Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine back issues from June 2008:
Compelling new voices.(FROM THE EDITOR)(Column)
Jun 01, 2008; ... Five years ago, our columnist James Glassman (then writing for the Washington Post) chided hedge-fund manager Whitney Tilson for predicting the bursting of another technology-stock bubble and for selling a certain tech stock too soon. Whitney fired back, and the two agreed to bet a dinner ...
Greed gone wild.(Letter to the editor)
Jun 01, 2008; ... Readers debate editor Fred Frailey and columnist Jeremy Siegel on who's to blame for the economic mess we're in. One reader is outraged at the idea of investing in pawnshop stocks. And a reader lauds the so-called Duchess of Doom for her persistence. Greed Gone Wild ...
Keeping your rebate in the USA: you can do your part to boost the economy and still come out ahead.(TOPIC A)
Jun 01, 2008; ... Your Little Windfall From Uncle Sam has either arrived or will soon. You may choose to save or invest your economic-stimulus tax rebate--as much as $600 per taxpayer, $1,200 per couple and $300 per each dependent child--and that's okay by us. But it won't help the economy much (at least ...
Savings accounts from day one: a social scientist says we'll have a stronger middle class when we give savings accounts to babies.(AHEAD)(Michael Sherradenu)(Interview)
Jun 01, 2008; ... Professor Michael Sherradenu is director of the Center for Social Development at Washington University in St. Louis. He'd like every baby in the U.S. to get a tax-advantaged savings account, seeded by Uncle Sam, an idea that has bipartisan support in Congress. HOW WOULD YOUR ...
Failed CEOs should take their lumps.(MONEY & ETHICS)(Chief executive officers)
Jun 01, 2008; ... Q: What can be done about lavish severance packages for chief executives who made a mess of their companies and were forced out after share prices tumbled and blameless employees lost their jobs? It has regrettably become common in recent years for executive severance to be ...
Raiding your 401(k): it's easier than ever to remove money--but it's still a bad idea.(RETIREMENT)(Brief article)
Jun 01, 2008; ... Like struggling financial institutions that have turned to the Federal Reserve, workers are looking to their 401(k)s as lenders of last resort. A recent survey from the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies found that 18% of workers took out loans last year, up from 11% in 2006 ....
Flying a la carte.(From The Kiplinger Letter)(Brief article)
Jun 01, 2008 ... It'll cost you to fly commercial airlines more comfortably. JetBlue Airways is joining United and Northwest airlines in charging extra for more legroom--$10 or $20, depending ...
Gas-card rebates won't help much: your best bet: an introductory rate you can use this summer.(WHAT'S THE DEAL?)
Jun 01, 2008; ... As Prices Creep Toward $4 a gallon, a credit card that refunds a percentage of your gas purchases becomes more enticing. But don't be seduced into thinking a rebate will lessen your pain at the pump in a major way. Many cards cap rebates, and some rebates are tiered so that you earn the ...
The money's there: reports of lenders leaving the loan market have students worried. But fears are overblown.(COLLEGE FINANCING)(Brief article)
Jun 01, 2008; ... Like Six Million Other Students, Maggie Miles Counts on the government-backed loans known as Staffords to help pay her college tuition. But recent turmoil in the financial markets and the departure of some major lenders from the student-loan business have provoked fears that these student ...
Don't quit your day job just yet: an aspiring filmmaker's dreams collide with financial realities.(PORTFOLIO DOCTOR)
Jun 01, 2008; ... OUR READER WHO: TODD THOMPSON, 37 WHAT: CREATIVE DEVELOPER WHERE: ORLANDO MARITAL STATUS: MARRIED SYMPTOM: WANTS TO BE FINANCIALLY SECURE SO HE CAN EVENTUALLY GO OUT ON HIS OWN. ULTIMATELY HOPES TO BE A MOVIE MOGUL. Olga ...
7 ways to stay cool.(OPENING SHOT)(stock markets' forecasts)
Jun 01, 2008; ... These are scary times for investors. If the stock market takes another substantial dip, it's possible that the ten-year period ending this December 31 will be the first since the 1930s in which Standard & Poor's 500-stock index loses money. The S&P ended 1998 at 1229; it closed the first ...
Fixes for bad timing.(DISCOVERING VALUE)
Jun 01, 2008; ... Investing too early is one of the more common sins of value investors. Watching as that well-researched idea you loved a few months ago falls 20% to 30% can be painful and nerve-racking. Bruce Berkowitz, of the highly successful Fairholme fund, calls it "premature accumulation." Getting ...
The worst is over: yes, we're in a recession, but savvy inventors are finding a lot of attractive stocks.(INVESTING)
Jun 01, 2008; ... For years, American households and financial institutions have pushed the limits of debt. More and more they borrowed, enjoying a giddying ride up. But now they've hit the ceiling, and the credit boom has turned to bust. The ride down will not be pleasant. // But that doesn't mean the U.S ....
