Fri, August 06, 2010
After taking a one-year hiatus, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is again joining several other states in giving consumers a two-day “sales tax holiday.” Read the full article
Wed, August 04, 2010
Owners of small businesses are upbeat about their own chances for success, yet most believe that we will still be in a recession a year from now. Read the full article
Sat, July 31, 2010
This past May, sales of new homes plunged to the lowest levels seen since such data began to be recorded in 1963. June and July sales have been tepid. Are home sales likely to remain in a funk for a few years? Some demographers think it’s likely. Read the full article
Wed, July 21, 2010
About a year ago I noted that a hodgepodge of state laws enabled some parents to keep their post-college-age children covered under an employer-sponsored health plan. This spring the IRS issued new guidelines under the Affordable Care Act allowing employers to provide coverage for children under the age of 27 as a tax-free employee benefit. Read the full article
Mon, July 12, 2010
Now in its 10th year, Boston Restaurant Week | Summer 2010 will kick into gear next month. Fine restaurants in the Boston area will offer reduced-price versions of their cuisine, giving thrifty diners opportunities to eat well at a discount. Read the full article
Tue, July 06, 2010
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts requires companies to notify individuals if there is evidence that their personal confidential information has been leaked inappropriately. In fact, MA law requires that notice also be given to the department of consumer affairs and the state attorney general's office if this happens. Apparently, the attorney general's office almost had to notify itself last month after it accidentally disclosed thousands of Social Security numbers. Read the full article
Fri, June 25, 2010
At last, the financial regulatory bill resulting from months of activity in the House and Senate contains language that might result in the implementation of a standard requiring broker-dealers to act as fiduciaries. Read the full article
Fri, June 25, 2010
Those of you who follow my blog are undoubtedly aware that I have not written anything here since the end of last year. In January 2010, my wife had transplant surgery. This made it necessary for me to cut back on many of my normal activities, including writing articles for this blog.
Now that she's recovering, I’m hoping to get back to writing blog articles, though perhaps not at the same rate as before. In any case, expect to start seeing activity on the FFS Blog again. Thanks for your patience. Read the full article
Thu, December 31, 2009
It looks like Congress won’t get around to fixing the estate tax before this year ends. Aside from boosting the incomes of estate planning attorneys, this doesn’t help anyone. Read the full article
Tue, December 29, 2009
A report released this month on indicates that while average college debt levels reached $23,200 for the graduating class of 2008, there is an extremely wide range of variation among student debts loads in different parts of the country and at different school. It’s not very enlightening to speak of an “average” college debt when average debt levels at specific institutions vary from $5,000 to $106,000. Read the full article
Thu, December 24, 2009
This past summer I wrote about the novel Macroshares trusts released this year that enable investors to speculate on the direction of housing prices. Earlier this week, MacroMarkets announced that instead of terminating in 2014, the trusts will terminate next week. Read the full article
Wed, December 16, 2009
Last Friday, the House passed the the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, a measure hailed as the biggest reform of financial services in half a century. Already, though, some interesting exceptions have been spotted in the bill, which weighs in at 1200-plus pages. The bill does a number of laudable things, including the creation of a Consumer Financial Protection Agency to oversee financial products and services.
Read the full article
Sat, December 12, 2009
For many people, December is the riskiest month in which to buy into a new mutual fund in a taxable account. This has nothing to do with the gyrations of the stock market, and everything to do with taxes. Read the full article
Wed, December 09, 2009
As the end of the year approaches, it’s always a good idea to take see if there are any last-minute moves that make sense for you. Here are four opportunities for tax savings: Read the full article
Mon, November 30, 2009
As the Christmas shopping season approaches, it’s a good idea to do what you can to reduce your risk of identity fraud when you shop online. Read the full article
Mon, November 23, 2009
The big guns in the securities industry have expressed a desire for a “harmonized fiduciary standard” for broker-dealers and investment advisers. That sounds good, but as the details emerge, it looks more and more as though this "harmonized" standard is actually a "gutted" standard, tailored for the benefit of large financial companies.
Read the full article
Thu, November 19, 2009
I've learned from Newstex, which syndicates this blog through its Authoritative Blog Content service, that the FFS Blog's content can now be accessed using an Amazon Kindle. Read the full article
Mon, November 16, 2009
Construction-equipment manufacturer Caterpillar recently announced its willingness to settle a lawsuit in which it was accused of charging excessive fees in four of its employee 401(k) plans. Read the full article
Wed, November 11, 2009
Yesterday the New England Economic Partnership (NEEP) held its Fall Economic Conference at the Boston Federal Reserve. Regional economists reported that they expect unemployment in New England to peak next year, despite improvements in the national economic outlook. Read the full article
Mon, November 09, 2009
A recent scholarly paper reveals an interesting conclusion: quite a few hedge fund managers misrepresent the truth about past legal and regulatory problems, performance, or assets under management. Read the full article
Thu, November 05, 2009
The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) left its Federal Funds rate unchanged in a range of zero to 0.25% today; it also gave a few hints as to what would need to happen before it starts raising interest rates. Read the full article
Return to The FFS Blog Home Page
And now, to keep my lawyers happy: This site is for educational and informational purposes only. Nothing contained here should be construed by anyone as an invitation or solicitation to buy or sell any security. This site does not contain personalized legal, tax, investment, or financial advice. Users of this site should consult with a qualified adviser to obtain advice suited to their personal circumstances. Any links provided here to other web sites are for informational purposes only. We take no responsibility for the accuracy or content of linked sites.
COPYRIGHT THOMAS A. FISHER © 2008 - 2024