By Devin Reese on 25-09-2011
– The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a sharply lower opening on Friday, with sentiment likely to remain cautious in the absence of any major catalysts and amid failing hopes that policy measures can reinvigorate growth. Although strong assertion by the G20 nations that recovery will be supported created some bounce in the European markets early in the session, sentiment reversed as economic fears returned to haunt investors.
The reaction may have been due to the failure of the group to come up with some concrete announcements that could make a difference for the global economy. Reflecting the intensification of risk aversion, commodities are seeing a sharp pullback and the U.S. dollar is seen firming up against commodity and other risk currencies. That said, some buying could not be ruled out, given the oversold levels of the markets. However, if the negativity persists, watch out for key support levels of 10,471 and 10,168 for the Dow Industrials.
U.S. stocks suffered another bloodbath on Thursday, as nervous traders, unconvinced about the viability of policy responses to mitigate the economic turmoil, resorted to large-scale liquidation of equity holdings.
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By Billie Nguyen on 25-09-2011
Fidelity Institutional Wealth Services announced upgrades Tuesday to its WealthCentral platform for RIAs. The company said it has added six new software choices and “creating deeper integrations with existing applications for its independent advisor clients.”
Specifically, the company has added Envestnet Vantage Performance Reporting, Morningstar Office, Redtail, Salesforce.com and AppCrown to its platform. Fidelity also added functionality to WealthCentral in document and workflow management through XTRAC Solutions and Redtail.
“At its core, WealthCentral is about choice, flexibility and efficiency,” Edward O’Brien, senior vice president and head of technology with Fidelity Institutional Wealth Services, said in a statement. “We designed the platform by listening to the many and distinct business needs of our clients. In addition to offering a range of integration options and the technology to connect them, Fidelity provides firms with personalized support and guidance to help them choose and leverage the tools that best suit their individual needs.”
In addition to new relationships, Fidelity also announced “deeper” integrations with its current applications to allow client information entered in one application to automatically flow through to the other applications being used. They include:
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By Devin Reese on 25-09-2011
We’ll all make mistakes. Here’s one of my recent errors.
I use a couple of different credit cards every month to pay my bills and handle basic spending (groceries, gas, etc.). I also have one random card that I use to pay my traffic toll tag automatically.
About once every other month a new toll charge hits. This card, unfortunately, can’t be paid automatically. At least I couldn’t figure out how to pay it automatically. It’s a Bank of America card.
As an aside, I recommend that everyone sets up automatic payments on their credit cards. That way your entire balance is paid off each month without you having to remember. It’s just a good system to have in place for all of your cards.
Long story, short, I missed the payment deadline on this randomly used card, and didn’t realize it until a couple of days later. Once I realized it, I immediately panicked and logged into my online account. There it was: a $39 late fee. Ouch!
My first thought was that I need to remove the automatic toll charge that hits my card every other month. That’s a recipe for disaster. A more routine, monthly bill would be better suited for keeping this card active. Which was my pu
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By Billie Nguyen on 22-09-2011
As the recession continues, stock is rising in industries that profit from hard times. Pawn brokers, payday lenders, debt collectors and discount stores are more profitable than ever. Brokers are recommending buying stock in these sorts of companies rather than traditionally higher-end investments.
The unemployment rate rose to 9.2 percent in June, making many stocks plummet. The number of people living below the poverty line has risen to one in seven, the highest since 1994. Consumer spending has dropped for two months in a row. Times are hard, and nobody knows if or when they will get better.
Some industries profit from bad times. Stocks for many pawnbrokers, payday lenders, discount stores and debt collectors are on the rise. And while that may raise ethical issues for some, stock brokers are recommending buying stocks from many of these companies.
David Rosenberg, an economist at the money management firm Gluskin Sheff, said, “People are broke. They’re all chasing value. It’s a seismic shift in mindset.”
John Coffey Jr., an analyst with Sterne, issued a report in June urging stock buyers to seek out Ezcorp (EZWP), a firm that owns pawn shops and makes payday loans. The sto
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By Billie Nguyen on 27-08-2011
Credit card debt problems are continually on the rise, with practically everyone having access to a credit card. People use credit cards so freely nowadays because of the numerous benefits associated with it. One of the main reasons is it reduces the chances of fraud, keeping your finances safer, as compared to the use of check books and debit cards. Some of the other benefits that come with using credit cards is the rewards points programs (for instance, towards airline tickets) you can avail of when making purchases. Most credit cards offer the cash back facility, they give you back 1% of your total purchases in cash. Keeping all these perks in mind, people end up using credit cards more than debit cards. The purchasing power a credit card gives to its user, coupled with the fact that a lot of people do not make the card payment on time, makes them prone to the danger of falling into the debt trap. So follow a few preventive steps today so you can steer clear from getting trapped in a debt. Guidelines to Avoid a Credit Card Debt Trap
- Pay your credit card balance on time, and in full every month, and ideally, before the due date has elapsed.
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