 Within the next nine months, all
US consumers will be eligible to retrieve one free credit report per year
as part of a new US Government law. The law will be phased in from the West
to East coast in stages, and the three credit reporting companies have set
up a central web site (www.annualcreditreport.com)
to allow Americans to obtain this information. You may be shocked to find
who is peeking at your credit.
Credit
scoring is now used in court houses, work places, and rental offices, with
3-digit numbers being used to assess one's character. Utility, cable, and
cell phone providers also check your credit. Auto and property insurance
companies calculate their internal insurance scores from a credit report, paying
specific attention to debt and derogatory marks. This is due to the fact
that statistically, people with poor credit file more claims.
One
little-known fact about credit scoring is that 30% of the score is
calculated based on existing debt versus available credit. This category is
nearly as important as the amount of delinquencies one has, which weighs in
as having a 35% impact on the overall score. For this reason, it is not
prudent for a consumer to close credit card accounts. Such action reduces the
amount of available credit and increases the ratio of debt-to-available
credit.
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401K
Advisement - It's Coming Your Way
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 It wasn't long ago that with a
401k you had little-to-no assistance in determining where to place your
funds and how to maneuver the money in accordance with the ever-evolving
economy. In the aftermath of corporate meltdowns such as Enron and
WorldCom, in which many Americans lost their pension funds, the Retirement
Security Advice Act (HR 2269) was passed by both the House and Senate in an
effort to revise the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) and
help protect Americans’ investments by providing assistance with
retirement account management.
At
this time, 22% of all 401k programs have instituted investment management and
there is more to come. When you sign up for a managed 401k, your plan
provider turns your money over to an outside investment advisor. This is
done to prevent the plan provider from steering participants to invest in
its own funds. The fees for a managed account vary widely, typically from
0.2% to 1% of the total amount of assets held in the portfolio, on top of
your regular 401k expense. However, having a trained eye to assist you in
positioning your investment to take advantage of future upswings and/or
downturns in the market could far exceed the cost of the management fee.
If
you have a 401k plan, find out if this managed fund component is an option
you can take advantage of. If not, ask your employer whether or not such
services will be available in the future.
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When
the Pessimist is an Optimist, It's an Attention-Grabber
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 Wall Street has its notorious
bulls and bears. Some investment firms will tell you that things are
looking good no matter what the market conditions show. With others, the
glass is always half-empty, even when it's overflowing. So, why not take a
look at the eternal bears of the US stock market and when they provide a
buy recommendation, take significant note?
With
the DOW trading in a tight range, between about 9,000 and 10,500 over the
last couple of years, picking stocks has become trickier by the month. Here
are some insights from the big-time bears in the NYSE as to what stocks
they see as good investments. Note that these 5 stocks are recommended by
at least 2 top-rated analysts at firms known to be “stingy”
with their buy recommendation
- Prudential
Financial $48/share, recommended by Smith Barney and AG Edwards.
- Aetna
Health Care Insurance $111/share, recommended by Goldman Sachs and
CIBC World Markets.
- Apache Oil
Field Services $51/share, recommended by AG Edwards and Morgan
Stanley.
- DOW
Chemical $49/share, recommended by Smith Barney and Prudential Equity
Group.
- Norfolk
Southern $33/share, recommended by Morgan Stanley and AG Edwards.
Note: Please ask your investment advisor their opinion of these 5
stocks and whether they feel it's a prudent investment opportunity before
you make any final decisions.
 This past holiday season saw a
new trend arise amongst online retail portals. Research data has shown that
impulse buying doesn't occur on the Internet as much as it does when
someone is in a retail store, and efforts have been made to drive consumers
from web sites to real outlets with the offer of in-store coupons and other
marketing strategies. Statistics have shown that impulse buying takes place
in retail outlets much more frequently due to the festive mood that can be
created in these retail spaces. Decorations, holiday music, and festive
atmospheres all lead to greater spending.
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