tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57815994413171488632024-03-14T08:55:56.023-07:00Nancy Z's Money MarketplaceWelcome to my blog about all things money! I've been helping investors make money for almost 30 years. Here, I share my investing and financial expertise to help you make the most of your money so that you can attain all of your financial goals and ensure that your golden years are truly "golden".
Come here for sharp, unbiased analysis of the events that shape global economies and markets; find new investment ideas; and learn the best techniques to manage your money for maximum profits!nzambellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00021401441398885933noreply@blogger.comBlogger50125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5781599441317148863.post-16871090105549883382013-04-04T12:27:00.000-07:002013-04-04T12:27:59.030-07:00Ramp up your “Fun” Quotient<br />
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I’ve always loved stocks that bring out the kid in me, and
when I fired up my search engines this morning, I lucked out! I’ve found three
excellent companies with growing earnings, nice dividends, and appealing
technical indicators—all in the entertainment industry. It’s a category that
just loves summer, when families flock to leisure activities. And with the
economy improving, all indicators are that this sector will have a bonanza
season.</div>
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And adding an extra dollop to these companies appeal—for
me—is the fact that they are midcap stocks—one of my favorite hunting grounds.</div>
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I love the small- and mid-cap universe, as they are usually
companies who specialize in a few products or services. That area of investing
offers several advantages for investors, including: </div>
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<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>It makes their financial statements more
visible, so that you can easily see early warning signs of impending trouble.
No need to wade through scores of subsidiaries, trying to figure out how their
fortunes affect the consolidated company, or if they are the next “Enron” in
training.</div>
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<o:p> </o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>These are the sorts of companies whose expertise
in their industry or niche is very often attractive to larger businesses that would
rather buy them than try to copy and compete with them. And that usually means
a nice premium for their shareholders.<o:p> </o:p></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>They are often “undiscovered stocks”—not because
they are speculative, but because they aren’t large enough yet to need Wall
Street’s money, so they aren’t on the buy list at the majority of brokerage
houses. That means you can buy them at discounted prices, and when they do
begin attracting the attention of the analysts and institutions, their stocks
can soar.</div>
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In the past, many of these types of companies offered great
potential for share appreciation, but not much in the way of dividends. I’m
happy to say that scenario has changed—and for the better.</div>
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Right now, a whopping 40% of the stocks in the Russell 2000
Index pay dividends—the highest level since 2006, according to a recent report
by Bank of America Merrill Lynch.</div>
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The rising tide of dividends should help encourage more of
those investors who are still on the sidelines, to come out and play. It’s a
shame that many folks have missed this incredible run-up in the markets, but
it’s not too late to get in and get your share of the upside.</div>
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And my three picks today should satisfy even the wariest of
investors. They each have the potential for some nice share appreciation—as
well as healthy dividends to line your pocket along the way. </div>
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The first stock is a company that I’ve known for many years.
It’s been in and out of my portfolio more times than I can count. It has a
special place in my heart, as my mom used to take my brother and me to their
flagship amusement park during the long, humid summers in Ohio.</div>
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The company is <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Cedar Fair
</b>(NYSE: FUN), and it owns 11 amusement parks, 4 outdoor water parks, 1 indoor
water park, and 5 hotels around the nation, under names such as Great America,
Worlds of Fun, and Cedar Point (my childhood stomping grounds!) It is
structured as a limited partnership, which means it has to pay out the majority
of its earnings to its unit holders. FUN just increased its dividend by 50%.
And right now, the company’s yield is 6.40%; the shares are trading at $40 and
change, and I think they can go up to $48.</div>
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Next is <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Six Flags
Entertainment Corporation </b>(NYSE: SIX), the world’s largest amusement park
operator. It’s the owner of 18 theme parks, primarily in the U.S., but also a
couple in Mexico and Canada. This is a turnaround story, with the company
recently posting record earnings. Another great dividend payer, with a yield of
6.38%, the shares recently hit their 52-week high, but the parks are headed for
a fabulous year, so I think there’s more appreciation to be had—up to around
$85 per share.</div>
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Lastly, it’s not an amusement park, but it’s definitely a
leader in the leisure space. The company is <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Ryman Hospitality Companies </b>(NYSE: RHP). It owns the fabulous
Gaylord Hotels, whose Orlando hotel was the site of the World Money Show last
month. The company—headquartered in Nashville, TN—has a big presence there with
the Ryman Auditorium, the General Jackson Showboat, the Grand Ole Opry, and
another Gaylord hotel and convention center. It has the largest number of top
10 convention hotels in its industry. And with its new deal with Marriott, the
company has access to the Marriott Reward customer base—more than 40 million
members. Ryman has just converted to a Real Estate Investment Trust, so look
for dividends to keep on rising. It currently has a 4.4% yield. And trading
around $44, I think it can easily rise to $60.</div>
<o:p> </o:p><br />
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While the shares of each of these companies has been on the
rise, I don’t think you’re too late to get in now, enjoy the dividends, and
expect additional appreciation in the next few months. And they are the perfect
way to add some “fun” to your portfolio. </div>
<br />nzambellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00021401441398885933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5781599441317148863.post-66891518678094232182012-05-30T14:11:00.000-07:002012-05-30T14:12:41.031-07:00Are these Hedge Fund Darlings Really a Good Buy?In yesterday’s article, I mentioned the recent study by
Goldman Sachs, which listed the most popular stocks held by hedge funds. I’ve
already shared with you the names of the 13 stocks that, technically, look the most
promising out of the 50 most popular companies held by hedge funds.<br />
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Today, I want to talk with you about the 14 stocks that
hedge funds can’t get enough of—yet, each one is rated a “strong sell” by my
technical parameters.</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Company<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: windowtext windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid solid solid none; border-width: 1pt 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.75pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Symbol<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: windowtext windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid solid solid none; border-width: 1pt 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.75pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Price ($)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: windowtext windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid solid solid none; border-width: 1pt 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.8pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Analyst Reco<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
</td>
</tr>
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<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.75pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Microsoft<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.75pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">MSFT<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.75pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">29.34<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.8pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">2.0<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 2;">
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.75pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Qualcomm<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.75pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">QCOM<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.75pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">57.45<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.8pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">1.9<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 3;">
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.75pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Citigroup<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.75pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">C<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.75pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">26<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.8pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">2.3<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
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<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.75pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">JP Morgan Chase<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.75pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">JPM<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.75pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">32.96<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.8pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">2.0<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 5;">
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.75pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">BP<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.75pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">BP<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.75pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">37.02<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.8pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">1.6<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 6;">
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.75pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Anadarko Petroleum<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.75pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">APC<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.75pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">62.24<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.8pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">1.8<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 7;">
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.75pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Cisco Systems<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.75pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">CSCO<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.75pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">16.39<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.8pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">2.3<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 8;">
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.75pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Liberty Interactive<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.75pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">LINTA<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.75pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">16.95<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.8pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">1.6<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 9;">
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.75pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Visteon<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.75pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">VC<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.75pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">41.10<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.8pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">2.4<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 10;">
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.75pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Valeant Pharmaceuticals<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.75pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">VRX<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.75pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">47.92<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.8pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">3.0<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 11;">
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.75pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">CIT Group<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.75pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">CIT<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.75pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">34.10<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.8pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">2.1<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 12;">
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.75pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Devon Energy<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.75pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">DVN<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.75pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">59.75<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.8pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">2.0<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 13;">
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.75pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">EMC<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.75pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">EMC<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.75pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">24.03<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.8pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">1.7<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 14; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;">
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.75pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Illumina<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.75pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">ILMN<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.75pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">44.33<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.8pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">2.4<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<a name='more'></a>You might ask, “Why is the so-called “smart money” in these
unpromising stocks”? It’s a good question. And after reading yesterday’s
article—where I also noted the analysts’ recommendations on the “buy” and “strong
buy” companies, I hope you’ll see a pattern and ask a second question.<br />
<br />In each case—the buys and the sells—the majority of the
analyst’s rankings are pretty darn good, with 1 being the best. Your next
question should be, why are all the “smart minds on Wall Street giving good
ratings to all of these companies?<br />
<br />The answer is not what you are led to believe by the Wall
Street hype machine. The big boys—the analysts, the institutions, and their
buddies, the hedge fund gurus—all sort of hang out in the same neighborhood,
and follow the same kinds of companies—primarily the large-caps.<br />
<br />There are a few reasons for this, and not all of them bad.
