Friday, December 21, 2012

Tax-FREE is better: Where you put your money does matter


Tax-FREE is better: Where you put your money does matter
If you are not using a tax-FREE account for your investments, you could be losing 12%.
A popular fund, PIMCO's Fundamental IndexPLUS Total Return fund, shows what taxes can do. The fund's 19.9% annualized return over the past three years is reduced to just 7.24% annualized after adjusting for taxes. That's 12 percentage points of return lost to Uncle Sam each year. Big money you could be using in a tax-FREE Wealth Reserve. http://www.amazon.com/The-New-American-Retirement-System/dp/1461030072

Vanguard took in over $130 billion in 2012—set record with low-cost funds.
Investors are moving to Vanguard’s low cost funds; giving up on Wall Street fast talkers. "Investors have flocked to low-cost index funds when investing in equities and we can see Vanguard provided both," said Tom Roseen, head of research services at Lipper. 
Some avoid both taxes and commissions:
Tax-Advantaged Wealth: 10 Mutual Funds for a Tax-FREE Life,
+Grow your wealth with NO taxes or commissions.
+Use 10 mutual funds that have earned over 10%.
+Use a special tax haven for your earnings and gains.

Are you paying auto rates based on miles driven?
A survey of North American property and casualty insurers indicate that 75% of insurers believe usage-based insurance (UBI) will fundamentally alter the auto insurance industry between now and 2020.

Men charged more for auto insurance than women
Survey showed that if a man and a woman with the exact same driver profile (except for their sex) got quotes for the exact same coverage, the man's quote would be higher 62 percent of the time. Young men included in the analysis ended up seeing the biggest sex-based price discrepancies. For drivers under 25, the average sex-based price gap was $676 a year. "It's important that consumers understand the things that determine how much they pay for insurance, and gender is one of the least understood of those factors," says OAI manager Cesar Diaz.
Men need to shop around for the insurer that gives all the discounts: http://www.amazon.com/Vehicle-Insurance-Beware-Double-Coverage/dp/1480027634/

Sandy destruction may mean new insurance policy for shoppers
New Jersey's already pricey auto insurance premiums may edge up as insurers take into account Sandy's tremendous costs.

Family car beats the luxury in tree crash test
Of 18 moderately priced midsize cars tested from the 2013 model year, 13 were rated good or acceptable in a new kind of crash test engineered by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Only three of 11 midsize 2012 luxury cars tested earlier got those ratings.
The "narrow offset" test involves crashing a car so that its front corner — 20% of its front end — strikes a vertical, thin object such as a pole or a tree at 40 miles an hour. It is a more severe frontal test than those in the battery of government crash tests. Safer cars used more high-strength steel, which also reduced the car's weight.  Surprisingly Toyota's Camry and Prius V hybrid were rated "poor". Lexus ES and IS, Mercedes-Benz C-Class and Audi A4 rated "poor." http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2012/12/19/iihs-honda-accord-suzuki-kizashi-family-cars-safer/1780427/





SCAMS           “Deficits don’t matter” GOP banner

Vice President Dick Cheney told former Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill that "deficits don't matter" when the latter voiced concerns about the size of the federal bill. Cheney later fired O'Neill, presumably for thinking deficits actually mattered.
Still, Cheney was true to his word, as the White House of George W. Bush raised the federal deficit every year it was in office.
During the Bush Administration, the national debt went from roughly $5 trillion in 2000, to $14 trillion in 2008. Bush grew government spending by 8%. Total US government spending in 2000 was $1.5 trillion. Total USgovernment spending in 2008 was $2.9 trillion. Government spending doubled under the Bush Administration.

What ever happened to lottery winners?
Instant wealth touched two families last week. Will they end up like many others—wishing they had never won? This winner lost everything dear to him:

Too big to jail?
Critics question why big banks, execs don't face money laundering jail time
When the Justice Department announced its record $1.9 billion settlement against British bank HSBC last week, prosecutors called it a powerful blow to a dysfunctional institution accused of laundering money forIranLibya and Mexico's murderous drug cartels.
But to some former federal prosecutors, it was only the latest case of the government stopping short of bringing criminal money laundering charges against a big bank or its executives, at least in part on the rationale that such prosecutions could be devastating enough to cause such banks to fail. Bank execs have green light for more profits!
If it were you or I, we would be on death row

Perry doesn’t rule out another presidential run and warns against ‘knee-jerk’ reactions to Newtown.
Perry reiterated his support for carrying weapons on public property in Texas.
"You should be able to carry your handgun anywhere in this state," Perry said to wide applause. TX wishes to succeed. 

UBS’s $1.5 billion fine for rigging global interest rates expands the scandal to include bribery and highlights the influence of a trader in Tokyo who colluded with other banks. This broker paid $25,000 to rig rates from 2006-2009. NO one has been arrested. At least 45 bank employees, including some managers, knew of the “pervasive” practice and a further 70 people were included in open chats and messages where attempts to manipulate the Libor and Euribor loan rates.
UBS stock rose 1.3 percent to 15.44 francs Swiss market. Sharesholders benefit?

Madoff gets 10 years!
Crime does pay. The largest ponzi crime in history and all he gets is 10 years. He could have given up his brother 20 years ago and would have been a hero. What happened to morals?

Who owns your account now?
Sun Life Financial annuity and life insurance to Delaware Life (Guggenheim Partners)
MetLife Bank to GE Capital Retail Bank


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