Nearing Retirement? Time to Get Focused
If retirement is near, you may want to focus on your retirement budget, sources of income and paying down debt. Learn more in this week’s Financial Tip.
If retirement is near, you may want to focus on your retirement budget, sources of income and paying down debt. Learn more in this week’s Financial Tip.
Our experts discuss automatic enrollment in your employer’s 401(k) plan and why the default options may not be the best choice for your situation.
Market indices began the week positive with Consumer Discretionary stocks leading the way up while Energy brands trailed with West Texas Intermediate crude falling 2.5% to settle at $44.78 a barrel. The ISM Manufacturing Index slipped to 50.8 from March’s reading of 51.8. Economists had expected a lesser decrease to 51.5. Stocks fell to their lowest level in three weeks on Tuesday, likely because of weak manufacturing data from China. Energy stocks felt the effect of a continued slip in crude oil. The fall in Energy continued on Wednesday. Energy Information Administration figures showed U.S. reserves increased by 2.8 million barrels last week, versus the 1.2 million barrels expected. The services industry activity ticked up in April, as the ISM non-manufacturing index moved up to 55.7 from 54.5 in March, exceeding expectations. Factory orders rose as new orders ramped up 1.1%, also beating consensus expectations. Indices closed with mixed moves on Thursday with the Dow producing a slight gain while both the S&P 500 and NASDAQ shed some points. Labor Department data showed new jobless claims climbed by 17,000 to 274,000. Trading ended in green territory on Friday. Carmaker and raw materials brands stepped up and Energy sector stocks climbed on an upswing in crude oil. Labor Department data showed an addition of 160,000 jobs in April, which was well shy of an expected 200,000. Gains for February and March were revised down by a total of 19,000 while the unemployment rate held steady at 5%.
In today’s Marietta Daily Journal, Bil Lako, CFP® explains the drawbacks to giving away assets to qualify for Medicaid. Read the Article
Selling a business interest can yield a gain or loss, but the tax treatment varies depending on the business entity. Learn more in this week’s Business Tip.
Your homeowners policy may cover your possessions that are outside of your home. We explain in this week’s Insurance Tip.
For members of the U.S. Armed Forces, not all of your pay may be subject to income tax. Read more in this week’s Tax Tip.
Financially speaking, you and your grandchildren have more in common than you think. We explain in this week’s Financial Tip.
Our experts discuss a case study that explores the strategy of gifting away assets to qualify for Medicaid in the future.
Declines in commodity-sensitive stocks caused the markets to trade slightly lower on Monday. Energy brands led the way down ahead of the Federal Reserve’s two-day April meeting. Commerce Department figures showed new home sales dipped in March, falling 1.5% to a rate of 511,000. February sales were upwardly revised to 519,000. Tuesday’s trading session ended mixed with the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 index adding gains while the NASDAQ closed in the red. Moves were mixed on a variety of economic news, including a tick up in durable goods orders for March, and a fall in The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence index. The mixed results continued Wednesday following comments from the April Federal Open Market Committee meeting. Policy makers left interest rates unchanged and left an increase in June unconfirmed. Thursday’s results were down across the board after the Commerce Department reported the U.S. economy grew at 0.5% in the first quarter, which was below analysts’ expectations. On Friday, West Texas Intermediate crude oil slipped 0.2% to settle at $45.92 a barrel. On another note, Commerce Department data showed consumer spending ticked up just slightly in March, increasing a mere 0.1%, half the amount anticipated. Personal income rose by 0.4% last month. The University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index fell to 89 from 91, slightly below expectations of 90.