First, let’s take the analysts and their employers, the brokerage firms and
investment banks. It’s generally the larger businesses who need Wall Street’s
money and expertise to underwrite their initial public offerings, as well as their
secondary equity and debt offerings. Consequently, the research departments for
these investment houses will generally have an analyst or two following their
clients’ shares, issuing nice buy reports, and trying to get the public to
invest in them.<br />
<br />Nothing wrong with that, except when the research and
investment bankers get too close—jumping over the “Chinese Wall”, but it is the
way that Wall Street does business.<br />
<br />But, as you can see by the narrow range of their ratings on
just these few stocks, the analysts’ don’t often go out on a limb to separate
themselves from the pack mentality. The majority of their ratings are pretty
positive, with few exceptions. After all, they wouldn’t want to make their big
clients mad by issuing a sell rating, would they? Consequently, their
recommendations are not exactly objective or a clear picture of a company’s
potential.<br />
<br />
Next, the institutions. Well, who do you think these guys
talk to all day? That’s right—the successful analysts and investment bankers. Much
of their research is purchased from brokerage houses. So they are predisposed
to buying shares in the largest companies—the ones the analysts’ like. Now, in
their defense, these guys have a lot of money to throw around, so they do have
to be very careful so that their purchases of shares don’t actually move the
market for the stock. Hence, they tend to play mostly in the big-cap arena with
their largest purchases.<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
Lastly, the hedge fund managers. Ditto the institutions. The
big difference is that the hedge funds will often take very lopsided positions,
betting big—either long or short—and that’s where they have their greatest
successes, as well as their largest losses. Just ask John Paulson. </div>
<br />You’ll know his name from the mortgage meltdown, as he was a
big player who bet short against Goldman Sachs clients who were buying the same
securities. He made $3.7 billion in 2007, according to Wikipedia. Last year, his
Advantage Plus Fund was down more than 50% and his Advantage Fund lost more
than 35%, according to Insider Monkey.<br />
<br />So, when I started this series of articles, I asked if you
wanted to play with the big boys. I hope your answer is no.<br />
<br />Even in their good years, the risk the hedge funds take is
enormous—much more than an individual investor—unless rolling in the dough—should
ever contemplate. <br />
<br />There’s certainly a time and place for investing in
large-caps, and as I said in yesterday’s article, some of those names look
pretty good, technically speaking, right now. But for most investors, a
balanced, diversified portfolio is the optimal way to go.<br />
<br />Next week, I’ll give you some tips on how to structure your
ideal portfolio. Just remember, you’re as smart as the “big money” and
individual investors can do just as well, or better than the big boys, with
lots less risk.nzambellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00021401441398885933noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5781599441317148863.post-18071515234827253482012-05-29T14:30:00.000-07:002012-05-29T14:30:26.799-07:0013 Top Hedge Fund Holdings that Look Promising!<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">13 Top Hedge Fund
Holdings that Look Promising!<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
Last week, I discussed the dismal returns that hedge funds
have been giving their investors since they last beat the S&P 500 in 2008. And
I noted that the returns suffered due, primarily, to high management fees and lots
of turnover.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
Today, I want to share with you another reason why hedge
fund returns may be lagging: Picking the wrong stocks!</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
Clearly—although certainly still volatile—you can see that
the market has been on the rise for the past six months. But hedge funds
returns don’t imitate that. And that may be because their most popular holdings
are stocks that—on a technical basis—don’t look very attractive at all.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<o:p> <a href="http://finance.yahoo.com/q/bc?s=%5EDJI&t=6m&l=on&z=l&q=l&c=">http://finance.yahoo.com/q/bc?s=%5EDJI&t=6m&l=on&z=l&q=l&c=</a></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
Goldman Sachs just revealed the top 50 holdings of hedge
funds. I decided to look at each individually and put them through my technical
analysis screen. And I have to say that even I was amazed at the results!</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
Of those top 50 stocks, only 13 were rated Buy or Strong Buy
by my indicators. Six were Holds and the rest were rated Sell or Strong Sell.
Here are the 13 that look the best:</div>
<br />
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoTableGrid" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: currentColor; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184;">
<tbody>
<tr style="mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0;">
<td style="background-color: transparent; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.75pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Company<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: windowtext windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid solid solid none; border-width: 1pt 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.75pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Symbol<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: windowtext windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid solid solid none; border-width: 1pt 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.75pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Price ($)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: windowtext windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid solid solid none; border-width: 1pt 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.75pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Technical Rating<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: windowtext windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid solid solid none; border-width: 1pt 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.8pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Analyst Reco<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 1;">
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.75pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Apple<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.75pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">AAPL<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.75pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">572.27<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.75pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Buy<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.8pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">1.7<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 2;">
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.75pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Delphi Automotive<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.75pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">DLPH<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.75pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">29.84<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.75pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Buy<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.8pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">1.6<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 3;">
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.75pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Tyco<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.75pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">TYC<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.75pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">54.60<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.75pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Buy<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.8pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">2.0<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 4;">
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.75pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Visa<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.75pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">V<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.75pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">120.28<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.75pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Buy<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.8pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">1.9<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 5;">
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.75pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Yahoo<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.75pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">YHOO<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.75pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">15.47<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.75pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Buy<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.8pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">2.6<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 6;">
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.75pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">WellPoint<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.75pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">WLP<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.75pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">68.84<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.75pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Buy<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.8pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">2.0<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 7;">
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.75pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Charter Communications<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.75pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">CHTR<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.75pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">64.63<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.75pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Buy<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.8pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">2.0<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 8;">
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.75pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">eBay<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.75pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">EBAY<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.75pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">41.49<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.75pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Strong Buy<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.8pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">2.0<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 9;">
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.75pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Equinix<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.75pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">EQIX<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.75pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">167.32<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.75pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Strong Buy<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.8pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">1.9<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 10;">
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.75pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Dollar Thrifty<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.75pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">DTG<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.75pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">81.89<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.75pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Strong Buy<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.8pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">2.6<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 11;">
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.75pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Mastercard<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.75pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">MA<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.75pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">416.05<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.75pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Buy<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.8pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">1.9<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 12;">
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.75pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">News Corp<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.75pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">NWSA<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.75pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">19.69<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.75pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Buy<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.8pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">2.2<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 13; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;">
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.75pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Williams Companies<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.75pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">WMB<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.75pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">31.39<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.75pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Buy<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.8pt;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">1.9<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
Now, I’m not suggesting that you run out and buy these
stocks. And please note that technical ratings are pretty short-term in nature.
But if you want to start building your own hedge fund, these might be some
companies to consider.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
Tomorrow, I’ll tell you about all the popular hedge fund
holdings that look a lot more like sells than buys to me!</div>nzambellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00021401441398885933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5781599441317148863.post-83715231183042865252012-05-25T10:08:00.000-07:002012-05-25T10:08:34.391-07:00Seller’s Market Returning?For the past few years, many folks have delayed purchases of
their next home because they've had a tough time selling their current one. But
those days may be nearing an end.<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
The National Association of Realtors has reported that
inventory—the number of homes for sale across the U.S. has declined to a 6.6
month supply. That's down from 9.1 months in April 2011.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
We’ve also seen a similar reduction in my neck of the woods.
In my real estate area in Cumberland County, Tennessee, inventory now stands at
5.93 months, and in my smaller resort community, it’s 5.4 months.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
As well, existing home sales in April rose to 4.62 million
from 4.48 million in March, nationwide. And new home sales increased to 343
thousand from 328 thousand in that same time period.</div>
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
Part of the reason for the improvement is that the economy
is steadily getting better, relieving a lot of stress from would-be real estate
buyers. Unemployment claims continue to decline—from their peak of 659,000 in March,
2009 to 370,000 last week. And interest rates continue to drop, allowing buyers
