Little more than a year ago the investing world was on fire when Meredith Whitney made a dreary prediction about the state of the municipal bond market.
On one of the highest rated television shows, 60 Minutes, Whitney said that she expected several hundred billion dollars of municipal bond defaults. That is to say that Whitney believed that the municipal bond market would essentially blow up because cities and local borrowers wouldn’t be able to pay back their growing debt balances.
Municipal Bonds Blossom
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Bonds
Meredith Whitney, municipal bond defaults, municipal bonds
How long can the Federal Reserve continue to keep US interest rates at record lows?
This is the million dollar question.
Potential home buyers are waiting to see if they can wait just a little longer to score a cheaper interest rate. The mortgage industry is loving all the refinances, especially now that some people have refinanced once or even twice at low interest rates compared to previous home loans.
Low Rates Until 2014
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Investing
how long will rates be low, interest rates, will interest rates go lower
Many people want to start investing but don’t know how. Many more want to start planning, but don’t know how to invest in stocks with little money.
It’s unfortunate that investing requires money to make money. The only way to get started with any kind of investment is to have the cash available to make an investment. Thus, many find that investing in stocks with little money is almost impossible.
The good news is that you can invest in stocks, even without a lot of money!
Where to Start Your Investments
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Mutual Funds
how to invest in stocks, How to Invest in Stocks with Little Money, investments, Mutual Funds, Stocks
Investors realize many things about the market but fail to piece them together.
The executives that lead companies are mostly paid for growing the company. The shareholders reward the company with a higher stock price when it grows.
Naturally, companies should want to grow at any time they can to make more money. But it’s hard to grow a company in recession. So companies will have to buy growth.
How Companies Buy Growth
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Business
acquisitions, buyouts, growth stocks, mergers
As the recession lags on for what seems like eternity, the prospect of a student loan bubble is on the top of everyone’s minds.
This is especially the case with so many people unemployed.
If college graduates are leaving school to the same, weak job market, then why would college degrees make any sense?
If students are taking on more student loans but earning less, a student loan bubble might just be the only realistic outcome.
Remember, the Obama Administration did announce a student loan forgiveness program to deflate any bubble before it pops.
Student Loan Bubble: Why It Happened
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Business, Economy
student debt bubble, student loan, student loan bubble, student loans
As tax season begins, Americans should start to discover the different Federal Tax Brackets, how tax brackets work, and what percentage of their income will be taxed in each.
You can think of Federal tax brackets as “benchmarks” for taxation on each dollar of your income. The first few thousand dollars that you earn are untaxed. The next are taxed, but at the lowest rate. This goes on and on and on until a Federal income taxpayer reaches the highest tax bracket.
Federal Tax Brackets by Income
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Taxes
Federal Income Taxes, Federal Tax Brackets, Federal Tax Brackets for Singles, tax brackets, Taxes
2011 will be the first year on record that business owners who use PayPal to process payments will have their own tax forms from PayPal.
The rules as passed require PayPal account owners to file another form to claim their online income on their taxes. This change came as part of the 2011 1099 changes, which require far more tax compliance work for small business owners.
PayPal & IRS Form 6050W
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Stocks, Taxes
IRS 6050W, PayPal 1099, PayPal 6050W
Investing isn’t something that can be learned in a day, week, or even a single year. Finance is a study which many people dedicate four to eight years of their lives studying in college.
But beginners have to start somewhere, and the stock market is a great place to get started in the world of investing. Let’s look at a few methods that beginners can use to buy and sell stock as an investment.
Beginner Stock Investing
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ETF, Investing
investing for beginners, investing in stocks, stock investing for beginners
