YELLEN EMPHASIZES FURTHER EASING While conceding that the Federal Reserve’s current stimulus effort “will not continue indefinitely,” Federal Reserve chair nominee Janet Yellen sounded decidedly dovish at her confirmation hearing in the Senate last week. “Supporting the recovery today is the surest path to returning to a more normal approach to monetary policy,” she noted,…

There is seldom a dull moment on Wall Street. Stocks may rise or fall dramatically over the course of a year or a decade. Sometimes, breaking news may tempt you to pull money out of a 401(a) plan or 457 plan, or greatly reduce your contributions to either. If you’re considering such moves, think twice.…

Philippines Donate If you’ve seen any of the footage coming out of the Philippines, you know that Typhoon Haiyan has destroyed not just buildings, roads, and infrastructure, but lives. It is absolutely devastating. My non-profit, The Band of Brothers Foundation, has a school project in the Philippines on a little island that was ground zero…

Here are 6 things you need to know about Social Security in 2014. For clarity’s sake, here is a rundown of what is changing next year, and what isn’t. Social Security recipients are getting a raise – but not much of one. Next year, the average monthly Social Security payment will increase by $19 due…

SHUTDOWN DOESN’T DETER HIRING The Labor Department’s delayed October employment report showed the economy adding 204,000 new jobs last month. Analysts polled by Reuters had only expected a gain of 125,000. The unemployment rate actually rose to 7.3%, as those analysts had predicted. This was a nice Friday surprise for Wall Street, and it also…

The IRS has made minor adjustments to retirement plan contribution limits for 2014. As inflation has been tame in 2013, these COLAs aren’t dramatic; as a result, some retirement plans won’t see any next year. Here is a roundup of the changes for 2014. IRAs. Not much change here: the 2014 contribution limit is still…

At the end of October, the S&P 500 was up 24.39% in the past 12 months. What investor wouldn’t want gains like that? As uplifting as that market advance was for many, some baby boomers missed out on it. They were simply too afraid to get back into stocks – they couldn’t dispense with their…

Before retirement begins, gather what you need. Put as much documentation as you can in one place, for you and those you love. It could be a password-protected online vault; it could be a file cabinet; it could be a file folder. Regardless of what it is, by centralizing the location of important papers you…

Investors are looking everywhere for better yields – but how many of them look into Master Limited Partnerships? Many investors have never heard of MLPs. Others have, but assume they are complex and esoteric. In reality, investing in MLPs isn’t that mysterious. They trade on public exchanges, and today there are even MLP mutual funds…

AN ARGUMENT AGAINST TAPERING According to the Labor Department, the economy added 148,000 jobs in September. The jobless rate dipped to 7.2%, but job creation has averaged less than 150,000 for three straight months. (August job growth was revised up to 193,000, July job growth down to 89,000.) The University of Michigan’s final October consumer…