to purchase homes at very low rates. Freddie Mac announced this morning that
30-year mortgage rates have declined to 3.78%, their lowest levels since the
1950's!</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
The result of all these statistics is that we are entering a
very unique time period in real estate—a cycle when buyers can still purchase
homes at reasonable prices and low rates, and when sellers have a larger pool
of buyers who are willing and able to buy their homes now—not two years into
the future.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
If you look at Case-Shiller’s Composite 20 Home Price Index,
you can see that housing prices appear to be bottoming out. Calculated on a
scale using 100 as the base, prices in the top 20 metro areas, as of February
2012 (the latest data) were 136.71. That compares to a level of 201.05 in May,
2007. And the National Association of Realtors, in an April survey, noted that
multiple offers are beginning to pop up across the country. That means that the
window is beginning to close on bargain-basement priced homes.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<a href="http://ycharts.com/indicators/case_shiller_home_price_index_composite_20"><span style="color: blue;">Case-Shiller
Home Price Index: Composite 20</span></a></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
So, if you've been sitting on the fence—as a buyer or
seller—now may be the time to climb down and grab your opportunities during
this rare cycle that can benefit both buyers and sellers.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
Rates are low and credit is becoming easier. For the latest
in mortgage rates, you can go to <a href="http://www.bankrate.com/"><span style="color: blue;">Mortgage
Rates Credit Cards Refinance Home CD Rates by Bankrate.com</span></a>, fill in the
particulars, and you can see just how much your potential mortgage payment will
be. </div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
And if you’re just beginning your search for a new home, <a href="http://www.realtor.com/"><span style="color: blue;">Find Real Estate, Homes for Sale & Houses
for Rent on REALTOR.com - Realtor.com®</span></a> can save you gasoline and time. More
than 91% of buyers begin their search on the Internet, according to the
National Association of Realtors. It’s an easy way to winnow down your search
and save you some legwork!</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>nzambellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00021401441398885933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5781599441317148863.post-77987832059936393312012-05-14T11:00:00.002-07:002012-05-14T11:00:20.613-07:00My 2 Favorite Stocks for This Week<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It’s
been a mixed week on Wall Street. Weekend news of a new, Socialist president in
France and a backlash against austerity in Greece sent the markets falling in
the first half of the week.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">But
good unemployment numbers, import and export prices, gave stocks a firmer
footing on Thursday.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The
good part about the market weakness is more bargains to be had! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Here
are my two favorites this week:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">American Capital LTD,
</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">(Nasdaq:
ACAS) American Capital, Ltd. is a private equity and venture capital firm
specializing in management and employee buyouts, mezzanine, acquisition,
recapitalization, middle market, and growth capital investments.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Price:
$9.82<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Market
cap: $302 b million<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Target:
$12<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Why
I Like It: Institutions are buying; analyst’s earnings estimates are
increasing; improving economy means more businesses seeking financing for
future growth.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">SunCoke Energy Inc. </span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">(NYSE: SXC)</span> mines
and produces coal in the Americas. It is the largest independent producer of
metallurgical coke in the Americas. It offers metallurgical and thermal coal
used in steelmaking facilities. </div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Price:
$15.30<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Market
cap: $1.06 billion<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Target:
$18.00<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Why
I Like It: Great earnings growth in cokemaking sector; shares look ready for a
technical breakout<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>nzambellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00021401441398885933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5781599441317148863.post-8398617211467940202012-04-17T15:24:00.004-07:002012-04-17T15:30:43.326-07:00It’s not too Late for the Boomerangers!<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">My parents worked incredibly hard so that their children would have better, more prosperous lives than they had. And we baby boomers largely exceeded their wildest expectations.</div><br />
We’ve had the mini-mansions and two luxury cars. We’ve taken exotic vacations. We don’t do our own housework. And we’ve sent our kids to private schools and the best colleges our money can buy. We had no reason to expect that our children would not live even more comfy financial lives, did we?<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">That is, until the recession and near-collapse of the world financial markets drastically reduced that dream. </div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Young people who’ve worked hard for their diplomas in the last few years have entered a dramatically different work force than the one that greeted me as a proud college graduate.</div><br />
A study by Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce found that 8.9% of recent college graduates are unemployed. And if your children do not have a college degree, that rate goes up to a whopping 22.9%.<br />
<br />
And to further poke a stick in their eye, students emerging with their degrees have accumulated more than <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">$1 trillion </i>in student loans, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The Project on Student Debt says those loans average $25,250 per person.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
Rates on that debt are due to climb to 6.8% this summer. With an average term of 10 years to repay their loans, that means recent graduates could find themselves saddled with an-almost $300 per month payment upon graduation—and with no job in sight!<br />
<br />
It’s no wonder that the rate of children moving back in with their parents has soared. These “boomerang kids” now number more than 20% of young adults.<br />
<br />
That’s an alarming trend, to be sure. And it’s having a tremendous effect on the parents, too. The older adults find their golden years are being threatened by this additional drain—just when they thought their nest was empty! <br />
<br />
Furthermore—although the economy, indeed, is improving, and, eventually, graduates will find jobs, the financial damage is significant.<br />
<br />
And don’t forget about the emotional and psychological impact. A just-released study from Junior Achievement USA and The Allstate Foundation indicated that 44% of teens, 14-18 years old, think they will be worse off financially than their parents. Last year, that number was just 11%.<br />
<br />
That’s not right!<br />
<br />
But, fortunately, I think the tide can be changed—with a little planning.<br />
<br />
Listen, I recall the go-go 80s, when prosperity found us baby boomers and we invented the “me” generation. Nothing was too good for us—or our children. And we overspent, period.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We didn’t save. The savings rate in the U.S. has steadily declined, for the most part, since 1980.<br />
<br />
We became a nation of consumers, not savers. So, what did we expect our children to do?<br />
<br />
Consequently, we have our jobs cut out for us. But the problem is not insurmountable. Our children and grandchildren can have a more promising future, if you—and they—begin now, to change the way they (and you) think about and use their money.<br />
<br />
These are the steps that I think will do that. We must:<br />
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>Instill the savings and investing gene in our children<br />
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>Teach them spending and budgeting skills<br />
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>Coach them on how to set—and— to achieve goals<br />
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>Educate them about investing<br />
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>Help them learn about and choose study programs that will assist them in achieving their goals and dreams (and enable them to pay back those school loans!)<br />
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>Assist them in finding all the free college money that is available (and it is a lot!), so they won’t have to depend on student loans that may never set them free<br />
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This sounds a little familiar, doesn’t it? As I recall, this is precisely how my parents taught me!<br />
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Well, as they say, everything old is new again. But there’s no reason that our children can’t live the good life. It just takes some planning and smart choices. <br />
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And while most kids would think this sounds like the most boring thing possible, I think we can make savings and investing fun and challenging for them. <br />
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Over the next few weeks, I’ll bring you some ideas on how to do just that. Stay tuned!<br />
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</div>nzambellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00021401441398885933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5781599441317148863.post-13912632706940883632012-04-13T14:41:00.001-07:002012-04-13T14:42:11.941-07:00My 2 Favorite Stocks for Next Week<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Over the Easter holiday, I had a discussion with Don’s 92-year-old dad about the pitiful rates he’s earning on his certificates of deposit at the banks. For $25,000, he’s getting about 1% per year. That’s certainly not making him any money!<o:p></o:p></span> <span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We talked him into his first stock market investments a while back, and he’s game for more, so I did a little research to see what I could find that might give him a much better return.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Now, as you might imagine, he has most of his money in really safe, conservative investments. But at this juncture in his life, he’s feeling a little more speculative and wants to have some fun with his money.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And if you have a little bit set aside—funds that you don’t need right away—and want to take a bit of a risk for a whopping large return, take a look at these two Real Estate Investment Trusts (REIT), both of which are paying very generous dividends right now: <o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">American Capital Agency Corp. </span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">(Nasdaq: AGNC) is a REIT that invests in residential mortgage pass-through securities and collateralized mortgage obligations for which the principal and interest payments are guaranteed by government-sponsored entities or by the United States government agency. <o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Price: $30.11<o:p></o:p></span></div><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Market cap: $6.75 billion<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Target: $31.00<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Why I Like It: Fabulous dividend, great potential to also grow capital appreciation in the near-term<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Invesco Mortgage Capital </span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">(NYSE: IVR)</span> <span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">is a REIT that invests in both residential and government-backed mortgages.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Price: $17.26<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Market cap: $1.97 billion<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Target: $19.00<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Why I Like It: Fabulous dividend, recent uptick in institutional buying of its shares<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Both of these stocks are very high-yielding REITs, and when interest rates begin to creep up, you will want to vacate your shares. But, in the interim, their dividend yields can certainly supplement your income needs, at a very healthy level.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">But please be conservative and invest only a small portion of your portfolio in these shares, as they are considered fairly speculative, in terms of repayment risk.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Note: I intend to establish a portfolio of similar picks, some 25-30 stocks that I’ll update on a regular basis. I will discuss them from time-to-time in my blog and on this web site, but a full analysis of each stock—as well as detailed updates—will be available only via subscription. If you’d like more information, just contact me directly, at nzambell@frontiernet.net<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><br />
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</div>nzambellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00021401441398885933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5781599441317148863.post-70401060892783244502012-04-12T20:55:00.003-07:002012-04-12T20:55:51.988-07:00Attention: Tax Procrastinators!Ok. Some of us (me included!) just hate doing our taxes, and we are perennially late filers, seeking extensions each year. Although the IRS has given us two extra days to file this year (until April 17), many taxpayers still need more time to gather their papers together, or to muster their courage, and just can’t make the deadline.<br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Fortunately, the IRS has made provisions for us procrastinators!</div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">The IRS provides three ways to request an automatic extension of time to file your tax return. </div><a href="http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f4868.pdf"><span style="color: blue;">http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f4868.pdf</span></a>1. <br />
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<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>Electronically. You can file Form 4868 (Application For Automatic Extension of Time To File U.S. Individual Tax Return) on your computer by accessing IRS e-file, or you can have your accountant do it for you. If you file this way, you will receive an acknowledgement or confirmation number from the I.R.S. and you do not need to mail in Form 4868.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you owe additional taxes, you can pay through an outside service provider or through e-file.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;">You can also use the IRS’ Free File program to file electronically<a href="http://www.irs.gov/freefile"><span style="color: blue;">http://www.irs.gov/freefile</span></a>. But make sure you have a copy of last year's tax return, as you’ll need your Adjusted Gross Income for taxpayer verification. </div><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>Use your credit or debit card to pay your estimated income tax due, by using the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS). The IRS has contracted with several outside payment companies to assist you. <a href="http://www.irs.gov/efile/article/0,,id=101316,00.html"><span style="color: blue;">Pay Taxes by Credit or Debit Card</span></a>, but note that you will be charged a convenience fee.</div><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>File a paper Form 4868. <a href="http://www.irs.gov/formspubs/article/0,,id=98155,00.html"><span style="color: blue;">Extension of Time To File Your Tax Return</span></a></div><br />
