaper purchase of a promising stock.
There is no perfect system for picking stocks. That having been said there is such a thing as smart stock investing which will reduce your stock market risk and increase your chances for good stock market results. Read more…
Written by Adam Sullivan on October 18, 2011.
There was an elephant in the room at yesterday’s energy summit. So when I got my chance to look in the whites of David Cameron’s eyes I mentioned it: “Prime Minister, if bills don’t come down this winter, the public will see this summit as a failure.”
He nodded like a man who knows he’ll bear the brunt if some choose between heating and eating this winter. After all, if I’m being swamped with Tweets on it, I suspect constituency mailbags are jammed too.
At a typical £1,300/year gas and electricity is a far more tangible problem for UK voters than the Greek crisis. Yet don’t hold your breath for price cuts, although most energy companies will freeze prices this winter, which may help a little if a long cold spell pushes demand high. Then again,
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Written by Scott Barnes on October 17, 2011.
If you’re interested in depositing much, much more into an IRA than the traditional $5,000 annual limit, an SEP IRA may be just the ticket. The catch? You’ll have to start your own business (read 26 Ways to Make Extra Money Wile Keeping Your Day Job).
Simplified Employee Pension Individual Retirement Accounts, known as SEP IRAs, are IRAs that business owners can set up and fund on behalf of employees and/or themselves, even if there’s only one employee … YOU! And the annual contribution limit for 2011? Almost ten times the regular IRA contribution limit! One key difference is that instead of the employees, it’s the employers that make contributions to the plan. In 2011, co
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