Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine back issues from May 2008:
The stagflation menace.(FROM THE EDITOR)(Editorial)
May 01, 2008; ... We are constantly polling to see which stories in Kiplinger's you read and what you think of them. From that research comes a pretty strong sense of what's on your mind. For instance, if your kids have left the nest, your biggest financial concern is likely having enough saved to afford a ...
Riding out the storm.(Letter to the editor)
May 01, 2008; ... A reader questions the wisdom of editor Frailey's tax planning. An investor wonders when the magic in the Magic Formula wears off. One reader suggests paying parents for kids' good grades. And a reader defends the funding of Social Security and Medicare. It's your money. Editor ...
Correction.(Correction notice)
May 01, 2008 ... * CORRECTION The best new car in the $45,000 and over category is the Audi S5 ("2008 Buyer's Guide," March). * CORRECTION Alliance-Bernstein's Rhode Island--sponsored 529 ...
The downside of genetic testing: results may not be reliable. And it's not always clear how useful they are.(TOPIC A)
May 01, 2008; ... THESE DAYS YOU CAN HAVE your blood sampled, your cheek swabbed or your saliva analyzed to find out whether you're predisposed to Alzheimer's, various forms of cancer, lactose intolerance, restless leg syndrome--even baldness. Some 1,200 tests can diagnose thousands of health conditions, ...
Supreme court: you can sue your boss: a lawyer says companies will pass along the cost of defending lawsuits to 401(k) participants.(Bryan Cave)
May 01, 2008; ... Jeffrey Russell is a lawyer with Bryan Cave, in St. Louis, whose specialties include federal class-action suits, shareholder claims and employee benefits. WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS OF THIS RULING? Companies had contended that 401(k) plan participants didn't have a right to sue ...
Should your company insure your spouse?(MONEY & ETHICS KNIGHT KIPLINGER)(Brief article)
May 01, 2008 ... Q: The company I work for has great healthcare benefits, much better than those of my wife's employer. That's why I've always paid a little extra to put her on my firm's coverage. But now my company (which self-insures for its employees' actual medical costs) has decided it will no longer ...
Movies by the byte: you may soon pay more so web providers can curb internet hogs.(TECH)(Brief article)
May 01, 2008 ... DO YOU SOMETIMES GO OVER the allotted minutes on your cell-phone plan and have to pay overcharges at the end of the month? Someday we may pay extra if we download too much from the Internet. Time Warner Cable will soon test a new plan in Beaumont, Tex., that charges subscribers by the ...
Don't fall for this mortgage pitch: prepay your home loan yourself and skip the $3,500 software fee.(WHAT'S THE DEAL?)
May 01, 2008; ... YOU MAY HAVE RECEIVED e-mails touting a system that promises to help you pay off your mortgage early. This mortgage-acceleration package--which includes a software program--relies heavily on the use of a home-equity line of credit. The software analyzes your financial data to reveal when ...
Investors revolt: shareholders flex their muscles on a variety of subjects, and the internet is often their forum.(INVESTING)(Brief article)
May 01, 2008 ... TO SEE THE NEW FACE OF SHAREHOLDER ACTIVISM, GO TO YouTube, MySpace or the blogosphere. That's where corporate consultant Eric Jackson, who owns 96 shares of Yahoo, launched a campaign last year to make the struggling Internet company more accountable to investors. This year, he marshaled ...
Fuzzy tax talk.(MY POINT OF VIEW)
May 01, 2008; ... Do you care about taxes--how much you pay and whether other people are paying what you perceive to be their fair share? Undoubtedly, you do. So let's see how the remaining presidential contenders--Clinton, Obama and McCain--propose to modify the tax code. Details are often sketchy because ...
His risky picks are doing just fine: surprise! A package of aggressive funds could hold up in a recession.(PORTFOLIO DOCTOR)(Rick Albrecht)
May 01, 2008; ... RICK ALBRECHT IS A MAN ON the go. One week, he's escorting a group of disabled veterans on an ice-fishing trip in Minnesota. The next, he's scuba diving off Jamaica. Plus, Rick often joins Red Cross disaster rescue teams as a volunteer. Single, 51 and a renter, the retired Army officer can ...
Power play on Wall St.(OPENING SHOT)
May 01, 2008; ... In times past, investors in search of safe investments often turned to utility stocks. Because utilities traded big potential gains for low risk, they provided shelter from a market storm--perhaps like the one that began in November and has continued into 2008. But look again. Although ...
The 25 best funds: seven new names join our list of favorites.(INVESTING)
May 01, 2008; ... THESE ARE THE TIMES THAT TRY INVESTORS' SOULS. THE STOCK MARKET IS CRACKING. The housing bubble is deflating. Credit markets are frozen and banks are nursing self-inflicted wounds. The economy may have lapsed into recession. Even normally dull corners of the investment world, such as ...