One last caveat: An extension of time to file is NOT an extension of time to pay, so if you don’t pay what you think you owe, you will be charged a penalty. <br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Just make sure you file something, or you’ll be sorry!<o:p></o:p></div>nzambellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00021401441398885933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5781599441317148863.post-28333949003581391932012-04-06T10:41:00.003-07:002012-04-06T10:42:14.029-07:00My 2 Favorite Stocks for Next Week<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The markets lost a little ground this week, taking a bit of a breather, although most economic reports were pretty good. I think there’s some concern over the increasing cacophony of “Sell in May, and go away”, but I also believe wise investors should ignore that advice.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I’ll spend a little time next week, commenting on that—as well as some other adages—that are mostly outdated, in a column next week. But today, I want to reiterate that the economy is improving and there is no reason why the markets cannot continue to rise.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This week’s economic reports included a rise in factory orders, fewer job cuts, declining unemployment claims (although I’ll concede they weren’t as good as estimated), and an unemployment rate that has fallen to 8.2%.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">So let’s forget about the naysayers for now. I don’t believe that every single stock is going to jump through the stratosphere, but I do think it’s a good time to be a stock picker, searching for companies that have fabulous potential. This week, I even narrowed my criteria a bit more, and still came up with 22 companies who look very enticing. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Here are my two favorites:<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Leggett & Platt Inc., </span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">(NYSE: LEG) makes products for the residential bedding and upholstered furnishings market; the commercial fixture and furniture sector; the industrial materials segment, including bedding and furniture, and mechanical spring makers; automotive seating, and lawn and garden equipment manufacturers; waste recyclers and waste removal, and medical supply businesses; and aerospace suppliers and original equipment manufacturers; and specialized products markets.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Price: $23.19<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Market cap: $3.25 billion<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Dividend yield: 4.9%<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Target: $29<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Why I Like It: Improving economic conditions should strengthen each segment for LEG; new analyst upgrades; nice dividend yield if market decides to rest for awhile<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Skullcandy </span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">(Nasdaq: SKUL)</span> manufactures headphones and other audio accessories to retailers in the United States and to global distributors<br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Price: $17.04<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Market cap: $466.32 million<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Target: $24.00<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Why I Like It: Good margins; possible takeover candidate; smart marketing to young adults via mobile and social media outlets—a growing demographic base<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">SKUL is a small-cap stock, so please understand that investing in the company may entail more risk than buying shares in its larger competitors. Consequently, if you decide to purchase shares in SKUL, please make sure that they constitute only a small portion of your portfolio.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Note: I intend to establish a portfolio of similar picks, some 25-30 stocks that I’ll update on a regular basis. I will discuss them from time-to-time in my blog and on this web site, but a full analysis of each stock—as well as detailed updates—will be available only via subscription. If you’d like more information, just contact me directly, at nzambell@frontiernet.net<o:p></o:p></span></i><br />
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</div>nzambellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00021401441398885933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5781599441317148863.post-59792384809861196092012-04-06T06:33:00.003-07:002012-04-06T06:34:58.567-07:00What will you do with your Tax Refund?My parents were working people, with five children (deductions!), which meant they received a nice little check each year after filing their taxes. They didn’t have the benefit of a good tax adviser and didn’t understand that it was <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">their </i>money that Uncle Sam was returning to them, year-after-year. In fact, they were giving the U.S. government a tax-free loan!<br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Imagine what that $1,000 or so they received, annually, could have turned into had they been putting it away, instead of being so generous to Uncle Sam.</div><br />
But that was then, and my folks weren’t any different than most people on our block, who didn’t benefit from a good tax advisor. But in today’s world, with so much good (and often free!) advice, there’s almost no excuse for letting Uncle Sam have free use of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">your </i>money. All it takes is a little calculation to determine how much less you should be paying in throughout the year so that you just about break-even by December 31. <br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">For many people, it’s this simple: Let’s say you are receiving about $1,000 back every year from your tax refund. Divide that by 12, and you get $83.33—the amount you should reduce your paid-in taxes by each month. Just call your payroll department and they’ll give you the right form. Wouldn’t it be better to have that $83.33 in your own pocket, instead of lending it to the government each month?</div><br />
That’s a great strategy for 2012. But if you are expecting a refund this year, from your 2011 taxes, let’s look at the worst and best ways to spend that windfall:<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The 5 Worst Things to do with your Tax Refund<o:p></o:p></i></b><br />
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<a name='more'></a><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>Put it in your checking account, and spend it on a lot of little things. If you do that, you won’t have any idea where your money went!</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>Go to Las Vegas or buy a lot of lottery tickets, to “leverage” your refund into bigger winnings. Bad idea; need I say more?</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>Use it for a down payment for something you should pay cash for (like a vacation, furniture, or swimming pool), and then taking on a financial obligation that you don’t need (exceptions—houses or cars).</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>Lend it to a relative or friend. Consider those loans as gifts, because, chances are, you won’t get your money back.</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">5.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>Spend it all on a luxury vacation (unless you normally take luxury vacations and don’t have any other financial obligations)</div>Instead of wasting your refund, consider putting it to good use in the following ways:<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The 5 Best Things to do with your Tax Refund<o:p></o:p></i></b><br />
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<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>Fund a six-month emergency stash. The challenging economy of the last few years took its toll on many folks, but those with an emergency fund fared much better than those who were already living paycheck-to-paycheck.</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>Fund an IRA. If you don’t already have one, this would be a great start. If you’re under age 50, most folks can contribute up to $5,000 this year; over age 50, the “catch-up” contribution goes up to $6,000. No matter your age, if you are still working, saving for retirement is the one of the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">very best</i> things you can do with any “windfall” monies.</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>Start your own business. According to the Kauffman Foundation, more than 543,000 new businesses were created in 2011. If you’ve always wanted to have your own company, the improving economic period we are in right now is the prime time to begin. If you can’t afford to do it full-time, start out slow. </div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>Invest. If you are a beginner, start with an exchange-traded fund or a mutual fund. If you currently invest, put more money to work for you in your existing holdings or supplement your portfolio with some new investment additions.</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">5.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>Start a 529 (college-investment plan) for your children or young relatives. I did this with my nieces and nephew when they were born, and so far, two out of the three have used the money to help fund their college years.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">There are many more great ideas to get the most from your tax refund, but these are my favorites. Bottom line—don’t waste the money. And for 2012, change your deductions so that you can turn that extra money in your paycheck into a greater stockpile each and every year—a seed that can grow into a worry-free retirement. </div>nzambellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00021401441398885933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5781599441317148863.post-79054273732700675762012-04-04T09:42:00.005-07:002012-04-04T09:45:34.272-07:00Is Franchising for You?<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">You know the economy is getting better when you begin hearing “buy a franchise” ads every day on the radio!</div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">I’ve been taking notes. So far—<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">just this week</i>—I’ve heard spiels for these franchise types: Smoothies, men’s fitness, yogurt shops, men’s hair salons, and hamburger joints.</div><br />
So I thought I’d do a little research to find out the current state of the franchise industry.<br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">First of all, let’s define franchising as essentially adopting someone else’s successful (or at least hyped as successful) business model. Franchising has grown tremendously—especially in good economies—as it is promoted as easier and less costly than building your own business.</div><br />
You may be surprised to know—according to Wikipedia—that Isaac Singer, the fellow who improved sewing machines, began one of the first franchises in the U.S. in the 1850s. But it is said that franchising goes much further back—maybe as far as 200 B.C. in China.<br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">As of 2011, Statista.com says there were some <span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;">735,571 franchises operating in the U.S. That’s pretty amazing, isn’t it? It sounds like a great idea—walking right into an already-successful business strategy. And you only have to look at the multi-millionaire franchisees who were smart enough to sign on with McDonalds (whose franchises currently cost from </span>$1.07M - $1.89M ) <span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;">when they began franchising, back in 1953—or the many who joined in with the following Top 5 American franchises—to see that, indeed, franchising can be the ticket to riches.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoTableGrid" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: currentColor; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184;"><tbody>
<tr style="mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0;"> <td style="background-color: transparent; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 159.6pt;" valign="top" width="319"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">FRANCHISE<o:p></o:p></span></b></div></td> <td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: windowtext windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid solid solid none; border-width: 1pt 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 159.6pt;" valign="top" width="319"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">START-UP COSTS<o:p></o:p></span></b></div></td> </tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 1;"> <td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 159.6pt;" valign="top" width="319"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Hampton Hotels </span><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 159.6pt;" valign="top" width="319"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">$3.75M - $13.11M </span><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><o:p></o:p></span></div></td> </tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 2;"> <td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 159.6pt;" valign="top" width="319"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Subway </span><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 159.6pt;" valign="top" width="319"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">$84.8K - $258.8K </span><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><o:p></o:p></span></div></td> </tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 3;"> <td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 159.6pt;" valign="top" width="319"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">7-Eleven, Inc.<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 159.6pt;" valign="top" width="319"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">$30.8K - $611.1K </span><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><o:p></o:p></span></div></td> </tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 4;"> <td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 159.6pt;" valign="top" width="319"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Servpro <o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 159.6pt;" valign="top" width="319"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">$132.05K - $180.45K </span><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><o:p></o:p></span></div></td> </tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 5; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;"> <td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 159.6pt;" valign="top" width="319"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Days Inn<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 159.6pt;" valign="top" width="319"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">$202.17K - $6.76M </span><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><o:p></o:p></span></div></td> </tr>
</tbody></table><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Source: </span><span style="font-size: 9pt;">http://www.entrepreneur.com/franchise500/index.html<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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And since the economy—as I’ve been saying for months—is definitely on the upswing, it’s no surprise to see new momentum in both business start-ups as well as the franchise world.<br />
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So far in 2012, here are the most popular new franchises:<br />
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<a name='more'></a><br />
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoTableGrid" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: currentColor; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184;"><tbody>
