Nov 16
Ah, retirement!
Before the 1950s it was something only the wealthy could afford to do. Everyone else needed an income, and most folks struggled to get by in the industrial economy as their faculties deteriorated. Back in the days before 401k’s — let alone Social Security — older people faced the kind of pressures portrayed by filmmaker D.W. Griffith in his melodramatic 1911 silent film “What Shall We Do With Our Old?” It’s a sad tale of the setbacks endured by an elderly couple, the wife ailing, the husband tossed off the assembly line to make way for a younger worker.
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Nov 16
The real estate industry is cautiously expecting more favorable conditions in 2010, with help from the recently-extended tax credit for home buyers.
According to the National Association of Realtors, up to 2.4 million Americans will end up buying a home in 2009, with 47 percent of home sales over the past year attributed to first-time buyers. That figure stood at 36 percent in 2006, when housing prices were closer to their previous peaks.
In 2010, the organization expects 549,000 new homes to be sold, up from 397,000 in 2009. Existing home sales are predicted to be 5.69 million in 2010, up from an expected 5.01 million for 2009. Read more…
Nov 16
The Boston Globe Money Makeover: A plan for getting by, working less profiles single, 50-year-old Malden, MA resident Phyllis Werlin who is currently unemployed after her second layoff in 12 months. With another job hunt in front of her, Phyllis wondered – can she afford to look for part-time work and use her extra time to pursue other interests? If she did semi-retire now, would she outlive her money?
Levit, of Paragon Financial Advisors in Newton, crunched the numbers, looking at Werlin’s expenses, the expected return on her investments, and the size of her Social Security payments once she reached full retirement age. T
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Nov 16
Over at Bogleheads there was an interesting thread which explored how finance professor Moshe Milevsky has been pushing the concept of human capital as an additional variable to the traditional ideas of net worth, portfolio construction, and asset allocation. These are explored in this this trade magazine article for financial advisors, this draft academic paper, and also in his book Are You a Stock or a Bond?.
Human Capital
There are some differing definitions, but below is a brief explanation (taken from the magazine article above) of what is meant by human capital here:
Human capital is a measure of the present value of your client’s future wages, income and salary (net of any future income taxes and expenses). For example, if she is a doctor, lawyer, engineer or even a professor, she has probably invested an enormous amount of time, effort and money to finance her education. T
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Nov 15
The oversupply problem plaguing the solar panel industry may be coming to a close. A glut of panels caused prices to plunge this year, calling into question the future the industry, as well as the individual fortunes of manufacturers. An increase in demand from Germany is helping to consume the excess inventory on the market, according to a new report by research firm iSuppli, which should provide some support to the manufacturers.
Close to half of all solar panels manufactured this year will not be sold in 2009, iSuppli says, and it forecasts that the glut will continue until 2012.
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Nov 14
If you’ve heard about all the bank failures — 122 this year — you’ve got to be wondering about the safety of your money.
Which banks failed this year
Five banks failed Nov. 6. The largest was San Francisco’s United Commercial Bank, the main operating subsidiary of UCBH Holdings, which received $299 million in government help through the Troubled Asset Relief Program last year. Looks like taxpayers won’t be getting that money repaid.
It really does make you wonder about protecting your money.
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