tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-199517252012-01-13T13:25:45.775-05:00Money Ruminations is an on-line posting of financial and money topics written by Barry Unterbrink , Retirement Planning Counselor. Please visit my site often for my timely financial outlook, news and strategies.Barry Unterbrinknoreply@blogger.comBlogger621100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19951725.post-58883628897534426412011-12-05T11:29:00.039-05:002011-12-08T16:51:56.258-05:00

Using “systems” to reduce risk and improve investing performance. Using a system to manage your finances is critical and most often extraordinarily worthwhile – in terms of reduced stress and reduced losses. Being organized just makes you feel better and in control. I contend that your finances and your health rank as the top two areas of your life that are most important to your well-being.

Barry Unterbrinknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19951725.post-50679296682116967332011-10-13T13:32:00.003-04:002011-10-14T23:45:17.248-04:00

Mr. Toad's wild ride comes to Wall Street At Disney World's Orlando theme park, a popular ride for many years was Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. The rail-based vintage car transports you through a 5 minute swirling journey banging into doors, creepy and devilish characters with scary music and noise. Towards the end, a  train light in the dark approaches you, and then you end up in; well - that place

Barry Unterbrinknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19951725.post-76407068985246508942011-09-06T17:26:00.002-04:002011-09-06T18:12:39.164-04:00

Market Linked CD's - Want Your Cake, and Eat it Too? An investors balance of risk of loss and earning income is a very tricky widget to get your hands around now. One idea: Market-Linked CD's, outlined in this space back in late June. This "safe money" alternative offers safety of principal with a stock market 'kicker' - to earn substantially more interest than traditional Certificates of

Barry Unterbrinknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19951725.post-37438791748140765572011-08-30T11:57:00.009-04:002011-09-04T22:26:43.104-04:00

More stock market see-saws; A "safe money" option The stock market last week managed a decent run – up about 4-5%. The prior week it fell 4-5%, and year to date it’s down 5-7% on the popular averages. So what’s up? Certainly not the average investor’s portfolio. Stuff that’s up include consumer prices, rising at a +3.6% annual rate; commodities like food, energy and the market volatility index –

Barry Unterbrinknoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19951725.post-81369498368579627472011-08-03T15:38:00.001-04:002011-08-03T15:43:09.184-04:00

Stocks crater; bonds, and precious metals have their game on! It's been rough sledding in most of the equity (stock) markets the past couple months. The second quarter (April-June) saw no growth in the major stock indexes. In the period, stocks gained 7%, then fell 7%, then rallied into late June to finish even-steven for three months. July saw stock prices fall 2%. It appears that the stock

Barry Unterbrinknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19951725.post-19384108004837625972011-06-27T17:53:00.002-04:002011-06-27T18:08:39.466-04:00

A Certficate of Deposit on Steriods (originally posted 6/2/11; updated to current 6/27/11) Another safe-money income option gaining favor to 'beef up" your retirement money is a Market Linked Certificate of Deposit (MLCD). This is an F.D.I.C. insured CD issued by a bank, which protects your principal if held to maturity. The different twist here is that your annual interest is not guaranteed

Barry Unterbrinknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19951725.post-35377393749144812572011-06-03T15:00:00.003-04:002011-06-07T11:40:39.385-04:00

Income Planning Let's Get Creative using Market-Linked CD's and Income Annuities For those seeking income from their savings and investments, it may appear that there are a few sensible options left standing to increase income during this time of low interest rates. The Federal Reserve is keeping rates low; economic progress is muted at best, and stock prices hit an air pocket, falling about 2%

Barry Unterbrinknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19951725.post-75251945523119720542011-04-26T14:29:00.002-04:002011-04-26T17:09:47.818-04:00

Market Update and Strategy   An unusual report was issued last week; the credit-worthiness of the United States was put on ‘alert’ by Standard and Poor’s, a highly regarded rating agency. They issued a negative outlook, a downgrade from the ‘stable’ outlook then prevailing. The AAA rating was affirmed, but the longer term outlook change could result in losing that rank unless we get our fiscal

Barry Unterbrinknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19951725.post-5078096974296838682011-02-16T15:20:00.000-05:002011-02-16T15:20:01.519-05:00