<tr style="mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0;"> <td style="background-color: transparent; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 159.6pt;" valign="top" width="319"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;">FRANCHISE<o:p></o:p></span></b></div></td> <td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: windowtext windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid solid solid none; border-width: 1pt 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 159.6pt;" valign="top" width="319"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Business Type<o:p></o:p></span></b></div></td> <td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: windowtext windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid solid solid none; border-width: 1pt 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 159.6pt;" valign="top" width="319"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;">START-UP COSTS<o:p></o:p></span></b></div></td> </tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 1;"> <td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 159.6pt;" valign="top" width="319"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">No Mas Vello</span><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 159.6pt;" valign="top" width="319"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Laser Hair Removal<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 159.6pt;" valign="top" width="319"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">$84.1K - $122K</span><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><o:p></o:p></span></div></td> </tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 2;"> <td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 159.6pt;" valign="top" width="319"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Complete Nutrition</span><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 159.6pt;" valign="top" width="319"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Weight loss & nutrition products <o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 159.6pt;" valign="top" width="319"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">$150K - $220K<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> </tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 3;"> <td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 159.6pt;" valign="top" width="319"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Yogurtland Franchising Inc.<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 159.6pt;" valign="top" width="319"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Self-serve frozen yogurt <o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 159.6pt;" valign="top" width="319"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">$329.8K - $615.6K<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> </tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 4;"> <td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 159.6pt;" valign="top" width="319"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">ShelfGenie Franchise Systems LLC<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 159.6pt;" valign="top" width="319"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Custom shelving & accessories for cabinets/pantries <o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 159.6pt;" valign="top" width="319"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">$70.1K - $125.25K<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> </tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 5; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;"> <td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 159.6pt;" valign="top" width="319"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">The Senior's Choice Inc.<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 159.6pt;" valign="top" width="319"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Assisted living & healthcare staffing services <o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 159.6pt;" valign="top" width="319"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">$54K - 71K<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> </tr>
</tbody></table><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Source: </span></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;">http://www.entrepreneur.com/franchises/rankings/topnew-115520/2012,-1.html<o:p></o:p></span></i><br />
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When I ran banks for a living, I would often see customers who wanted my advice (or the bank’s money) on buying a franchise. And it was just as true then as it is now, that franchising riches are not guaranteed, and it’s sad but true, that “buyer beware” should be the first thought in a potential investor’s mind when considering a franchise. <br />
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That’s because franchise failure rates can be as high as 94%, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). Here’s the SBA’s list of the Top 10 franchise failure rates, mid-2011:<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Franchise<span style="mso-tab-count: 6;"> </span>Failure Rate (%)<o:p></o:p></b><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">WINGS-N-THINGS<span style="mso-tab-count: 6;"> </span>94.12 <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">TILDEN FOR BRAKES CAR CARE CENTER <span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>92.86 <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">BEAR ROCK CAFE <span style="mso-tab-count: 6;"> </span>80.00 <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">NOBLE ROMAN PIZZA <span style="mso-tab-count: 5;"> </span>77.27 <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">SUPER SUPPERS <span style="mso-tab-count: 6;"> </span>76.92 <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">PRO GOLF <span style="mso-tab-count: 7;"> </span>76.47 <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">LA PALETERA <span style="mso-tab-count: 6;"> </span>75.00 <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">STEAK ESCAPE <span style="mso-tab-count: 6;"> </span>75.00 <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">EXECUTIVE TANS <span style="mso-tab-count: 6;"> </span>74.47 <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">GOLF ETC. OF AMERICA <span style="mso-tab-count: 5;"> </span>71.00 <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
Statistics show that by type of franchise, bagel stores—with a 23% failure rate—are the worst franchises, as a group, to own. They are followed by smoothie stores (23% failure rate), pet supplies and pizza restaurants (15%), and tanning salons (14%).<br />
<br />
As to why the failure rate is so high, <a href="http://blog.globalbx.com/2009/07/27/five-reasons-why-franchises-fail-franchise-failure-rates/"><span style="color: blue;">Five Reasons Why Franchises Fail – Franchise Failure Rates | GlobalBX Entrepreneur Business Blog</span></a>, the top five reasons are:<br />
<br />
1. Ineffective Parent Company<br />
2. Poor Location<br />
3. Too Much Competition<br />
4. Lack of Adequate Marketing<br />
5. Unrealistic Goals<br />
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Consequently, should you be tempted to follow your dream of owning your own business by investing in a franchise, please make sure you do your homework and put your money to work in a business that has a strong potential for success. Franchising can be a tremendous path to that success, but only with the right idea and joining a company with a great track record.<br />
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</div>nzambellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00021401441398885933noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5781599441317148863.post-90735278963343959132012-03-30T13:01:00.003-07:002012-03-30T13:02:36.945-07:00The IRS has a Deal for You!Normally, when the government says, “I’m here to help you”, I would advise you to run like heck! But the IRS’ Fresh Start initiative looks like it may actually bring some needed relief to unemployed folks, as well as those who have hit upon hard times.<br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">If you meet these criteria, you can get a little extra time to pay, and can eliminate some of the more heinous penalties the government usually docks you if you file late:</div><br />
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>If you’ve been unemployed for at least 30 consecutive days during 2011 (or during 2012, up to the April 17 tax deadline)<br />
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>If you are self-employed and have experienced a reduction in business income of 25% or more in 2011 (primarily as a result of the economy)<br />
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>Your adjusted gross income must be less than or equal to $100,000 ($200,000 if married filing jointly). Your 2011 balance due must be less than or equal to $50,000<br />
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If you meet these parameters, the IRS will give you an extra 6-months (to October 15) to pay your taxes, and…while you will be charged interest on your unpaid taxes, Uncle Sam will <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">not </i>charge you a “failure-to-pay penalty), if you pay your tax debt in full by October 15, 2012.<br />
<br />
As well, the IRS is giving taxpayers several options for payment, including:<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Short-Term Extension of Time to Pay, </i>if you can pay within 120 days<br />
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Installment Plan Agreement, </i>for taxpayers who owe $50,000 or less (note, there are some provisions for those who owe more than $50,000)<br />
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Offer in Compromise, </i>for taxpayers who have endured significant financial upsets, who seek a settlement (a compromise) on the tax debt they owe<br />
<br />
The most important thing for you to know: Don’t let April 17 go by without contacting your tax preparer or the IRS to make arrangements for payment. If you ignore the deadline, you will find yourself steeped in penalties that will make a bad situation worse. My advice: Take advantage of this unusual generosity of the IRS<br />
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</div>nzambellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00021401441398885933noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5781599441317148863.post-18827652148115179772012-03-30T13:00:00.003-07:002012-03-30T13:01:13.990-07:00My 2 Favorite Stocks for Next Week<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">My 2 Favorite Stocks for Next Week<o:p></o:p></span></b><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The stock markets continued their upward trend this week, with just a little volatility. Indexes were aided by the great numbers posted by Michigan Sentiment, which came in at 76.2, compared to the 74.3 forecast.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As well, GDP (third estimate) remained steady at 3%, and personal spending rose. While unemployment claims were a bit higher than expected, they weren’t too far off the mark. Result: A decent end to the week.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Sector-wise, technology ruled the roost, with an average return of1.07% for the week, followed by Healthcare, at 0.90%.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The market continues to look undervalued to me, and my search this week found more than 40 companies that were worth a second look. Here are two of my favorites:<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Glu Mobile </span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">(Nasdaq: GLUU) develops mobile games for the global market. Titles include: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Big Time Gangsta, Blood & Glory, Bug Village, Contract Killer, Contract Killer: Zombies, Eternity Warriors, Frontline Commando, Gun Bros, Men vs. Machines, Stardom: The A-List, Super K.O. Boxing and Toyshop Adventures</i>.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Price: $4.80<o:p></o:p></span></div><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Market cap: $314.44 million<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Target: $7.00 (conservative estimate)<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Why I Like It: Discounted value, takeover candidate, and new analyst interest.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Merge Healthcare </span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">(Nasdaq: MRGE)</span> <span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">sells software solutions that automate healthcare data and diagnostic workflow. <o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Price: $5.85<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Market cap: $534.23 million<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Target: $8.75<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Why I Like It: Reported a good quarter, forming new business divisions, in a quick-growing sector, due to the need to create electronic patient records.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">These stocks are both small-cap, so please understand that investing in them may entail more risk than buying shares in their larger competitors. Consequently, if you decide to purchase them, please make sure that they constitute only a small portion of your portfolio.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Note: I intend to establish a portfolio of similar picks, some 25-30 stocks that I’ll update on a regular basis. I will discuss them from time-to-time in my blog and on this web site, but a full analysis of each stock—as well as detailed updates—will be available only via subscription. If you’d like more information, just contact me directly, at nzambell@frontiernet.net<o:p></o:p></span></i><br />
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</div>nzambellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00021401441398885933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5781599441317148863.post-3608915121721975132012-03-23T12:05:00.001-07:002012-03-23T12:06:23.327-07:00My 2 Favorite Stocks for Next Week<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We’ve had a bit of a rest in the stock markets this week, but I expect the upward momentum to continue very soon. And although we have recently lost a little speed, we have seen growth in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">all</i> 11 Morningstar sectors so far this year. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Year-to-date, consumer cyclicals is the winner, with stocks averaging an 18.3% gain, followed by technology (16.8%), financial services (15.6%), and industrials (12.1%). Even the worst return—5.1%--posted by utilities, is pretty darn good!<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As I said at the beginning of the year, I fully expect that momentum to continue into the foreseeable future, due to significant improvements in our economy. Rising corporate profits, reduced unemployment, a more active housing environment, and still-low interest rates, are all contributing to a more positive mindset from consumers and investors.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And with that in mind, I’ve decided to begin publishing “my two best stock picks” weekly. I’ll give you some basic information as to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">why</i> I think they have room to grow—including <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">how much potential</i> I believe they have. Then you can do your own research to see if they fit in with your investing goals. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">My screening criteria are basically fundamentally-oriented, asking the question: Is this a strong, well-run company? A few of my primary screens are: Good cash flow, low debt, low P/E, and increase in institutional interest. Those parameters are augmented by a few technical indicators, such as moving averages and momentum factors, which tell us if this is a good time to buy (or sell).<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">When I ran my screens this week, I came up with a whopping 37 companies! Here are two with the most potential:<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Spectrum Pharmaceuticals</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> (Nasdaq: SPPI) is a biotech company, operating primarily in hematology and oncology.<o:p></o:p></span></div><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Price: $13.44<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Market cap: $791.55 million<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Target: $20<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Why I Like It: Discounted value, focuses on two fields that are growing phenomenally, with the ability to be a takeover candidate for a larger pharma, as well as a buyer of its smaller competitors.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">FSI International </span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">(Nasdaq: FSII)</span> operates in the microelectronics industry, offering <span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">surface conditioning equipment that uses wet, cryogenic, and other chemistry techniques to clean, strip, or etch the surfaces of silicon wafers; and refurbished microlithography products to deposit and develop light sensitive films<o:p></o:p></span></div><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Price: $5.14<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Market cap: $200.96 million<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Target: $8<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Why I Like It: The semiconductor sector is on an upswing, along with FSII, which just reported a very good quarter. I also like the company’s cutting-edge technology—a good indicator of a business that might also make a great takeover candidate. And I think the company is undervalued.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">These stocks are both small-cap, so please understand that investing in them may entail more risk than buying shares in their larger competitors. Consequently, if you decide to purchase them, please make sure that they constitute only a small portion of your portfolio.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Note: I intend to establish a portfolio of similar picks, some 25-30 stocks that I’ll update on a regular basis. I will discuss them from time-to-time in my blog and on this web site, but a full analysis of each stock—as well as detailed updates—will be available only via subscription. If you’d like more information, just contact me directly, at nzambell@frontiernet.net<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><br />
