Recently added articles from Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine:
My view of the future.(FROM THE EDITOR)(Column)
Sep 01, 2008; ... My friend Jim calls to suggest that I sit back and think about the subtle and not-so-subtle consequences of today's energy prices. That's what Jim used to do for a living. He was the corporate strategist for a multibillion-dollar company. His job was to ask "What if ...?" and then connect ...
A daughter's windfall.(Letter to the editor)
Sep 01, 2008; ... Your article on little-known Social Security benefits turned out to be very valuable to my family ("Secret Ways to Boost Your Social Security," July). Mary Beth Franklin cited the example of a retiree receiving benefits who remarries and has a child. My situation exactly! What I didn't ...
Delayed gratification.(Letter to the editor)
Sep 01, 2008; ... My wife and I have both reached full retirement age. She started drawing Social Security benefits at 62. I have decided to delay benefits until age 70. Until I read your story, I never dreamed that I was eligible for spousal benefits equal to half of my wife's benefit. But within ten days ...
Home sweet home.(Letter to the editor)
Sep 01, 2008; ... I would not choose to move to any of the ten great places you listed ("The Best Cities to Live, Work and Play," July). Nearly all of them are subject to heat, drought, high summer humidity, cold winters, tornadoes, floods and severe storms. Where I live now, I can drive ...
Au current.(Letter to the editor)
Sep 01, 2008; ... Bravo for covering the upcoming surge in demand for electric vehicles ("Drive Time," July). And there is precedent. Electric cabs cruised New York City streets as early as 1898. The Electric Storage Battery Company of Philadelphia supplied rechargeable batteries to 27 manufacturers in ...
Retail therapy.(Letter to the editor)
Sep 01, 2008; ... It's hard to believe that John Perry and the members of The Compact don't buy anything new ("My Story," July). You mean 8,000 people don't have hobbies? What about when you need a special tool to repair something in the house? And no one needs dish ...
Clarification.(Correction notice)
Sep 01, 2008 ... Michigan fully exempts government and military pensions from state income taxes ("Retiree Tax Heaven--and Hell," Aug.). In ...
An income stream to last a lifetime: no company pension? You can create one of your own.(TOPIC A)
Sep 01, 2008; ... IMAGINE A RETIREMENTsavings well that never runs dry, no matter how long you live. If that's the dream of future retirees, why are annuities, which make that very promise, such a minuscule part of our collective nest egg? This so-called annuity puzzle has baffled academics, policymakers ...
Betting against the street's bears: ordinary investors can profit when short sellers guess wrong. Here's how you can do it.
Sep 01, 2008; ... Dylan Wetherill is the founder of ShortSqueeze.com, which provides short-selling data and analysis to investors. SHORT SELLERS BET ON STOCK PRICES GOING DOWN BY SELLING BORROWED SHARES, HOPING TO REPLACE THEM LATER AT A LOWER PRICE. EXPLAIN WHAT A SHORT SQUEEZE IS. A short ...
Does charity begin at home or abroad?(MONEY & ETHICS)(Brief article)
Sep 01, 2008; ... Q: My best friend donates only to charities that support health, education and microcredit in the world's poorest nations. She argues that her donations have more impact there than in the U.S. and that America's poor are much better off--in material comfort and opportunity for ...
Salary scoop: a new web site lets you scope out companies before you apply.(PERSONAL TECH)
Sep 01, 2008; ... OH, TO BE A FLY ON THE WALL of a prospective employer's office. Aptly named Glassdoor. com, founded by the brains behind popular home-valuation Web site Zillow.com, gives you a firsthand peek at companies and how well they pay. Employees submit reviews along with salary details. To gain ...
Got a gift card? Use it or lose it: some bankrupt retailers honor them, but don't count on it.(WHAT'S THE DEAL?)(Brief article)
Sep 01, 2008; ... GIFT CARDS TOTALING ABOUT $66 billion will be tucked into birthday, wedding and holiday cards this year. According to Brian Riley, TowerGroup's research director for bank cards, roughly onethird will be spent within 90 days and another third within six months. Some $20 billion worth will ...
Play on.(Stock Watch)(Hasbro)(Brief article)
Sep 01, 2008 ... Shares in Hasbro have gained 40% this year. Demographics at both ends of the spectrum--a mini babyboom in 2006 and a projected 80 million grandparents by 2013--will help this creative repurposer of intellectual property grow earnings in the low double digits. The stock is due for a ...
So cheap, who cares about gas? Fire-sale prices on SUVs make up for the pain at the pump.(SHOPPING)(sport utility vehicles)(Brief article)
Sep 01, 2008; ... STEVE MUSSER, AN ATLANTA RESTAURANT EXECUTIVE, wasn't planning to part with his 2001 SUV--not when he and his wife pack three sons and two dogs, plus gear, into the SUV for frequent trips to a vacation home in Florida. But he couldn't resist incentives offered by Steve Rayman Chevrolet on ...
We have met the enemy.(MY POINT OF VIEW)(Column)
Sep 01, 2008; ... It's a natural tendency to blame others for our misfortune. And it's also human to demand of elected officials that they "do something about it." And that's what we Americans are doing. // We want Washington to lower the prices on gasoline and food and to enable our dollars to buy more on ...
A tanking market is no cause for panic: if your investments are solid, your best bet may be to do nothing.(PORTFOLIO DOCTOR)
Sep 01, 2008; ... SICK MARKETS TEST THE resolve of even the savviest investors. Paul puts 15% of his salary into a 401(k) plan, for which he receives a 3% employer match. Additional contributions from his employer go into a cash-balance pension plan now earning 4.5% interest, a sweet return on an investment ...
The storm intensifies.(DISCOVERING VALUE)(financial crisis)
Sep 01, 2008; ... No corner of the market has been more decisively beaten up than financial-services companies. Shares of financial titans with once-unassailable franchises have been cut to pieces right along with those of marginal and niche players. Citigroup shares are down 67% in the past year. Merrill ...
Getting past the ETF clutter: with 800 choices, you can't just throw darts. We pick great ETFs in 13 categories.(INVESTING // ANNUAL FUND ISSUE)(Exchange-traded funds)
Sep 01, 2008; ... NOT LONG AGO, EXCHANGE-TRADED FUNDS WERE A novelty. But the number of ETFs has soared from fewer than 200 two years ago to nearly 800, and they now include funds that track Turkish stocks, wind-power companies and the price of livestock. And with such profusion comes confusion. With so ...
Magical disappearing acts.(INVESTING // ANNUAL FUND ISSUE)(Brief article)
Sep 01, 2008 ... A HORDE OF NEW ETF SPONSORS WANT YOUR INVESTMENT DOLLARS, AND THEY'RE EAGER TO entice you with often ill-conceived and unnecessary products. And if the products don't catch on, their sponsors are quick to terminate them. Investment firms view ETFs as a way to rake in money ...
Top ETFs for today's market.(What to buy now)(Exchange-traded funds)(Brief article)
Sep 01, 2008 ... Don't let the bear market paralyze you. We don't know when stocks will end their slide, but these five exchange-traded funds look timely. SPDR S&P BIOTECH INDEX (symbol XBI). The biotechnology sector has a history of behaving independently of sweeping stock-market trends. ...