Mid-quarter Update ... Ruminations on markets, economy and jobs It's mid-February, and that signals the half-way point through the first quarter. Most of the popular stock averages are ahead quite nicely, from +6% for the Dow Jones Industrials to 7% for the Standard & Poor's 500 Index, to 8% for the technology-laden Nasdaq 100 Index. That would be a very decent gain for even 6 months from a

Barry Unterbrinknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19951725.post-44438279058801509772010-12-22T23:36:00.001-05:002011-01-06T13:46:21.267-05:00

The year end is fast approaching, I want to thank everyone for your patronage to my blog posts and ruminations on the markets. May you be blessed with good health and fortune this holiday season and beyond into 2011. Financially-speaking, we should have much to be thankful for also. The equity (stock) markets have delivered to us a better than norm year of performance. If the year ended today,

Barry Unterbrinknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19951725.post-64767517022003148752010-10-25T12:50:00.002-04:002010-10-25T12:55:43.983-04:00

  In our last visit late August, we told you about our concentration of our clients investments in the emerging market country exchange traded funds (ETF’s). One reason for our profits in these countries is the fact that the hedge funds and pension fund managers have just recently discovered the opportunities in emerging markets but they had a hard time on how to invest overseas. Foreign

Barry Unterbrinknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19951725.post-2183925183962293722010-08-30T22:33:00.000-04:002010-08-30T22:33:52.057-04:00

August 30th   Well, the sun will set tomorrow on another calendar month. Here in Florida we call August the "dog days". They are the hottest, most sultry days of summer. They usually fall between early July and early September. They can also define a time period or event that is very hot or stagnant, or marked by dull lack of progress. The term has frequently been used in reference to the

Barry Unterbrinknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19951725.post-38421468576208819022010-07-30T13:16:00.002-04:002010-07-30T13:36:15.407-04:00

                                Well, the financial markets appear to confuse most by moving up and down with no clear trend of this year. As we almost have July on the books later today, the popular stock market averages are a couple percent on either side of even for the year! While July is shaping up fine, June and the entire 2nd quarter were a real downer. The second quarter shaved about 12%

Barry Unterbrinknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19951725.post-53760615278370532672010-06-10T21:52:00.005-04:002010-06-11T00:16:59.801-04:00

No Sleepless Nights for Stetson ClientsWe are supposed to be in the summer doldrums (see last post, "Sell in May...") but you would not know it from the action of the stock market of late. UP, Down, Up, Down, and then the recent volatility has been: Down, Down, Down, and Down.Fortunately for Stetson Wealth Management clients our strategy has been to be mostly out of the stock market and into Bond

Barry Unterbrinknoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19951725.post-2662073203793667562010-04-30T16:59:00.008-04:002011-10-14T23:50:09.881-04:00

April 30th, 2010 Sell in May and sail away? It still holds true, current research shows that the old investment adage “selling in May and sailing away” still makes a lot of sense, according to an analysis of market history. A look at the performance of the Dow Jones Industrial Average over the 59-year period through 2009 shows that the index produced an average gain of about zero during the

Barry Unterbrinknoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19951725.post-21625323109279750412010-03-04T10:47:00.004-05:002010-03-04T11:27:01.376-05:00

The 7% bet ... is it prudent now? This blog post was originally posted in September, 2008 near Dow 11,150; it's now updated through 2009. The market has fought back hard since the low's one year ago. If you've invested in stocks, you should be ahead nicely year over year. But what now? Perhaps employing a "safe money" strategy is prudent now with a portion of your money. Read on.Investing has

Barry Unterbrinknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19951725.post-35402932915756859782009-11-06T08:26:00.002-05:002009-11-06T08:33:21.549-05:00

The last blog post we discussed using exchange traded options to reduce your investment costs. View the last post for the skinny on that. Specifically, we sold Bank of America January 20 call options, receiving $1,200 for our efforts, reducing our cost from $16 to $14.80. This post, I will switch and explain the role of 'Put" options to complement your stock investing.Put options allow the owner

Barry Unterbrinknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19951725.post-54230079447724748802009-09-09T12:19:00.005-04:002009-09-09T22:53:20.075-04:00