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</div>nzambellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00021401441398885933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5781599441317148863.post-75740455161616609142012-03-23T09:15:00.003-07:002012-03-23T09:16:24.605-07:00You Don’t Want to Make the IRS Mad!<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">April 17<sup>th</sup> is creeping up on us, and if you are a habitual late filer of your annual income tax form, you are probably well aware of the penalties that you can incur. But if you are (I don’t know how to say this gently)—a tax cheat or a wannabe IRS renegade, or just have been too busy this year to worry about your taxes, you should think twice about missing the deadline.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Here’s why:<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Fraudsters, lookout! If <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">fraud</i> is involved, your penalty stacks up to 15% for each month or part of a month that your return is late, up to 75%, maximum. <o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And if you are under the mistaken impression that paying federal taxes is “voluntary”, just check out the 16th Amendment to the Constitution, which was ratified in 1913, and states, “The Congress shall have the power to lay and collect taxes on income, from whatever source derived”. Consequently, tax evaders may be subject to <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">criminal prosecution</b> for a fraudulent return, refusing to pay, declining to file a return or pay taxes that are due, or making fraud and false statements. And those penalties can mean up to $100,000 in fines and 5 years in jail! The<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">If you just dawdle and miss the April 17<sup>th</sup> date (and, hey, we have a whole extra two days this year!), you might be socked with a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">failure-to-file penalty</i>. That amounts to some 5% of the unpaid taxes for each month or part of a month that you file late. The good news—if you can call it that—is that the IRS won’t charge you more than 25% of the amount of your unpaid tax bite.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">For filers who drag their feet <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">more than 60 days past the deadline</i>, your minimum penalty will be at least $135, up to 100% percent of your unpaid tax.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And if you don’t file your return and pay your tax by the due date, you may incur <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">civil penalties. </b>They may also apply to understating your tax or a transaction, filing a refund or credit in error, submitting a frivolous tax, or failure to supply your Social Security number or individual taxpayer identification number. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Moral to this story: File on time!<o:p></o:p></span></div>nzambellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00021401441398885933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5781599441317148863.post-73291441923733163582012-03-16T11:01:00.003-07:002012-03-16T11:03:43.075-07:00Don’t Let this Happen to You!<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Rev up your savings engine now…<o:p></o:p></b></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">The economic and stock market recessions of 2007-2009 didn’t help those Americans who are nearing retirement age, did they?</div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">While the stock market has mostly come back, folks who didn’t panic and sell out of their holdings during the downturn, are generally, ahead of the game these days. However, the economic recession forced many people who had been dedicated savers to forego their normal retirement investments. For several reasons:</div><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>Many were too scared to stay in or get back into the markets after seeing the Dow Jones Industrial Average fall to less than half of its value, so they just put their money under their mattresses or into very low-yielding assets</div><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>Others were afraid of losing their jobs, so they put as much of their income as possible into very liquid savings, incurring the opportunity cost of investing in lower-yielding assets instead of the stock market</div><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>The rest lost their jobs or had to take a cut in pay, putting their savings/investing on the back burner </div><br />
The result: <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">60%</i></b> of Americans, according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute <a href="http://www.ebri.org/pdf/surveys/rcs/2012/PR962_13Mar12_RCS.pdf"><span style="color: blue;">http://www.ebri.org/pdf/surveys/rcs/2012/PR962_13Mar12_RCS.pdf</span></a>, have less than $25,000 put away for retirement (not counting defined benefit plans and the equity (or none) in your home.<br />
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Is that scary, or what? If you’re brave, stay with me here, and let’s look at some even more frightening numbers:<br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Say, you’re 55 years old, you make $75,000 per year, and you have $25,000 in savings. You’ve decided that you will have to retire with full Social Security benefits, so that means you can’t collect your gold watch until you are 66 and 6 months old. Let’s also assume that Uncle Sam—in those yearly Social Security statements he sends you—says he will “give” you $2,000 per month for the rest of your life, if you wait until full retirement age. </div><br />
Now, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention—as of 2009—the average mortality rate for folks who live in the United States is 78.5 years (76 for men and 80.9 for women). That means that your measly $25,000 and your $24,000 annual Social Security payment will, actuarially speaking, need to last you for 12 years. <br />
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Let’s just play with some simple math and pretend that you won’t add to that $25,000 in savings, and let’s also assume that you won’t receive a pension. That means that you will have $24,000 + an additional $2,083 (your original $25,000 divided by 12 years of retirement—excluding any interest you may receive on the $25,000), or $26,083 per year to live on for the remainder of your life.<br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">That’s not much! In fact, it’s barely twice the 2012 poverty level of $11,170, as defined by the Census Bureau. And, as we all know, costs don’t stay stagnant, especially the price of aging. Even if you have no debt when you reach retirement age (which is pretty unlikely for most of us), $26,000 a year is not going to take you to the promised land of a truly golden retirement.</div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Don’t stop reading—the best is yet to come!<o:p></o:p></b></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">While that scenario should strike terror in your very soul, it’s not too late! The number crunchers tell us that employment is improving and the stock market is certainly attractive these days—two very promising trends. </div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">But it also means there is no time to wait. You much act <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">now</i>. Not tomorrow, or next week. I firmly believe that we will see a very strong stock market for at least a year or two, but time’s a wastin’. You must begin saving immediately to take advantage of the good returns that you can get right now! </div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Let me crunch a few more numbers to show you how your current financial situation can improve drastically, if you just begin a disciplined savings plan, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">right now</i>:</div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Scenario 1<o:p></o:p></i></div><br />
55 years old; let’s round your time to retirement to 12 years to make the math easier:<br />
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you save $500 per month from now until retirement, in 2024, at average stock market returns of 10.56% (averaged since 1871), you will have approximately <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">$243,000</i> in 12 years.<br />
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you can only save $200 per month, you will have socked away approximately <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">$153,000</i> in that same time period. That’s not a huge amount of money, but it sure beats the heck out of $25,000, doesn’t it?<br />
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Now, let’s see what happens if you are younger and start saving NOW: <br />
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Scenario 2<o:p></o:p></i><br />
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Saving at a rate of $500 per month, with 32 years to retire (at 67 years old, according to Social Security), all things being equal, you can potentially accumulate <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">$2.6 million</i>!<br />
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Savings just $200 per month will reduce that number to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">$1.6 million</i>. <br />
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And that’s if you just earn the average stock market returns. But it is possible to beat those. And I’m going to share some ideas to help you do just that. Tune in next week.<br />
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Need I say more? Start saving now!<o:p></o:p></i><br />
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</div>nzambellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00021401441398885933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5781599441317148863.post-38199014585927159332012-03-16T09:11:00.001-07:002012-03-16T09:11:25.855-07:00Being Self-Employed is Great, but not at Tax Time!<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">All my friends are envious that I work mostly at home, on my own schedule. Of course, they don’t realize that being an independent contractor means that I work a whole lot more hours than most folks who receive a regular paycheck, and at all times of the day and night!</div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Being self-employed is not for the faint at heart! But it has many rewards, including flexibility, being your own boss, and knowing that the amount of effort you expend is directly related to your results.</div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">However, when Uncle Sam comes ‘round every few months—with his hand out—I grit my teeth and just write out the inevitable check. Listen, I don’t mind paying my fair share, but the Self-Employment Tax pushes my goodwill to the limit.</div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">And…it requires additional tax planning that many new independent contractors don’t understand. </div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">You see, when someone else writes your paycheck, they also pay <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">one-half </i>your Self-Employment Tax, which is essentially Social Security and Medicare taxes. But when <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">you</i> are your employer, you have to pay it all! And for 2011, that means your nut is 13.3% of the first $106,800 of your self-employment income (10.4% for Social Security and 2.9% for Medicare). That is actually better than 2010, thanks to the 2010 Tax Relief Act that reduced the self-employment tax by 2% for 2011. </div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">On the plus side, Uncle Sam also allows you to deduct one-half of your self-employment tax when calculating your adjusted gross income. Note thought, that the deduction only applies to your income tax—not to your net earnings from self-employment or your self-employment tax.</div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">So, the next time your friends tell you how easy you have it being self-employed (and don’t forget how rich, either!), share this little story—maybe they’ll buy your dinner!</div>nzambellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00021401441398885933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5781599441317148863.post-23062397264908510932012-03-08T08:28:00.002-08:002012-03-08T08:28:13.217-08:00Some Surprising Medical Deductions You Don’t Want to Miss!<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">It’s true—unless you itemize your deductions on Schedule A and your medical expenses are more than 7.5% of your adjusted gross income (AGI), you can’t deduct them on your tax return.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">But, what some folks don’t know is that there are quite a few allowable deductions that fall into that category—some that may be very surprising to you, but deductions you don’t want to ignore.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Most people understand the normal deductions, including fees for:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Diagnosis</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Cure</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Mitigation</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Treatment</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Prevention</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Equipment</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Supplies</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Diagnostic devices</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">But, the IRS also considers the following deductions allowable <a href="http://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc502.html">Tax Topics - Topic 502 Medical and Dental Expenses</a>:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Acupuncturists</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Eye doctors</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Occupational therapists</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Some weight-loss programs, foods, and health care memberships if prescribed by your doctor</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Transportation costs to and from medical care—19 19 cents per mile from January 1 to June 30 2011 and 23.5 cents per mile from July 1 to Dec 31 2011</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Amounts paid for qualified long-term care services</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Limited amounts paid for any qualified long-term care insurance contracts</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The cost of a medical conference (registration fees) if you suffer from a related chronic disease</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Medical insurance premiums, but not pre-tax salary contributions you make to your employer-sponsored health insurance plan</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Amounts you pay – if not covered by Social Security – for Medicare B supplemental insurance, Medicare D insurance, and Medicare A premiums</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Even if your former spouse claims your children as dependents, you can still deduct any qualifying medical bills for which you pay</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Lastly, don’t forget about those contributions you make to a health savings account (HSA). While not considered medical expenses, you can reduce your income by deducting 100% of your qualifying HSA contributions <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">even if you don't itemize deductions</i>. