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Unhappy new year for mutual funds?

January 17, 2010 – 12:53 pm

Regardless of whether the stock and bond markets can sustain their momentum in 2010, the mutual fund industry — and fund investors — appear destined for a year of bad news.

That’s the only conclusion I can draw after looking into my crystal ball to see what lies ahead for the fund business. In all the years I have been doing this — and it’s about 15, during which time I typically have gotten about three-quarters of my forecasts right — there have never been so many dark events looming on the horizon. These aren’t necessarily events on the scale of the financial crisis of 2008, but they are the big stories for the fund business.

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Health bill may impose ‘marriage penalty’

January 15, 2010 – 11:22 pm

Some married couples would pay thousands of dollars more for the same health insurance coverage as unmarried people living together if the health insurance overhaul plan pending in Congress is passed.

The built-in “marriage penalty” in both House and Senate versions of the health care bill has received scant attention. But for scores of low- and middle-income couples, it could mean a hike of $2,000 or more in annual insurance premiums the moment they say “I do.”

The disparity could come about in part because subsidies for purchasing health insurance under the plan from House Democrats are pegged to federal poverty guidelines.

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December Unemployment Unchanged at 10 Percent

January 15, 2010 – 2:58 pm

The Bureau of Labor Statistics has released its most recent unemployment numbers (for December 2009), and they paint a gloomy picture of the U.S. job landscape.

While the actual unemployment rate and number of unemployed people in the country remain unchanged from the last recorded period (10.0 percent and 15.3 million, respectively), certain figures point to a dismal immediate future.

Unemployment by the Numbers

Here’s a look at a breakdown of the current unemployment figures for the United States:

Adult men: 10.2 percent Adult women: 8.2 percent Teenagers: 27.1 percent Whites: 9.0 percent Blacks: 16.2 percent Hispanics: 12.9 percent Asians: 8.4 percent

While these numbers represent little movement in either direction from the BLS’s last report, they also don’t paint the whole picture. F

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Support Haiti Recovery Effort Through Microlending

January 15, 2010 – 11:00 am

I received this e-mail today from Microplace, which provides loans to low-income entrepreneurs around the world. I think it’s a great idea, although of course you should remember that you are lending money and it may or may not be repaid. You may consider augmenting your charitable contributions with this type of investment.

Haiti earthquake increases need for microfinance to support rebuilding

Dear Jonathan,

A massive earthquake with a magnitude of 7.0 hit Haiti on Tuesday near the capital, Port-au-Prince, and is feared to have killed thousands. T

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MP Dunleavey planning her own economic recovery

January 15, 2010 – 10:08 am

It has been awhile since I posted about MP Dunleavey, but her MSN article: 2010 goal: My own economic recovery finally provides some numbers and merits a mention. Before I dig into the article, I do once again want to commend MP for being one of the only professional personal finance writers out there who bares her own financial progress to her readers. It is something I wish more do.

In 2009 MP lost two freelance jobs (NY Times column is one, not sure of the second) and a 3rd job was reduced by 50%. She has been hit by a major repair on her house, purchased a new car, and was hit by collections for an old medical bill. Read more…

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What mortgage? Many pay plastic first

January 14, 2010 – 7:48 pm

Alaskans run up big credit card bills and pay them off fast. People in Michigan keep up their on auto loans even when all else is going to hell. Nevada debtors — and, increasingly, the rest of the country — will let the mortgage slide before skimping on a credit card bill.

No two people pay their bills the same way, of course, but it’s likely that your neighbors face many of the same economic and social pressures as you do. That results in distinct patterns reflecting local shopping habits, regional employers, even how often people move.

Those patterns show distinctly in data gathered by TransUnion, one of the three major U.S.

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