Using Options to Enhance Your PortfolioUnderstanding exchange-traded options can increase your financial returns and reduce risk in your investment portfolio. Stock options are an excellent way to help you achieve your money goals, both before and in retirement. Today we will look at using stock options to enhance your stock market profits, so get a sharp pencil and pad and follow along.You

Barry Unterbrinknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19951725.post-39945143442355333292009-07-20T14:51:00.005-04:002009-07-22T10:50:28.705-04:00

Will I run out of money in Retirement?Most likely, our greatest fear as we are nearing or in retirement can be stated in 8 simple words; "Will I run out of money in retirement?" I can see the wrinkled nose and sweaty palms start to kick in as the stress levels rise after someone asks that question. Moreover, it's not an easy quantifiable answer. It's better addressed as "it depends" since it is

Barry Unterbrinknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19951725.post-44053723522983110862009-07-10T21:54:00.007-04:002009-07-10T22:14:53.354-04:00

Has Wall Street Picked Your Retirement Clean ?Should You Get Out, Stay the Course?***Your Retirement Can Be Salvaged...let me show you how.Trust our team with 60+ years of experience in your community.CALL today for a FREE consultation ... 1-888-569-3977 (Fort Lauderdale)or sign up on-line at: http://www.stetsonwealthmanagement.com/Why_Choose_Us.php Barry Unterbrink, Chartered Retirement Planning

Barry Unterbrinknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19951725.post-32366857420168548892009-05-25T17:17:00.009-04:002009-05-28T22:43:36.139-04:00

If the 2007-2009 time period were to somehow in the end encompass the economic collapse and surrounding recession, then what's the next actionable course of action to contemplate with your money? That, friends, is the $64,000 (no, let's up the ante and say $64 billion) question. As investor's, we have to look forward to what the future could delve out to us if we are to prove resilient and

Barry Unterbrinknoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19951725.post-5989456856438723662009-05-15T17:55:00.003-04:002009-05-18T22:57:41.212-04:00

The collecting of coins, gold, silver and other precious metals can be fun and financially rewarding. These tangible items are often referred to as "hard assets" because they are heavier than most other commodities or collectibles. Someone once quipped, "if you drop an asset on your toes, and it hurts, then it's probably a hard asset and valuable". Try that with 50 ozs. of silver or a brick of

Barry Unterbrinknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19951725.post-91217076469049954442009-04-27T12:35:00.002-04:002010-07-06T18:20:40.060-04:00

Dear clients and friends:Last Sunday's (4/19) broadcast of CBS's 60 minutes included a segment on the 401k plans that many americans have relied upon to help fund their retirement needs in later years. If you missed the broadcast, you can replay it on the network's web site at: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/04/17/60minutes/main4951968.shtmlI feel the journalistic message delivered was

Barry Unterbrinknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19951725.post-700358433006017562009-04-19T14:16:00.003-04:002009-04-19T14:25:13.820-04:00

Clients and Friends:If you're able, tune or record 60 Minutes tonight on CBS.One of their segments will discuss 401(k) retirement plans.A short preview of it can be viewed at: http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=4950505nAs I am sure, most of the information will apply to other retirement plans as well; such as government plans, non-profits, public sector plans (457's), and even I.R.A's.I will

Barry Unterbrinknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19951725.post-64765608601178254982009-03-19T10:17:00.004-04:002009-03-19T10:42:19.822-04:00

The "stock market" can cause us all frustration. It can be your friend one year, and your mortal enemy the next. Lately, it seems like a game of chance, with no rhyme or reason to its ups and downs. The "stock market game" has seemed during the past 15 months to be greatly stacked against investors - lots of losing, and each glimmer of a gain gone in a fortnight or two. Perhaps that's about to

Barry Unterbrinknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19951725.post-28628664279823565962009-02-04T17:11:00.004-05:002009-02-04T17:17:10.511-05:00

The mega-money being thrown around in Washington and the financial markets needs to be better understood. Million, Billion, Trillion – after awhile of listening to the news and reading the media wires, my eyes glaze over (MEGA for short).Just how much money is a billion, or trillion dollars? I’ll try to put this into perspective so both commoners and math whizzes can appreciate it.First off, we’

