Tue, November 03, 2009
Today I found a nice article at Smartmoney.com that summarizes several indicators that can help you make an educated guess as to whether housing prices in an area are likely to go up. Read the full article
Sun, November 01, 2009
Economists at the University of Massachusetts believe the state’s economy may have bottomed, but the indicators remain ambiguous. Read the full article
Thu, October 01, 2009
Bizjournals.com recently released its analysis of per capita income growth in the 100 largest US metro areas. Except for Bridgeport-Stamford, CT, Boston was the only metro area in New England ranked among the top 10 . Read the full article
Mon, September 14, 2009
I don’t often write this sort of advice, but here’s my household risk management recommendation for the Fall: get your flu shots. Read the full article
Thu, September 10, 2009
The Federal Reserve’s latest “beige book” report offers a few encouragements on the state of the New England economy. Read the full article
Sun, August 16, 2009
Yesterday the Bureau of Labor Standards provided a CPI update through July 2009. Prices seem to be firming, but no clear pattern has yet emerged. Read the full article
Fri, August 07, 2009
For several years Massachusetts, like many states, has had a summer tax holiday weekend – sort of like Christmas in August. This year, the Grinch has come to the Bay State. Read the full article
Thu, July 23, 2009
When I moved to Boston, I was surprised to discover that despite the severity of New England winters, ice cream is a regional obsession. Here’s a useful resource for finding the area’s finest ice creameries as you travel this summer. Read the full article
Thu, July 16, 2009
As more attention is focused on to the risks of leveraged exchange-traded funds (ETFs), regulators are starting to investigate how they’re being sold to retail investors. Read the full article
Fri, July 10, 2009
Although I’m not a true “foodie,” I do enjoy a good meal. I enjoy saving money, too. Restaurant Week enables me to do both simultaneously. Now in its ninth year in Boston, Restaurant Week offers an opportunity for locals to sample the offerings of pricey restaurants at a discount. Moreover, there are Restaurant Weeks in other cities. Read the full article
Tue, June 23, 2009
Although early summer in the Boston area has been unseasonably cool, it probably won’t stay that way. Coupled with some of the highest electrical rates in the nation, warm weather provides plenty of motivation for energy conservation. Here are some suggestions for cutting your electric bill during the summer. Read the full article
Thu, June 18, 2009
Yesterday the Brookings Institution released a report evaluating the effect of the Great Recession on employment and other economic indicators in the nation’s 100 largest cities. Even with a below-average showing for housing prices, Boston's economy doesn't look so bad in comparison to many other cities.
Read the full article
Wed, June 17, 2009
The Bureau of Labor Statistics released its report today on changes in New England region prices for May 2009. Read the full article
Fri, June 12, 2009
The Federal Reserve Bank’s “Beige Book,” issued eight times a year, was released this week. The outlook for New England is uncertain, with few bright spots. Read the full article
Wed, June 03, 2009
With the economy still in the doldrums, doing a home renovation could be an excellent idea. It’s a bit counter-intuitive, but hear me out. Read the full article
Sat, May 23, 2009
Yesterday I attended the spring New England Economic Partnership (NEEP) conference, held semiannually by the nonprofit economic research group that studies the region's economy. They were optimistically cautious. Read the full article
Thu, May 14, 2009
Could you use some free financial advice from a qualified financial planner? The NAPFA Consumer Education Foundation (NCEF), in collaboration with TD AMERITRADE Institutional and Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine, will be helping Boston-area consumers make wise money decisions next week on May 20th and 21st.
Read the full article
Sat, April 11, 2009
With the economy in a funk, consumers are becoming more cost-conscious. In response, retail businesses seem to be offering more discounts. Recently I discovered a neat resource for people who like saving money but who'd also like to be able to have a meal at a nice restaurant. Read the full article
Tue, March 24, 2009
Today I received updated figures from First American CoreLogic, which maintains one of the nation’s largest databases on residential property transactions. Their January results confirm a wide disparity in housing price changes across the U.S. over the last year. In general, the news is not good. Read the full article
Tue, March 10, 2009
For buyers in the most expensive housing markets, the rules concerning “conforming” mortgages have been confusing over the last year or so. Conforming mortgages are eligible to be purchased by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two government-run companies that together own or guarantee most home mortgages. One benefit of a conforming mortgage is the all-important interest rate: mortgages whose values exceed a specified amount are not conforming and typically carry interest rates that are ¾% or more higher than conforming mortgage rates. Read the full article
Wed, February 25, 2009
With little fanfare, S.B No. 2729 (the "Act Relative To Equitable Coverage For Annuity Policies") went into effect on January 1, 2009. The law requires that all annuities sold to Massachusetts residents be gender-neutral in all aspects, including premiums and benefits. Read the full article
Tue, December 16, 2008
The news media continue to reverberate with details of Bernard Madoff’s fraudulent investment scheme. Sadly, a number of charitable foundations, including Elie Wiesel's Foundation For Humanity, Steven Speilberg’s Wunderkinder Foundation, the Carl and Ruth Shapiro Foundation, and the Robert Lappin Foundation, had most of their funds invested with him. The Lappin Foundation, based on the North Shore of Boston, has had to shut down. Read the full article
Wed, December 03, 2008
A comment that I've heard several times in the last few weeks is, "I took a look at my 401(k)/mutual fund statement and it was really depressing." Well, take heart: at least you're not down by eight billion dollars.... Read the full article
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