Posts by Robert Pagliarini

What happened to the weak buck? In recent years, stock market gains have been associated with a weak dollar (among other factors). This latest rally on Wall Street seems to be an exception: years of dollar weakness may be giving way to renewed foreign investment in U.S. currency, spurred by global belief that things are…

RETAILERS RECEIVE A MAJOR BOOST   Higher payroll taxes don’t seem to have hurt shopping or driving: the Commerce Department noted a 1.1% improvement in retail sales for February. As gas station receipts increased 5.0% and auto sales 1.1% last month, there was also a 0.4% gain in core retail sales and a 0.5% rise…

How do you picture your future? If you are like many baby boomers, your view of retirement is likely pragmatic compared to that of your parents. That doesn’t mean you have to have a “plain vanilla” tomorrow. Even if your retirement savings are not as great as you would prefer, you still have great potential…

Next stop, 15,000? As the Dow Jones Industrial Average settled at a new all-time high of 14,253.77 on March 5, the psychological lift on Wall Street was undeniable – the market was finally back to where it was in 2007. Or was it? For many Americans, the Dow equals the stock market, and the stock…

HIRING HAS REALLY PICKED UP During June-August 2012, non-farm payrolls grew by an average of 135,000 jobs a month. Across September-November, that average improved to 181,000 per month. From December-February, the economy added an average of 191,000 jobs a month. The icing on the cake: the latest monthly report from the Labor Department showed 236,000…

If you are expecting an inheritance of money or will come into large amounts of money soon, you may be wondering what you should do with this sudden wealth. There are countless examples of how people have squandered their money, but I recently came across one individual who seems to have a good plan. Him…

The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (ATRA) brought major changes to federal tax law, and it profoundly impacted retirement and estate planning. Here is an overview of seven big changes particularly relevant to retirees and/or those approaching retirement age. Federal income tax brackets were altered. Where we once had six tax brackets, we now…

Should you make a minor child the primary beneficiary of your IRA? Are there any caveats to that choice? IRA owners frequently name young children as contingent beneficiaries of their accounts, but designating someone younger than 18 as the primary beneficiary of IRA assets invites a number of questions. Will you exploit the stretch IRA…

DESPITE ANXIETIES, DOW STAYS ABOVE 14,000 The DJIA settled at 14,089.66 Friday, gaining 0.64% on the week. The S&P 500 (+0.17% to 1,518.20) and NASDAQ (+0.25% to 3,169.74) also logged five-day advances. All this happened in the face of significant instability, as Wall Street fretted over the deadlock in Italy’s national elections and the sequester…

Social Security benefits have increased 1.7% this year. This doesn’t come close to the 3.6% boost retirees got for 2012, but it does mark the second straight annual cost-of-living adjustment. (After a hefty 5.8% COLA for 2009, there were no COLAs for 2010 or 2011). So for 2013, the average monthly Social Security payment going…