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div>nzambellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00021401441398885933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5781599441317148863.post-51805167108157597072012-03-07T08:00:00.004-08:002012-03-07T08:01:38.004-08:00Don’t Throw Away your 1099-K Form!<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Did you recently receive a 1099-K tax form and had no idea what to do with it? You’re not alone!</div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">The new form, called <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">1099-K, Merchant Card and Third Party Network Payments</i>, is to report any payments you received in 2011 by credit or debit cards or through third-party electronic networks such as PayPal. </div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">And you can thank the Housing Assistance Tax Act of 2008, which included a much-unnoticed blurb that—beginning in tax year 2011—required banks and other payment processors to send data on the payments they make to online merchants to the IRS. The government was afraid that some folks were not reporting their online income (imagine that!), and created Form 1099-K to make “volunteer” reporting easier.</div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Consequently, if you sell anything online and process your payments through a company like PayPal, you need to keep very good records.</div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">So, don’t discard that 1099-K, or you can bet Uncle Sam is going to come calling. </div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">You may want to know that some online merchants have found discrepancies between the reporting on the 1099-K and their own records. Most disagreements are related to how you record your payments and expenses—either cash (recorded on the date payment is received) or accrual (recorded when income is earned).</div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">For instance, I read one article about Amazon, in which the seller objected to Amazon using date of sale vs. shipment date, to record revenues. Consequently, you or your accountant may need to make some adjustments to ensure you are reporting your income correctly. For more information on the form, visit <a href="http://www.irs.gov/businesses/article/0,,id=251966,00.html"><span style="color: blue;">Understanding Your 1099-K</span></a></div><br />
Since most taxpayers had no prior knowledge of the 1099-K, you may have to work out a few kinks for this reporting season. But now that you know, you can set up your accounting system so next year’s reporting of your online revenues will be a breeze!<o:p></o:p>nzambellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00021401441398885933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5781599441317148863.post-62337701811059400782012-03-01T09:31:00.000-08:002012-03-01T09:31:41.193-08:00Before You File Your 1040, Read This…Just in case you thought the tax code wasn’t long enough at some 73,608 pages (according to CCH Group) there were a few additions you need to know about before you file your 1040. <br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Most of you are aware that this year we have a couple of extra days to file, extending the due date to April 17. And we can all breathe a sigh of relief that Congress extended the 15% capital gains rates. Additionally, for those folks who inherited estates in 2011 that were valued at less than $5 million, you are home-free, as far as federal estate tax goes. But should your pockets be deeper, you will face a 35% tax wallop.</div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">And there are a few other changes that may affect your pocketbook <a href="http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=254023,00.html"><span style="color: blue;">Tax Law Changes for 2011 Federal Tax Returns</span></a>:</div><o:p> </o:p><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>You’ll have to file a new piece of paper, Form 8949, for Sales and Other Dispositions of Capital Assets, i.e., your <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">capital gains and losses</i>. </div><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>If you didn’t report the taxable amount of monies you <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">converted or rolled over an amount from a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA</i> or designated Roth in 2010 on your 2010 return, you will need to report half of it on your 2011 return and the rest on your 2012 return.</div><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Alternative motor vehicle credit</i>, but only if you purchased—or put into service—the vehicle in 2011, and it is a new fuel cell motor vehicle. Credit may also be available for the cost of converting a vehicle to a qualified plug-in electric drive vehicle. Use Form 8910.</div><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Standard mileage rates</i>, which are 51 cents per mile for January 1 through June 30 and 55 ½ cents per mile for July 1 through December 31. </div><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>You’ll be happy to note that the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Alternative minimum tax</i> (AMT) exemption amount increased to $48,450 ($74,450 if married filing jointly or a qualifying widow or widower; $37,225 if married filing separately).</div><br />
In these tough economic times, every dollar counts, so make sure you get all the deductions you have coming!nzambellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00021401441398885933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5781599441317148863.post-38565702625633778602012-02-29T06:27:00.001-08:002012-02-29T06:28:27.773-08:00Don’t Fall Victim to Phony Tax ScamsAs a little girl, I was always interested in eavesdropping on my parents’ “money” conversations, and I remember, very well, their talks during the “Ides of Tax” season, when they looked under every rock for deductions! <br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? And while my folks had five legitimate little deductions (my brother and sisters and I), I was always entertained by their whispering about “so-and-so” who claimed extra children, or even their dogs, to get the best of Uncle Sam.</div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Those tax schemes were usually ratted out by neighbors or well-meaning friends, and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) didn’t have to be too sophisticated to ferret them out. </div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">If only tax fraud was so simple anymore!</div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Today, technology has made the proliferation of tax fraud countless times worse, with hypesters and con artists preying on people who fall victim—knowingly or unknowingly—to their schemes and scams.</div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">The IRS has just issued its annual “Dirty Dozen” tax scams list to remind taxpayers to be cautious, and also to inform us that participation—voluntary or not—can lead to not only big penalties and interest, but also a tour of the criminal court systems. <a href="http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=254383,00.html"><span style="color: blue;">IRS Releases the Dirty Dozen Tax Scams for 2012</span></a> Let’s take a look:</div><br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><u>First, the schemes that require your vigilance:<o:p></o:p></u></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Identity theft</i></b>—These are some of the most sophisticated scams identified by the IRS. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Symptoms:</i> When you receive a notice from the IRS that multiple returns have been filed by you or wages from an unknown employer were submitted. </div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Phishing</i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">—</i><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">A</b>n<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i>unsolicited email with a fake IRS website that looks legitimate. When you click on the site, it can give access to your computer to the fraudster, where he can obtain your personal and financial information. Result: ID theft. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Symptom: </i>Unsolicited emails that look like they came from the IRS or a sister organization, such as the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS). </div><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Return preparer fraud</i></b>—including, skimming refunds, higher-than-normal tax prep fees, and inflated refunds. The IRS says that about 60% of taxpayers hire someone to prepare their taxes, and preparer fraud has grown so much that in 2012, paid preparers must enter a Preparer Tax Identification Number (PTIN) on any returns they prepare. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Symptoms: </i>No PTIN, you don’t receive a copy of your return, the guarantee of a refund that sounds too high, their fee is a percentage of your refund, the addition of new forms to your return, and suggestions to lie about your income, expenses, deductions, etc.<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><u>Next, the scams that you may think are legitimate, but will get you in a heap of trouble with the IRS:<o:p></o:p></u></div><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Free money</i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">—</i>You should know by now there is no such thing. But thousands of taxpayers continue to fall for scams involving non-existent Social Security refunds and rebates. The IRS says this is a recurring problem in community churches where goodwill spreads the scam. <br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Hiding income offshore</i></b>—While there are legitimate offshore accounts, you must report them to the IRS. <br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Frivolous Arguments</i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">—</i>These in include “The filing of a tax return is voluntary”; “Taxpayers can refuse to pay taxes on religious or moral grounds”; or “The IRS is not an agency of the U.S.”<o:p></o:p><br />
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Here are some more: <a href="http://www.irs.gov/taxpros/article/0,,id=159932,00.html"><span style="color: blue;">The Truth About Frivolous Tax Arguments - Section I</span></a>. My advice: Just forget it; these arguments don’t work!<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Misuse of Trusts—</i></b>This is a big one. Trusts can be excellent vehicles for managing large sums of money to be passed down to generations, but scamsters find this a very profitable arena. Victims fall prey to promises of drastic tax reductions on income as well as reduced estate or gift taxes. It’s best to use a good trust lawyer and accountant who come with high recommendations and reasonable expectations.<br />
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<u>Lastly, the scams that you know are illegal:<o:p></o:p></u><br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">False/Inflated Income and Expenses</i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">—</i>Lying to the IRS about your income or expenses is not a good thing. The chances are that they will find out. So just don’t do it. <br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">False Form 1099 Refund Claims</i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">—</i>This is one that is unfamiliar to most folks, but it involves a false return such as a Form 1099 Original Issue Discount (OID), which usually refers to long-term instruments, such as bonds, that are originally issued at a discount, so the difference between maturity and original value is interest, which is usually reportable. But scamsters have misappropriated this form to justify a false refund claim on a corresponding tax return. <br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Falsely Claiming Zero Wages—</i></b>Nope; this one doesn’t work either. No matter how fancy you get with Form 4852 (Substitute Form W-2) or a “corrected” Form 1099, trying to zero out your taxable income, it’s just not going to fly.<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Abuse of Charitable Organizations and Deductions—</i></b>More than just claiming that you gave a larger amount of clothing to Goodwill this year, these schemes are much larger in scope. Donors who try to maintain control over the donated assets or income, in the case of donated property; attempts to shield income or assets; and highly overvalued donations, are just a few of the scams that you want to avoid.<o:p></o:p><br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Disguised Corporate Ownership—</i></b>Used for the purpose of falsifying income, deductions, expenses, money laundering, financial crimes, or just avoiding filing tax returns—not a good idea.<o:p></o:p><br />
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Look, no one wants to pay Uncle Sam (except, maybe Warren Buffett!). And there’s nothing wrong with trying to get as many legitimate deductions as you can. But please don’t get caught up in these scams; just pay your taxes, and work with your tax planners to take advantage of all the legal deductions that you are warranted. <o:p></o:p><br />
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But if you do get snared by a scam, report it at once to:<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
Internal Revenue Service Lead Development Center<o:p></o:p><br />
Stop MS5040<o:p></o:p><br />
24000 Avila Road<o:p></o:p><br />
Laguna Niguel, California 92677-3405<o:p></o:p><br />
Fax: (949) 389-5083<o:p></o:p><br />
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</div>nzambellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00021401441398885933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5781599441317148863.post-36580515954969192842012-02-24T06:00:00.002-08:002012-02-24T06:02:32.453-08:00Tax Watch: Don’t Forget your Partnership Income!It’s that time of year again and most of us hem and haw, and procrastinate when it’s time to give Uncle Sam his due. <br />
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And while we are given a couple of extra days to file this year (deadline=April 17, 2012), d-day will be upon us before we know it. So in the next few columns, I’m going to share some tax tips and reminders that often take folks by surprise.</div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">And Schedule K-1, used to report partnership income, fits that bill! Often one of the last tax documents that investors receive, many folks are caught unaware by it, as they don’t even realize they are part of a partnership.</div><br />
The form’s purpose is to report your share of the partnership's income, losses, deductions and credits. Partnership income is usually not taxed to the partnership, but you are still liable for your share and if you receive income from a limited partnership (LP), or even some exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that invest in commodities or an investment club, you can look forward to receiving a K-1.<o:p></o:p><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Now, as you can see by following this link to the IRS, there are several Schedule K-1’s to choose from: <a href="http://search.irs.gov/web/query.html?col=allirs&charset=utf-8&qp=&qs=-Wct%3A%22Internal+Revenue+Manual%22&qc=&qm=0&rf=0&oq=&qt=k-1"><span style="color: blue;">IRS.gov Search Results</span></a></div><br />
As if that’s not confusing enough, K-1 income may also need to be reported in multiple places on your federal tax return—in some cases, Schedule A, Schedule B, Schedule D and Form 6781.<br />
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<o:p> </o:p>My advice: Use a tax-filing software program or an accountant so that you make sure you are filing properly.<br />
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<o:p> </o:p>And for next year, if your K-1 income is due strictly to ETFs or LPs, think about moving those investments into your IRA. That way, any taxes will be deferred.<br />
