Posts belonging to Category Economy



America is at a Crossroads According to Former Treasury Secretary

 

Robert Rubin, former managing partner of Goldman Sachs, former Treasury Secretary, and former Chairman of Citigroup, says there is more to worry about in today’s fiscal environment than at any other time in his life. “[I]t is absolutely prudent that we prepare for the worst,” Rubin told a New York TradeTech audience last month (See […]

The Risk of Municipal Bonds Continues to Rise

 

State and local issuers of municipal bonds are in trouble, but most municipal bond holders are not ? at least not yet. While waves of default predicted by analyst Meredith Whitney several years ago have not yet materialized, lower revenues and unfunded liabilities are creating a slow-motion train wreck for many state and local governments. […]

Greater Volatility Equals Lower Returns

 

A recent study has concluded that investments that have higher volatility generate lower returns for investors. For many years, it has been a basic precept of modern portfolio theory that the price of opting for lower risk is lower reward. That is bunk, according to Robert Haugen, a former professor of finance at the University […]

Do the Benefits of Crowdfunding Outweigh the Costs?

 

Congress recently passed the “Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act (“JOBS”), which contains provisions that will change the securities laws to allow what is known as crowdfunding. Crowdfunding provides a way for small businesses to raise money by pitching their stories to thousands of small-dollar investors using social media web sites with little or no disclosure. […]

Crowdfunding Law Raises Many Questions

 

CFO.com, a publication geared specifically for finance executives, says that the JOBS Act may not be all it’s cracked up to be, as there are both more new regulations and less incentives for start-ups to go public than has previously been reported in some financial publications (“JOBS Act Turns Spotlight on Crowdfunding,” by Sarah Johnson, […]

Harrisburg PA Announces Default On General Obligation Bonds

 

Harrisburg, the capital of Pennsylvania, is set to default on general obligation bonds for the first time. The city of 49,500 is in receivership and the receiver is seeking approval to raise money by selling assets, raising taxes and fees and obtaining concessions from municipal labor unions. That has not yet come to pass, however, […]

Student Loan Worries Grow

 

Student loan debt problems are lurking on the horizon. Americans owe $1 trillion on college student loans, more than they owe on credit cards, which is too much. 2010 graduates owed $25,250 on average (up 5 percent from 2009). Parents of 2010 graduates owed $34,000 on average. More parents are going into debt to pay […]

Concerns About the Municipal Bond Market Rise

 

Various well-respected market followers are beginning to sound alarm bells regarding municipal bonds and municipal bond funds. Investors and financial advisers are encouraged to take heed and proceed with caution.

Corporate Bankruptcies Expected to Increase

 

An increase in corporate borrowing costs and Eastman Kodak’s recent bankruptcy filing have set off a round of speculation about whether it is the start of a growing trend in corporate bankruptcy filings. While Chapter 11 bankruptcy filings have been falling since 2009, George Putnam of BankruptcyData.com is expecting an uptick in corporate bankruptcy filings. […]

More Investors Avoid Stocks – Demand for Equities Drops

 

The dynamics of equity investing are changing and investors need to consider these changes when making investment decisions. Investors have pulled over $400 billion out of equity mutual funds since 2008, resulting assets of some of those funds being cut in half. Money has flowed into bond funds, but even more money (eight times as […]