Health Savings Accounts may provide you with remarkable tax advantages. Why do higher-income households inquire about Health Savings Accounts? They have heard about what an HSA can potentially offer them: a pool of tax-exempt dollars for health care, a path to tax savings, even a possible source of retirement income after age 65. You may […]
Category: Economic Updates
Economic Update for July 16, 2012
CONSUMER SENTIMENT CONTINUES TO SLIP Analysts polled by Reuters had expected the University of Michigan’s initial July consumer sentiment index to show a minor gain. That didn’t happen: instead of the projected 0.2% rise to 73.4, the index fell 1.2% to 72.0, a low unseen since December. An exclamation point within the data: just 19% […]
Economic Update for July 9, 2012
WEAK JOB MARKET PERSISTS IN JUNE America’s unemployment rate remained at 8.2% in June with non-farm payrolls expanding by just 80,000 positions. The underemployment rate rose to 14.9%. The Labor Department report offered a troubling big-picture detail: our economy has generated fewer than 100,000 new jobs for four straight months, in what seems like a […]
Economic Update for July 2, 2012
MARKETS RALLY ON BOLD EU PROPOSAL Last week, European leaders crafted a new plan to help the continent’s beleaguered banks: eurozone rescue funds would be used to directly recapitalize troubled lenders, without contributing to existing sovereign debt. A single supervisory body would also be created to serve as a banking watchdog. Key details need to […]
Economic Update for June 25, 2012
WALL STREET FINDS THE POSITIVE IN THE NEGATIVE Moody’s Investors Service downgraded 15 major banks late last week, yet financial stocks rallied Friday – Wall Street was bracing for deeper cuts. Investors also liked a new accord in Europe – Germany joined France, Italy and Spain in support of a €130 billion stimulus plan to […]
Economic Update for June 18, 2012
IF GREECE EXITS THE EURO, WHAT COMES NEXT? Best-case scenarios for Greece seemed to fade as the weekend neared. Concerns mounted that Sunday’s special elections would either bring another parliamentary deadlock or a victory for parties opposing scheduled austerity cuts. Some economists maintained that a Greek exit from the euro would not be abrupt and […]
Economic Update for June 11, 2012
IS A FIX COMING FOR EUROPE’S DEBT CRISIS? Last week, global markets rallied on European Central Bank President Mario Draghi’s assertion that risks to the EU economy had increased, interpreting it as a signal that the ECB and other central banks might take swift action to rescue weaker eurozone nations. (Stateside, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben […]
Economic Update for June 4, 2012
IS IT TIME FOR QE3? May’s unemployment report threw Wall Street for a loop Friday. Economists polled by Reuters forecast a payroll gain of 150,000, but only 69,000 new jobs were created. Even worse, part-time positions accounted for all of the increase. The jobless rate ticked up to 8.2% in May, and the Labor Department […]
Economic Update for May 28, 2012
CONSUMER CONFIDENCE HIGHEST SINCE 2007 In a tense week for investors, some promising news emerged: the closely watched Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index came in with a final reading of 79.3 for May – the ninth straight monthly improvement. May’s 3.8% gain brought the index to a peak unseen since October 2007. The […]
Economic Update for May 21, 2012
FACEBOOK DEBUT DIVERTS ATTENTION FROM EUROPE Facebook’s IPO set a new record for a stock debut Friday – volume surpassed 578 million shares. The gain was small: shares closed at $38.23 at the end of regular trading, up 0.61% from the initial $38 offering price. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 ended the trading week below 1,300, […]
Economic Update for May 14, 2012
CONSUMER SENTIMENT HITS A 4-YEAR PEAK May’s initial Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment survey came in with an index reading of 77.8, the highest mark since January 2008. The current economic conditions sub-index rose to 87.3 from last month’s final 82.9 reading. Descending oil and gas prices may have been factors promoting some optimism.1 […]