The best ways to invest in bonds.(INVESTING)
Jun 01, 2008; ... What's a bond investor to do? The credit crunch that began in the subprime-mortgage niche has spread rapidly to investments that seemed undeniably safe just a year ago. The threat of rising defaults looms over everything from mortgage-backed securities to corporate debt. Even tax-free ...
Spotting a stock-market bottom.(INVESTING)
Jun 01, 2008; ... From the stock market's peak in October, major indexes declined roughly 20%, then rebounded about 5% between mid March and mid April, often surprising investors with rallies in the face of dismal economic news. Dare we ask: Is it time to don the Toro! T-shirts? (Ole.) We stand ...
7 stocks at bargain prices: their shares didn't deserve to be clobbered. Jump in before the herd realizes its mistake.(INVESTING)
Jun 01, 2008; ... Whenever investors rush to the exits, stocks of good companies tend to get trampled along with the bad. And there has been quite a stampede out of stocks since last October. Between then and mid April, Standard & Poor's 500-stock index declined 15%; at one point, the benchmark was 18% ...
She only buys what's hot: Janet Brown has built a small financial empire doing precisely what we tell you not to do. So who's right?(INVESTING)
Jun 01, 2008; ... When it comes to picking mutual funds, Janet Brown turns conventional wisdom on its head. Brown couldn't care less about the name of a fund's manager, its holdings, its fees or its long-term record. Instead, she selects funds in her NoLoad Fund*X newsletter and for her small but expanding ...
When a bailout works.(GOING LONG)
Jun 01, 2008; ... Many critics worry that the Federal Reserve Board's rescue of Bear Stearns will encourage financial companies to engage in even riskier behavior in the future, on the assumption that the central bank stands ready to bail them out. Economists use the term "moral hazard"--the lack of an ...
What's bubbling over now: if you got caught up in the tech or housing frenzy, you know the perils of lingering too long. We tell you which of these eight categories are in dangerous territory.(INVESTING)
Jun 01, 2008; ... GOLD PRICE: $948 an ounce BUYABLE AS: STREETTRACKS GOLD TRUST ETF (SYMBOL GLD) Gold, which sold for $300 an ounce in 2002, cracked $1,000 on March 17 and fell below $900 by the first week of April before recovering. Gold is seen as a hedge against ...
Hefty returns despite its size: Growth Fund of America produces remarkably solid results even though assets total nearly $200 billion.(INVESTING)
Jun 01, 2008; ... You've got to hand it to American Funds. No other fund company has ever come close to handling an asset base as gargantuan as that of the $180-billion GROWTH FUND OF AMERICA, let alone do so with as much grace and ease. Although you have to pay stiff sales fees to invest in GFA, this may ...
Surviving the broker blues: if your securities firm goes under, odds are good that your money is safe.(INVESTING)(Brief article)
Jun 01, 2008; ... Federal officials say they engineered the rescue of Bear Stearns because its failure could have undermined the nation's financial system. But if you're a client of Bear or another tottering brokerage, you likely have a more mundane matter on your mind: Is your money safe? The ...
Success under stress.(MUTUAL FUNDS)
Jun 01, 2008; ... When the markets get tough, the tough go shopping. That's what Selected American Shares co-managers Chris Davis and Ken Feinberg are doing. At Morning-star, we've long been fans of Selected American. Davis and Feinberg are in their forties, so they've seen a couple of brutal markets. But ...
A foreign fund races ahead: Spectra International Opportunities focuses on rapidly growing companies.(INVESTING)(Table)
Jun 01, 2008; ... Hot Companies. Cool Stocks. That's the motto of the Spectra funds, which seek to latch on to rapid growers before others recognize them. That approach helped propel Spectra International Opportunities to near the top of the charts in its first year. Managers Dan Chung and ...
8 ways to make a million: don't just dream about striking it rich. Learn from those who did.(MONEY)
Jun 01, 2008; ... Twelve years ago, Julie Aigner-Clark was looking for a way to expose aspen, her 18-month-old daughter, to music and the arts. So she and her husband, Bill, shot a video in the basement of their home. "We borrowed equipment from a friend, put up a black velvet background and used the toys ...
Intro to real life: what grads need to know about managing a paycheck, repaying student loans and more.(MONEY)
Jun 01, 2008; ... Congratulations, parents of new college grads. Your kids earned their degrees, broadened their horizons and maybe even acquired marketable skills. And the best part for you? Now they get to pay for everything themselves.//Well, maybe.//About half of all 18- to 24-year-olds live at home, ...
Cut your closing costs: reforms that limit abuses are on the way. But there's a lot you can do now to save money.(MONEY)
Jun 01, 2008; ... Hordes of homeowners are walking away from mortgages they can no longer afford, making it clear that plenty of people closed on loans they didn't understand. It's bad enough that lenders' laundry lists of fees make comparison-shopping a challenge. Insult is added to injury amid the ...