Bear market insurance: with markets in turmoil, a prophet of doom has reason to feel vindicated. But is his fund a prudent investment?(INVESTING//FUNDS)(David Tice)
May 01, 2008; ... DAVID TICE SAYS HE'D LIKE TO BE A BULL, HE REALLY would. "I'm generally an optimistic person," says Tice, the manager of the Prudent Bear fund. But in his view, the U.S. economy is finally paying the piper for an 18-year-long credit bender, a wanton borrowing binge that's pumped up the ...
Buy munis at a discount: get even higher yields with closed-end funds. But make sure you understand the risks.(INVESTING//MUNIS/STOCK PICKS)(municipal bonds)
May 01, 2008; ... SELL NOW, ASK QUESTIONS later. Such has been Wall Street's mantra of late, as subprime woes have spread to traditionally safe investments faster than you can say "mortgage crisis." Municipal bonds, one of the most surprising casualties of the credit-crunch pileup, dropped 4.2% in February, ...
Five stocks insiders love: if corporate managers and directors are buying their company's stock, maybe you should, too.(INVESTING//STOCK PICKS)
May 01, 2008; ... FIVE DIRECTORS OF FREEPORT McMoRan Copper & Gold went on a buying spree early in 2007, snapping up $61 million worth of the mining company's shares at prices ranging from $52 to $64. For anyone who was watching, the signal couldn't have been clearer. Late in the year, the shares topped out ...
Tune out the seers.(PROMISED LAND)
May 01, 2008; ... Predictions by "experts" are often funny--and not just because they're usually wrong. Despite centuries of proven incompetence, would-be seers retain a remarkable ability to influence investors and lighten their wallets. John Kenneth Galbraith had it right when he said, "There are two ...
Great income, with a catch: it's been a rocky year for bank-loan funds. But if you're willing to take some risk, you may be well rewarded.(INVESTING//FUNDS/STOCKS)
May 01, 2008; ... WE HAVE LONG BEEN FANS of floating-rate bank-loan funds because they offered better yields than other short-term bond funds without ratcheting up the risk. It turns out, though, that the funds are riskier than we and others had assumed. Over the past year to March 10, the average bank-loan ...
A stunning opportunity: Taser International is no stranger to controversy. That may be why its shares are down, despite forecasts of strong growth.
May 01, 2008; ... WHO SAYS CRIME DOESN'T pay? Taser International hopes that it not only pays handsomely but also remains a growth industry. Well, maybe not crime, exactly, but crime fighting. Taser produces electronic control devices--stun guns, in the vernacular--used by the police and ...
Steals in tax-free bonds.(MUTUAL FUNDS)
May 01, 2008; ... Municipal bonds are a good bet. At least, Warren Buffett thinks so. Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway plans to start its own municipal-bond insurance business. And Buffett has offered to let existing muni-bond insurers pay Berkshire to handle some of their current business. So far, none of the ...
A financial fund beats the odds: kinetics market opportunities has made money by focusing on exchange stocks.(Kinetics Market Opportunities)
May 01, 2008; ... A BIG SHORTCOMING OF SECTOR FUNDS is that there's no place for a manager to hide when a fund's niche collapses. That makes it all the more remarkable that Kinetics Market Opportunities, a financial-sector fund, gained 4% over the past year, a period during which the Dow Jones U.S ....
Your essential financial toolkit: pressed for time? We show you how to make short work of dozens of money tasks.(MONEY)
May 01, 2008 ... LAURIN MACK IS A PHD CANDIDATE IN CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY, WHICH LEAVES HER LITTLE time to bone up on her finances. But Mack, 29, wants to learn how to diversify a portfolio, monitor her investments online and roll over a retirement account into an IRA. Mack and other time-starved readers can ...
The high cost of 401(k) fees: hidden charges can rob you of a comfortable retirement. Learn how much you're paying.(MONEY//RETIREMENT)
May 01, 2008; ... ANY WAY YOU FIGURE IT, Steve Jeffers is a formidable investor. For 18 years now, the Belpre, Ohio, plant manager has been diligently stashing money in the 401(k) plan of his employer, Kraton Polymers. Thanks in part to a generous match by Kraton, the 43-year-old Jeffers has amassed almost ...
Save big on prescriptions: do your drugs cost too much? Find out how to get well for less.(MONEY//HEALTH/TAXES )
May 01, 2008; ... WHEN ORDERING YOUR prescriptions, it helps to think jeans. You could buy a designer pair for, say, $200. But if the fit is right, $50 Gap jeans would do just as well and cost a lot less. Likewise, if you're a savvy shopper, you'll compare drug prices and choose the medication ...