Barry Unterbrinknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19951725.post-88157222068309055092009-01-15T13:39:00.002-05:002009-01-15T13:48:09.490-05:00

2008 - A RecapThere can be many reasons we should be grateful and happy with 2008. Our family and our relationships, good health, a roof over our heads and food in the 'fridge. But, we are working more. The median number of leisure hours available each week dropped to 16 last year, down from 20 in 2007 and 26 in 1973 when Harris Interactive starting tracking this stat. Working hours increased

Barry Unterbrinknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19951725.post-17999604981651624672008-11-25T13:31:00.008-05:002008-12-01T10:17:30.899-05:00

Dear clients and friends:In this difficult financial market, I’ve spoken to many investors near and far. The interesting thing about all of the musings and opinions out there, is the amount of mis-information and ill-fated strategies that I hear from folks. The differentiation between prudence, fact and opinion is a huge gapping hole. I am not denying anyone their say – the 1st amendment is still

Barry Unterbrinknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19951725.post-69570446372182600822008-11-06T12:57:00.007-05:002008-11-06T14:46:10.391-05:00

In late October, I hosted a retirement planning workshop with about 20 interested folks here at a local hotel. We enjoyed some timely discussion and a nice buffet lunch. I thought it helpful to review a few of the topics I presented to perhaps help yourself or someone you know in these financial areas.* Multi-Generational IRA'sIf you own a retirement account (IRA, 401k, 403b, etc.) you had better

Barry Unterbrinknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19951725.post-23293770748514553212008-10-10T12:27:00.000-04:002008-10-10T12:27:05.659-04:00

click the link for my retirement seminar details.http://retirementworkshop.eventbrite.com/Is the stock market near a bottom? What strategy are you using?The stock market fell apart again Thursday, falling another 7% or so.First, I will admit that the 30% worse case fall that I alluded to in my August 11th post was too kind. We're now 40% off the highs registered one year ago this week. I again

Barry Unterbrinknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19951725.post-84695704061887012322008-09-29T21:26:00.003-04:002008-09-30T08:10:29.599-04:00

Investing has always been a trade-off. Making choices with your money involves weighing the potential risk and rewards to determine the best course of action to achieve your desired goal. So, in a way, investing is akin to odds-making. In America, this is called fixed odds betting; wagering where you know the odds at the time of the placement of the wager. This is fairly easy to determine in the

Barry Unterbrinknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19951725.post-51805432803659162052008-09-02T21:56:00.012-04:002008-09-09T16:52:27.530-04:00

Investment diversification has been called the "Free Lunch of Investing". Rightly so, Wall Street can serve up some nasty surprises with your money, but diversifying your portfolio against risk is entirely within your control.Jim Cramer of the "Mad Money" television program on CNBC moderates a segment of his show titled, "Am I Diversified?" In it, his viewers call in and deliver their 5 largest

Barry Unterbrinknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19951725.post-50778641006534752332008-08-11T17:09:00.005-04:002008-08-11T22:24:58.373-04:00

The financial markets have improved since my last blog at the end of June.By most measures, stock prices are higher; Dow Industrials, +4%, Nasdaq Composite, +5%, and S&P 500, +1%. Some areas groups are lower, such as utility, energy and commodity-based stocks. The same groups that outperformed prior. The range of prices, spelled volatility, has been rising, which I think indicates the start of

Barry Unterbrinknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19951725.post-23846490080727299282008-07-01T23:34:00.010-04:002008-07-03T10:14:15.231-04:00

Little to Cheer About so far in 2008 - but stocks are on-SALE!The second quarter closed out on Monday, ending the first half of 2008. I hope your life perspective was productive and energetic. The financial perspective hasn't been very pleasant,however. In all likelihood, we are in the midst of a recession in the U.S. economy, evidenced on main street and Wall Street. The popular stock market

Barry Unterbrinknoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19951725.post-14819935833009257992008-05-16T08:23:00.009-04:002008-05-19T08:09:02.419-04:00

