Last week, I wrote about how the “so-called” middle-class tax cut is going to cause damage to both the Israeli economy as well as to those in the lower and middle classes. Now it seems like the Finance Ministry, led by Yuval Steinitz, is trying to outdo itself by dramatically increasing the taxes on luxury […]
Israelis are beginning to reap the fruits of this past summer’s protests; the problem is that the fruit may be rotten. While some in the middle class may have received some tax relief thanks to the recently passed legislation based on Trajtenberg committee recommendations entitled “The Bill to Change the Tax Burden,” those that actually […]
Not even mentioning the “Lost Decade” of investment returns that I have mentioned so often, the recent market carnage has sent those on the verge of retirement scrambling. After having worked so hard and having “followed the book” when it comes to saving for retirement, many pre-retirees have seen their investment portfolios (not to mention […]
There has been a lot of talk recently about the move back to buying locally, and supporting local, community businesses. As I write this from rainy Seattle, Wa., the media is filled with reports of efforts to get people to forgo doing their Christmas shopping at large national chains and buy from local businesses. It’s […]
Over the last 6 trading days the S&P 500 index has dropped by almost 8%. The last 7 months have certainly been disastrous for investors, and many would argue that we haven’t seen the worst. With no end in sight to the European economic mess, and anemic US growth, many stock prognosticators are calling for […]
It’s been quite a week. Last Friday a client called and said he had just flied to Baltimore to be with his mother who has been hospitalized and the doctors are very pessimistic as to her chance of recovery. On Sunday a good friend told me he was heading to Geneva to be with his […]
I recently had the opportunity to interview Michael Dever, author of the very successful book Jackass Investing: Don’t do it. Profit from it (Ignite LLC).The book challenges conventional investing wisdom and has created a lot of buzz in the investing world. Mr. Dever has been on the front line of investment innovation and trading for […]
With so much information available on the Internet and 24 hour-a-day business TV, the rallying cry from these media sources has been for investors to manage their own funds. Investing is easy, they say. Not to mention that if you pay very low fees, you can trade and trade and make lots of money. Well, […]
I have written numerous times about the problem facing retirees looking for income to meet their expenses. Last week I looked at Non-Traded REITs and the pros and cons of using them to enhance income streams. Today I would like to look at international stocks as an option. International stocks? For many investors just the […]
It’s no secret that in today’s low interest rate environment, retiree’s are having all kinds of trouble finding ways to generate enough income to meet their expense needs. It used to be that you could stick money into a government or a highly rated corporate bond and get a respectable return. Today, those same vehicles […]