How to buy a foreclosure: the price may be right, but be prepared for the hassles.(MONEY)
Jun 01, 2008; ... Michael Lappano knows a home bargain when he sees one. Last year, the Bellevue, Wash., real estate agent purchased a condominium for only $255,000 (including an outstanding lien). That's $65,000 less than what comparable units were selling for, he says. To get the steep discount, he bid on ...
Golden rules for grads.(MONEY-SMART KIDS)
Jun 01, 2008; ... Kiplinger's subscriber Chad Hollenkamp wishes to thank his parents. When Chad graduated from college with student-loan debt and a car that had just died, Mom and Dad welcomed him back home for a financial respite, and he has made the most of it. He contributes 7% of his salary, matched by ...
An Army family leaves the service: their emergency fund will help pave the way.(REAL MONEY)
Jun 01, 2008; ... OUR READER WHO: GARY BARTELS, 32 WHAT: ARMY CAPTAIN QUESTION: HOW TO GET HIS FINANCES READY TO BUY HIS FIRST HOME. Captain Gary Bartels leaves the Army in June to start a job as a production supervisor at Mitsubishi Caterpillar. He'll be moving ...
Reclaim your good name on the Web: searches can churn up hits that make you blush--or cost you a job.(MONEY)
Jun 01, 2008; ... A careless comment in your blog (or in someone else's). An embarrassing incident recounted in your local newspaper. A racy photo on MySpace. Any of these can sully your virtual reputation. A recent survey by ExecuNet, a networking organization for business leaders, found that 83% of ...
Don't buy a car. Share it.(Pay as You Go)(Brief article)
Jun 01, 2008; ... Car-sharing is a hot trend in a growing number of cities that boast good public transportation and large cohorts of Gen Yers and older residents moving back to town. For an hourly rate plus an annual membership fee, you get access to a car to run errands, go on a date or take a quick trip ...
When to accept a job buyout: consider the severance package, health benefits and pension payments.(MONEY)
Jun 01, 2008; ... It's time for lee forsloff to chart her own course. Forsloff has been a flight attendant for 38 years and plans to take an early-retirement package from Delta Air Lines. She wants to retire to her Indian Trail, N.C., home, play more golf and teach children sign language. ...
Turn gold into green: unwanted watches or broken jewelry can be worth their weight.(MONEY)
Jun 01, 2008; ... Many people are taking advantage of high gold prices to turn unwanted jewelry into cash, but others wonder whether cashing in their old gold is an idea whose time has not yet come. Couldn't gold prices go a lot higher? they are asking. Gold hit a record high of $1,033 per ounce ...
What's my house worth?(ASK KIM)(Column)
Jun 01, 2008; ... I live in a reasonably small house that was probably worth a bit more than $600,000 at the market's peak and is worth maybe $550,000 now. But my homeowners insurer says I need only $454,000 in replacement coverage. Can the insurance value of my house really be that much less than its ...
Credit cards: Q&A.(MONEY)
Jun 01, 2008; ... Q: My wife and I rarely apply for credit--we have a Discover card for casual use and a Home Depot card for home-maintenance needs. Should we freeze our credit? And if we do, should we also pay for ID-theft protection on each card? Freezing your credit can be a good idea if you ...
The best GPS for $300 or less: buy the features you need and forget the rest.(LIVING)(Product/service evaluation)
Jun 01, 2008; ... Cutthroat competition has made it possible to buy a simple, inexpensive navigation device for your car. But models packed with new features can still make finding your way to the perfect GPS unit for you a tricky exercise. Keep in mind that among the many bells and whistles, only two ...
Save big on new cars.(DRIVE TIME)
Jun 01, 2008; ... The economy is sucking wind, home prices are tanking, and the stock market is scary. No wonder people are staying away from car-dealer showrooms. And that means it's a great time to get a bargain on a new car.//Carmakers have cut production, but they haven't shut down. Dealers still have ...
What you need to know about couples & money: share most decisions, but keep a few accounts and assets separate.(LOWDOWN)
Jun 01, 2008; ... 1. FOR STARTING FIGHTS, MONEY BEATS SEX. Different levels of discomfort with spending and credit-card debt are common fodder for flare-ups. When partners haven't agreed on priorities, they may even lie about their spending. According to one poll, more than 80% of respondents admitted that ...
Saving pro athletes from themselves: the former Mets and Phillies star is a partner in a new magazine, The Players Club, designed to help athletes manage their millions.(MY STORY: Lenny Dykstra, Los Angeles, California)(Interview)(Brief article)
Jun 01, 2008; ... WHY DO WE READ ABOUT SO MANY ATHLETES IN THE POORHOUSE? While you are playing, the checks are so big and come in so fast, you almost feel you can't come close to spending it all. And you don't have time for a finance class in the off-season. If you play a position, you're battling for one ...