A Mulligan (do over) Strategy to Investing for RetirementI couldn't but help feeling a little melancholy over Tiger Woods feeble attempt to rally back in the final round of the Master's Golf Tournament last month. I thought of the term "mulligan"; coined after a fellow so named who took to re-playing his errant shots on the course with the hope of a better score. Without Tiger's 3 bogies on

Barry Unterbrinknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19951725.post-13668709790974891192008-03-29T14:31:00.003-04:002008-03-29T14:39:34.484-04:00

IRA and retirement account contribution deadlines: April 15thThe Individual Retirement Account, or IRA is probably the most popular investment account for individual investors. Started in 1974, the IRA allowed workers without a traditional company retirement plan, a much needed way to save tax-deferred for their retirement. The key to building substantial wealth in an IRA account is to contribute

Barry Unterbrinknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19951725.post-54193762837632890032008-02-28T22:48:00.003-05:002008-02-29T07:35:36.210-05:00

Should I Stay or Should I Go (with my retirement account)?The subject of retirement plan portability and the decision employees / investors must consider have been on my mind recently, having fielded a few questions from prospects and clients so far this year. Let’s examine the benefits and pitfalls of moving retirement money to an I.R.A.Many defined contribution (DC) retirement plans, including

Barry Unterbrinknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19951725.post-75047345150616759322008-01-17T16:45:00.000-05:002008-01-17T18:41:05.693-05:00

Rocky start to 2008 probably a "normal" correctionThe stock market is off to a rather dreary start to 2008, with the popular market averages falling 5% to 10% in just a few weeks, and 14% to 20% from the highs of last October. You can blame it on any of the popular reasons you will hear about in the papers or news channels, or just accept the fact that prices are ruled by humans and their

Barry Unterbrinknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19951725.post-77966586453143406412007-12-13T16:15:00.000-05:002007-12-14T08:24:04.179-05:00

Fixed Index Annuities (FIA) - Growing your Retirement IncomeIn the last post, I promised to introduce an annuity product that's shaping the way we'll save and get income when we someday retire and the wage machine stops.The fixed index annuity (FIA) allows for multiple options to accumulate retirement money - then offers a couple more ways to access that money to spend. Think of these two phases

Barry Unterbrinknoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19951725.post-15598323036099989552007-11-20T10:03:00.000-05:002007-11-20T10:26:52.239-05:00

Are Baby Boomers out of the woods yet?What I mean by that is...has the baby boom generation (born 1946 to 1964) conducted themselves financially to be able to retire someday in a fashion better than their parents did?I returned last week from an interesting 3-day financial conference in Topeka, Kansas that addressed many issues of importance to this generation, and thought it helpful to share

Barry Unterbrinknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19951725.post-7361858921735739362007-10-19T21:36:00.000-04:002007-10-20T17:10:49.249-04:00

You gotta be in it - to win it...It's been two months since my last blog to you. I hope you had a nice summer and are getting back to normal with your schedules as we enter the last quarter of 2007. The stock market did not fare too well this past week. Friday marked the 20th anniversary of that fateful day in 1987 when all hell broke loose, chopping 508 points or 22% off the popular Dow Jones

Barry Unterbrinknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19951725.post-84033146906848402162007-08-15T17:53:00.000-04:002007-08-15T17:53:25.615-04:00

Learning the OddsUnderstanding the odds of events in life is important. It can lead to better choices with our money decisions. We should encourage this topic's study among friends and our children.The gambling houses know the odds of you winning and handily "adjust" the rules so that they are favored to win over time. Warranty plans and product mail in rebates are based on the odds that you will

Barry Unterbrinknoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19951725.post-24475823923868137092007-05-22T16:02:00.000-04:002007-05-23T08:13:00.931-04:00

The longevity of humans on this earth is increasing year by year, and this will have profound effects on how we live, work, save and invest. This is especially important if you are a younger person now, as future advances in health and medicine will affect you more. Consider where we have been...In 1,000 AD, life expectancy was about 25 years. Four hundred years later, it had jumped to 35, not

Barry Unterbrinknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19951725.post-76615597342058870272007-03-28T20:29:00.004-04:002008-03-29T14:31:19.369-04:00

