Fuel is the largest expense for airlines, accounting for more than a quarter of their operating expenses. While drivers are excited about gas at $2 a gallon, their savings are likely to come to just $10 a week. By comparison, Delta Air Lines (DAL) announced last week it would save $40 million for every penny
WHY IS YEAR-END TAX PLANNING AND PREPARATION IMPORTANT?
December 4, 2014 By
Many of the items we are going to discuss require action before year-end, and definitely before you or your tax preparer begin to compile your tax return for 2014. While taxes are inevitable, assuming you have taxable income, with proper tax planning you can maximize your potential for tax savings.
Avoiding Divorce: Is It Possible?
November 23, 2014 By
Over half of first marriages end in divorce. While almost everyone eventually remarries, at least 60% of those second marriages lead to divorce. Divorce is the most common among the newly married, but even couples who have been married for decades are not immune. Despite the numbers, however, there is good news. Barring abuse or
Behavorial Finance - Part II
November 13, 2014 By
From the Outside Looking In (part 2)
“The investor’s chief problem—and even his worst enemy—is likely to be himself.” Why is this so? This paper, part two of a series, uses the tenets of behavioral finance* to examine how and why our actions often impede good financial decision making.
In part one, (Behavioral Finance Part I) we introduced the topic of behavioral finance and how our biases can prevent us from making the best financial decisions. We discussed three common and powerful biases: loss aversion, conservatism, and hindsight. In part two, we will discuss three more biases and show how they can interfere with an important financial objective— investing retirement funds for growth in the face of risk and uncertainty. In addition, we will provide suggestions for overcoming these tendencies. The goal: to help you become a better informed and successful investor.
October 2014 Market Recap
November 7, 2014 By
On October 31st, millions of children across the U.S. donned costumes and went door to door filling their baskets with candy. Thousands of costume parties were thrown for the adults that enjoy Halloween and many people parked themselves in front of a screen to watch scary movies. There is plenty of research on the psychology of horror films allowing researchers to clearly identify that there are both people who enjoy these movies and those who will not subject themselves to scary movies for any reason. Regardless of which group you fall into for Hollywood horror movies, we were all forced to watch market volatility increase in the month of October as various economic “antagonists” came to the forefront.
Ford and others drop Pimco fund from 401K, is US Airways next?
October 22, 2014 By
Oct 21 (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co said on Tuesday the company will drop the Pimco Total Return Fund from its 401k plan as a result of the sudden departure of Bill Gross. Ford said in a statement to Reuters: "Ford Motor Company constantly monitors and assesses the performance of its investment lineup. Effective Nov.
October Mid-Month Thoughts on the Market
October 15, 2014 By
Key Points
U.S. equity markets endured their third consecutive week of losses as volatility climbed. The S&P 500 Index was down sharply enduring its largest weekly decline since May 2012. The sell-off can be blamed on a number of factors, with concerns over global growth coming in first on that list. Ongoing angst over the end of the Federal Reserve’s quantitative easing program and trepidation in advance of third-quarter earnings reports can also take their share of the blame.
Decades later, Wright Amendment lifted at Dallas Love Field
October 14, 2014 By
By Andrea Ahles - aahles@star-telegram.com A decade ago, Southwest Airlines declared “Wright was Wrong,” but for Fort Worth leaders, the Wright Amendment was right. The 1979 amendment, which restricted long-haul flights out of Dallas Love Field, was enacted to protect the new Dallas/Fort Worth Airport, built jointly by Fort Worth and Dallas. With Delta Air
The S&P 500 and Emotional Pitfalls
October 5, 2014 By
This month, I wanted to highlight one specific misconception and then a couple of emotional pitfalls that investors fall victim to. This is not as much about pointing out common mistakes, but rather to have you consider how emotion can affect our actions.
Mid-December Outlook
Since the beginning of December, U.S. stocks (S&P 500) are up more than 3%.
The U.S. bond market is right at breakeven for the month and has shown only a fraction of the volatility. Foreign markets are down much more so far in December. Foreign developed markets are down more than 4.5%, and emerging market stocks are down more than 7%. Altogether, the global stock market is down more than 4% for December. As you can probably imagine, market watchers have been fixated on what’s going on in the world’s oil markets. Crude oil is down more than 15% so far this month, and is down almost 45% since June.