Archives for General
How to Deal With Inflation Risk in Retirement
In 1960, the median value of a home in the U.S. was $11,900. Today, some 50 years later, you'd be hard pressed to buy a decent car for that amount given that the average price in 2010 was close to $30,000. And in 50 more years, you might find it impossible to buy a car for $170,000, which was the median sales price of a single-family home in the U.S. in 2010. And that, my friends, is inflation — one of the most insidious risks Americans will face in retirement. Yet despite years of witnessing firsthand the…
Retiring Boomers Find 401(k) Plans Fall Short
The 401(k) generation is beginning to retire, and it isn't a pretty sight. The retirement savings plans that many baby boomers thought would see them through old age are falling short in many cases. The median household headed by a person aged 60 to 62 with a 401(k) account has less than one-quarter of what is needed in that account to maintain its standard of living in retirement, according to data compiled by the Federal Reserve and analyzed by the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College for The Wall Street Journal. Even counting Social Security and any pensions or…
Banks Push Home Buyers to Put Down More Cash
The down payments demanded by banks to buy homes have ballooned since the housing bust, forcing many people to rethink what they can afford and potentially shrinking the pool of eligible buyers. Last week, the Obama administration called for gradually raising down payments to a minimum of 10% on conventional loans, meaning those that can be bought or guaranteed by mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. And mortgage data show that private lenders are already pushing sharply higher the required down payments, mainly to mitigate their risk as home prices continue to fall. The median down payment in nine…
Trade deficit widens to $40.6 billion in December
Trade deficit widens to $40.6 billion in December and surges 32.8 percent for all of 2010 The trade deficit widened in December as rising oil prices pushed the value of imports up faster than U.S. exports. The deficit increased 5.9 percent in December to $40.6 billion, the Commerce Department reported Friday. U.S. exports of goods and services rose to $163 billion, a 1.8 percent gain and the best showing since July 2008. Sales of industrial machinery, civilian aircraft and autos and auto parts led the export gain. But imports rose even faster. A 2.6 percent gain pushed total U.S. imports…
Investors return to US stock funds in January
New year, new confidence: Investors add to US stock funds in Jan. at fastest clip in 7 years There's another sign that investors' confidence is returning: Last month they added money to U.S. stock mutual funds at the fastest clip in seven years. The year-opening surge also marked the first time in nine months that investors added more than they withdrew. All told, investors deposited a net $21.3 billion to U.S. stock funds in January, the biggest monthly increase since a net inflow of $23 billion in February 2004, industry consultant Strategic Insight said Friday. Last month's surge also snapped…