Make the most of your rebate: millions of Americans can still fatten their checks from Uncle Sam.(MONEY//REBATE/COLLEGE/CREDIT)
May 01, 2008; ... LOOK FOR FREE MONEY TO arrive in your mailbox (or bank account) soon. And, no, this is not a scam. Compliments of this year's Economic Stimulus Act, most single filers will get a $600 rebate and married couples $1,200. Parents will get an extra $300 for every dependent child under age 17. ...
Pay back student loans for less: consolidate your debt after July 1 and lock in big savings.
May 01, 2008; ... YOU COULD BE IN FOR A BIG break if you still owe money on Stafford student loans with a variable interest rate. Your rate will adjust on July 1, based on the 91-day Treasury-bill rate at the end of May. That will dictate what you'll pay for the 12 months that follow, and the rate on ...
Should I split up my card balance?(CREDIT CARD: Q&A)
May 01, 2008; ... Q: I know that my FICO credit score depends in part on the total amount of my credit-card debt vis-a-vis the credit limits on my cards. I have five accounts, each with a $10,000 limit, and I owe a total of $20,000. Does it matter if the debt is concentrated on one or two cards, or spread ...
When to switch to a Roth Ira: converting to a Roth makes sense--if you can take the tax hit.(REAL MONEY)
May 01, 2008; ... CONVERSIONS ARE A HOT topic these days--and we're not talking about the religious kind. Many readers want to know whether they should convert their traditional IRAs to Roth IRAs--and pay tax on the converted amount--when the income limits on conversions disappear in 2010. Jeff ...
My ex is a deadbeat.(ASK KIM)
May 01, 2008; ... My former husband has lived in our house since we divorced in 2004. Problem is, we never refinanced the house in his name only. Now he is five months behind on the mortgage. Can I get this delinquency off my credit report? Our divorce decree gave him full financial responsibility for the ...
Get cash without paying an ATM fee: use a machine that's in the network, or sign up with a bank that doesn't levy a surcharge or will reimburse you.
May 01, 2008; ... ATM FEES, WHICH HAVE BEEN rising for the past four years, cost consumers more than $4 billion last year. That's because banks are charging more these days for the convenience of using the closest cash machine. Megabanks, such as Bank of America and Chase, upped their charge to noncustomers ...
The best travel sites: click here first to bag the lowest fares and plan the smoothest trips.(LIVING)
May 01, 2008; ... RECORD FLIGHT DELAYS, TIGHTENED LUGGAGE RESTRICTIONS AND AVERAGE ROUND-TRIP fares that top $325. To get the best deal on your next plane trip, you need to do some serious planning. But the plethora of travel Web sites often adds noise to the process. So we've whittled your choices down to ...
Great used cars on sale: in this soft economy, you can strike a bargain on everything from a ford to a Lexus.(LIVING//CARS)
May 01, 2008; ... AS GOOD AS THE DEALS ARE ON NEW CARS, THEY'RE even sweeter for used cars. As carmakers offer more incentives and new-car dealers trim prices to boost slumping sales, used-car dealers must cut prices to compete. Used-car shopping has come a long way since answering those 25-word classified ...
Home security goes wireless: use your laptop or cell phone to monitor what's happening when you're not there.(LIVING//TECH/HOME)
May 01, 2008; ... A HOME-SURVEILLANCE system isn't just for rich recluses and gadget mavens anymore. New security and remote-control products make it possible for the rest of us to spy on our own homes at the office, in the car or even from across the globe. Not all of the systems are plug-and-play. A ...
Your home as a retirement fund: reverse mortgages are finally catching on. But are they for you?(LIVING//TECH/HOME)
May 01, 2008; ... REVERSE MORTGAGES HAVE long been regarded with a skeptical eye. Critics say they're costly, complicated products, financial-planning tools of last resort. Lately, congressional hearings have raised concerns about predatory lending. And the reverse-mortgage market is attracting bad apples ...
What you need to know about summer travel: best bets include historic cities in central America and cruises in the Mediterranean.(LOWDOWN)
May 01, 2008; ... 1. AIRFARES WILL BE SKY-HIGH. The shaky economy is prompting some vacationers to take shorter trips. Airlines often cut fares when demand takes a dive. Not this year. With record-high fuel prices, they can't afford to offer cheap fares. Expect to be nickel-and-dimed. You'll pay a fuel ...
A young Warren Wannabe: the 24-year-old money manager bought his first Berkshire Hathaway share ten years ago. He emulates Warren Buffett's approach to investing--and to life.(MY STORY: Shai Dardashti, New York, New York)(Interview)
May 01, 2008; ... HOW DID YOU GET INTERESTED IN WARREN BUFFETT? I was 13 and had money from my bar mitzvah. I realized I had no need to buy video games or clothing, so why not invest the money? At the library, the first books about investing I saw were about Warren Buffett. That this stuff could make sense ...