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</div>nzambellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00021401441398885933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5781599441317148863.post-47315623979916623682012-02-15T07:20:00.001-08:002012-02-15T07:20:44.556-08:00Three Funds to Turn Investment Beginners into Retirement Winners<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Just a couple of months into the New Year, it’s time for your 401k administrator to begin holding meetings about your company’s retirement options. Most of the old-hands will automatically sign up again, without giving a thought or two to determining if their funds from last year still meet their needs today. Yet, many of them—and their portfolios—are in dire need of a retread. And I’ll address the necessity of actively pursuing those changes in a column coming soon. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">But today, I want to talk with never-before or new investors who may find themselves facing a pound of prospectuses without knowing where to begin their journey upon the path of successful investing.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">First of all, don’t panic! Your 401k plan will generally include a selection of mutual funds (not too many offer ETFs just yet), as well as total portfolio options for investors looking to avoid picking individual funds. These offerings will probably include:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><a name='more'></a><br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Growth funds that invest primarily in the equities of companies with rapidly growing earnings, generally trading at higher price-to-earnings ratios. These funds can be fairly volatile. </span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Bond funds seek current income by investing in corporate and government securities or municipal bonds</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Balanced funds focus on long-term growth and preservation of capital, as well as income. They tend to hold bonds, common stocks, preferred stocks and short-term securities.</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">There are also several combinations of the above funds which may be offered to you, and they may be divided into aggressive, moderate and conservative risk. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As a newbie investor, you are most likely under age 40, and you can afford to be much more aggressive than your older co-workers. Consequently, I would recommend that you put the majority of your investment monies into <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">growth</i> funds.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Within each portfolio choice, you will find several funds that your plan administrator has chosen for you. And since each 401k plan differs as to which funds will be offered, you will need to do some research to determine which fund or portfolio plan works best for you.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I have researched several growth funds, and found some highly-rated options with good returns for the past three years, that may just fit your needs. While these particular funds may or may not be on the list of investments offered to you, you can go to <a href="http://www.morningstar.com/">http://www.morningstar.com/</a> and find similar ones that may be included your 401k plan. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I chose the funds based on no-loads, low expense ratios (less than 1%) ratings (4 or 5 stars), and year-to-date and 3-year returns (greater than the S&P500). Here are my results:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
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<tr style="mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0;"><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: windowtext 1pt solid; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: windowtext 1pt solid; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0in; width: 0.95in;" valign="top" width="91"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Fund</span></b></div></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: windowtext 1pt solid; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0in; width: 0.95in;" valign="top" width="91"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Symbol</span></b></div></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: windowtext 1pt solid; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0in; width: 0.95in;" valign="top" width="91"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">YTD Return (%)</span></b></div></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: windowtext 1pt solid; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0in; width: 0.95in;" valign="top" width="91"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">3-Year Return (%)</span></b></div></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: windowtext 1pt solid; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0in; width: 0.95in;" valign="top" width="91"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Expense Ratio (%)</span></b></div></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: windowtext 1pt solid; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0in; width: 0.95in;" valign="top" width="91"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Yield (%)</span></b></div></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: windowtext 1pt solid; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0in; width: 0.95in;" valign="top" width="91"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">3 Top Holdings</span></b></div></td></tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 1;"><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: windowtext 1pt solid; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: #f0f0f0; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0in; width: 0.95in;" valign="top" width="91"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Fidelity Gr Co K</span></b></div></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: #f0f0f0; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0in; width: 0.95in;" valign="top" width="91"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">FGCKX</span></div></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: #f0f0f0; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0in; width: 0.95in;" valign="top" width="91"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">14.27</span></div></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: #f0f0f0; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0in; width: 0.95in;" valign="top" width="91"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">25.63</span></div></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: #f0f0f0; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0in; width: 0.95in;" valign="top" width="91"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">0.7</span></div></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: #f0f0f0; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0in; width: 0.95in;" valign="top" width="91"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">0.21</span></div></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: #f0f0f0; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0in; width: 0.95in;" valign="top" width="91"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Apple, Exxon, Google</span></div></td></tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 2;"><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: windowtext 1pt solid; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: #f0f0f0; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0in; width: 0.95in;" valign="top" width="91"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">RS Sm Cap Gr</span></b></div></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: #f0f0f0; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0in; width: 0.95in;" valign="top" width="91"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">RSYEX</span></div></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: #f0f0f0; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0in; width: 0.95in;" valign="top" width="91"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">13.22</span></div></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: #f0f0f0; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0in; width: 0.95in;" valign="top" width="91"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">28.93</span></div></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: #f0f0f0; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0in; width: 0.95in;" valign="top" width="91"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">0.98</span></div></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: #f0f0f0; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0in; width: 0.95in;" valign="top" width="91"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">n/a</span></div></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: #f0f0f0; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0in; width: 0.95in;" valign="top" width="91"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Team Health, Old Dominion, Rock-Tenn</span></div></td></tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 3; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;"><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: windowtext 1pt solid; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: #f0f0f0; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0in; width: 0.95in;" valign="top" width="91"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Primecap Odyssey</span></b></div></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: #f0f0f0; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0in; width: 0.95in;" valign="top" width="91"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">POAGX</span></div></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: #f0f0f0; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0in; width: 0.95in;" valign="top" width="91"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">13.44</span></div></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: #f0f0f0; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0in; width: 0.95in;" valign="top" width="91"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">28.27</span></div></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: #f0f0f0; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0in; width: 0.95in;" valign="top" width="91"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">0.68</span></div></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: #f0f0f0; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0in; width: 0.95in;" valign="top" width="91"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">n/a</span></div></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: #f0f0f0; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0in; width: 0.95in;" valign="top" width="91"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Roche Hldg, Seattle Genetics, Immuno Gen</span></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">While I highly recommend that you also include some funds with moderate and conservative risk strategies, for most of you, the majority of your investment dollars should be devoted to more aggressive strategies, such as growth funds. That way, their higher returns, combined with the many years you have left to contribute, will multiply your retirement dollars at a much faster pace than their more conservative peers.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I’ll leave you with just one example of $200 invested monthly in your 401k plan for 30 years:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">An investment with an annual return of 15% would be worth <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">$1,384,655.92</b></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">An investment with an annual return of 10% would be worth <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">$452,097.58</b></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">An investment with an annual return of 3.08% (the equivalent of a 30-year Treasury bond) would be worth <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">$118,158.47</b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Now, you must understand that just because one of the above funds is doing well today, returning double-digit gains, it doesn’t mean that it will make those returns each and every year. After all, it is the stock market we are discussing!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">But, if you monitor and reallocate your portfolio as needed, you can see that being more aggressive in your younger years can make a tremendous difference in the monies you will have accumulated by retirement. So, don’t wait and don’t ignore your 401k plan. Most of your employers will match at least part of your investment, and that means those figures above will be even greater. Get started now!</span></div>nzambellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00021401441398885933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5781599441317148863.post-23732591461153285002012-02-13T06:24:00.000-08:002012-02-13T06:24:50.281-08:00Wrap-up from World Money ShowIt was a great show, and who can complain about being in Orlando in February?<br />
<br />
My last day at the show was a good mix of interviews with fixed income and equity advisors. The fixed income folks offered a positive outlook on the U.S.--and gold--but felt investors looking for income may need to "go out on the risk scale" a little, in order to obtain a decent income stream. They also warned against:<br />
<br />
<ul><li>Chasing stocks just for the yield; instead, make sure the companies you choose are fundamentally strong</li>
<li>Laddering bonds--a strategy that no longer works with such low interest rates</li>
<li>Buy and hold--with continued volatility, this strategy is no longer viable</li>
</ul>Other ideas for investment included:<br />
<br />
<ul><li>Large cap stocks, particularly in technology and finance</li>
<li>Dividend-paying compaies</li>
<li>Emerging market stocks, but very selectively</li>
</ul><br />
My interviews will be posted on <a href="http://www.moneyshow.com/">http://www.moneyshow.com/</a> within the next couple of weeks, so make sure you login for the latest opinions and specific recommendations from some of the most-respected financial advisors in the marketplace today.nzambellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00021401441398885933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5781599441317148863.post-59196828843166213922012-02-10T18:30:00.000-08:002012-02-10T18:30:58.506-08:00Market Strategies from the World Money ShowI had a great time catching up with lots of friends and associates today, and I was pleased with their overall positive sentiment about the U.S. economy and markets.<br />
<br />
The investment advisors at the World Money Show are a diverse bunch with a range of opinions. I spent the afternoon quizzing a few of my favorite advisors about their take on the current market, as well as which sectors look attractive for 2012.<br />
<br />
You may recall my recent discussion about the transition of economic and market cycles and my contention that we were nearing the changeover from early- to mid-cycle, when small caps begin to lose their luster and investors begin to find larger cap stocks more attractive. <br />
<br />
This was the prevailing theme in almsost all of my interviews today, accompanied by pretty bullish outlooks from the majority.<br />
<br />
Here's a snapshot of what they had to say:<br />
<br />
1. Europe and the U.S. are <u>not</u> tied to each other at the hip, with historical proof that recessions on the continent did not foster similar economic downturns in the U.S. Additionally, the improving economic indicators in the U.S., including consumer sentiment, housing, and unemployment, continue to indicate a strengthening environment on the home front.<br />
<br />
2. Whether investing in dividend-paying stocks, growth equities or ETFs, and although the climate is bullish, this cycle requires more than a "dart-throw" to ferret out the best investments. All agreed that judicious stock-picking would become more important in the days ahead. In other words, don't chase yield or "hot" sectors; instead, find out if the company or companies, in the case of an ETF, are fundamentally strong investments for the long haul. Always a good strategy, in my opinion.<br />
<br />
3. Don't give up on emerging markets. Although most are still underperforming, it may be the perfect time to indulge a small portion of your portfolio in areas that are destined to grow exponentially in the next few years due to demographic and economic trends. And while I heard very few individual stock recommendations, several advisors thought a diversified ETF would be a good start.<br />
<br />
Overall, pretty bullish, although most agreed with me--the volatility isn't over, but the trend looks good!nzambellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00021401441398885933noreply@blogger.com0