Was 2013 a terrific year for stocks? Absolutely. The good news wasn’t limited to Wall Street, however: the unemployment rate fell, the economy revved up, home prices rose and inflation pressure was minimal. Bulls triumphed. Christmas Eve brought the Dow’s 49th record close of 2013: 16,357.55. The S&P 500 settled at 1,833.32 on December 24…

This might not surprise you: 2013 is going in the books as the worst year bond funds have ever seen. According to TrimTabs Investment Research, investors yanked $72 billion out of bond mutual funds in 2013 – all of it after May. Those net outflows alone exceeded the record of $63 billion seen in 1994.…

A MAJOR GAIN FOR A CONSUMER CONFIDENCE INDEX The Conference Board’s monthly gauge of consumer confidence came in at 78.1 for December, beating the 76.0 median forecast from economists polled by Bloomberg. In November, it stood at 72.0. The index is way up from where it once was: its average reading was just 53.7 during…

A HOLIDAY SHOPPING SEASON TO CELEBRATE Good news from the Commerce Department: November brought a healthy 0.5% gain in personal spending (matching the consensus forecast of economists polled by Briefing.com) and a 0.2% rise in personal income that offset the 0.1% retreat in October. SpendingPulse, which tracks online and in-store retail purchases, says that retail…

FED MAKES ITS MOVE, STOCKS MOVE NORTH In a 9-1 vote last Wednesday, Federal Reserve officials elected to taper the central bank’s monthly economic stimulus beginning in January. The taper was relatively minor – a cut of $10 billion to $75 billion – and the surprise announcement set off a major rally on Wall Street,…

December 18 turned out to be T-Day: the day on which the Federal Reserve finally tapered QE3. In making the move, the Fed acknowledged an improving economy; Wall Street quickly and enthusiastically applauded its decision. The Fed will reduce its monthly asset purchases by $10 billion. QE3 will continue, but the central bank will buy…

In a recently Forbes column I wrote, I make the case why the lottery is a good investment. No, not a good financial investment, but a good investment in yourself. Here’s a snippet: The real question is not what toys you would buy or even how winning the lottery would change your life. The better…

An opportunity for you to give & save. As 2013 ends, you may be considering making one or more charitable contributions. In most instances, they are tax-deductible with benefits for the donor as well as the recipient. As you make any charitable gift, keep three things in mind. One, the organization must be a qualified…

“MINI-BARGAIN” PASSES HOUSE, HEADS FOR SENATE Last week, the congressional budget committee headed by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) and Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) succeeded where its 2011 predecessor had failed – it reached a deal, albeit a small-scale one. The House passed its budget bill by a 332-94 vote Thursday night; the legislation heads for…

If you play Powerball or Mega Millions in an office lottery pool, you should be forewarned. If you are lucky enough to win, you may be unlucky in litigation. Many office lottery pools end up in litigation because they are not structured correctly. I wrote a column for Forbes called “5 Rules if You Play…