IRA and retirement account contribution deadlines: April 15thThe Individual Retirement Account, or IRA is probably the most popular investment account for individual investors. Started in 1974, the IRA allowed workers without a traditional company retirement plan, a much needed way to save tax-deferred for their retirement.The key to building substantial wealth in an IRA account is to contribute

Barry Unterbrinknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19951725.post-25874952788437967002007-02-27T19:38:00.000-05:002007-03-01T14:37:56.109-05:00

Feb. 27, 2007Tuesday's stock market action was fairly chaotic and painful on the downside as stock prices across the board fell significantly. The Dow Industrials, Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500 Indices fell 3.3% to 3.9%. Hopefully, you had time to relax after work and have a nice dinner before turning on the television set and checking the financial news on the grim details.Speaking of financial

Barry Unterbrinknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19951725.post-24958625859959645432007-02-21T17:26:00.000-05:002007-02-21T17:32:22.510-05:00

Why is Estate Planning important?Estate planning gives you peace of mind by knowing that you have provided security and privacy for your family and loved ones. There are many other benefits of creating an estate plan including: 1) avoidance of costly probate estate proceedings at death, 2) consolidation of all your assets in one plan, 3) faster distribution of assets, 4) reduction or elimination

Barry Unterbrinknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19951725.post-1169732733878013612007-01-25T08:39:00.000-05:002007-12-12T15:39:02.525-05:00

Annuities Now Give You Better Options for Both Income and GrowthThe annuity options available to investors today seem light years ahead of what was available just 5-10 years ago. As annuities are transformed into more favorable retirement planning investments, I thought it would be a good time to review some important enhancements that could benefit you. Realizing the thirst investors have for

Barry Unterbrinknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19951725.post-1165263373300679912006-12-04T15:11:00.000-05:002006-12-19T09:18:35.970-05:00

The end of November to early December is a good time to evaluate your investment portfolios and make decisions that can reduce or increase your taxes for the current year. A study by Fidelity Investments found that 67% of families do not take advantage of offsetting capital gains and capital losses to lower their taxes. Unless you wish to be part of that group; read on. There's still 2 weeks left

Barry Unterbrinknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19951725.post-1161919210549899452006-10-26T23:14:00.000-04:002007-03-01T16:30:11.959-05:00

There’s a maxim that’s rings pretty true in the retirement planning arena. It’s harder to manage your money in retirement than earning and saving it in the first place. Once you retire, you are most often at the mercy of the financial markets for your future returns for both income and growth from your retirement savings. Rising prices can eat into your standard of living. Also, mistakes in

Barry Unterbrinknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19951725.post-1159563229556156892006-09-29T16:26:00.000-04:002006-10-26T13:58:52.616-04:00

This week the financial press sqwauked a lot about a possible new stock market all time high. Both Thursday and today were very close to the Dow Jones Industrial Average surpassing its 2000 closing high of 11,722. It fell short by a mere 43 points. But is the Dow Industrial average of just 30 stocks a good measure of the overall stock market? Maybe. Maybe not. By comparison, the S&P 500 Index,

Barry Unterbrinknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19951725.post-1155763696365230502006-08-16T17:20:00.000-04:002006-08-16T21:58:28.220-04:00

The stock market has finally strung together two days of powerful, meaningful gains. Tuesday and today have been marked by increased volume and broad participation by various market sectors. Increased volume shows the big money players are more confident of the future - they are the players that propel stocks higher (or lower). I can conjecture as well political and economically also; a

Barry Unterbrinknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19951725.post-1152908374476831502006-07-14T16:08:00.000-04:002006-07-17T11:11:26.603-04:00

The warning signs that flashed in mid-May about a deteriorating condition for the stock market continue to shine. As the markets settle this Friday, the Dow Industrial's are down about 3% on the week and the Nasdaq Composite is down about 4.3%. Multiple worries are justified. Oil prices near $80, mid-east turmoil, higher interest rates, a slowing economy-all hinting at lower corporate earnings

Barry Unterbrinknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19951725.post-1151335400204623832006-06-26T11:11:00.000-04:002006-06-29T21:28:24.423-04:00

The United States' measure of inflation is vastly under-reported by our Government which could lead to serious financial consequences. The Federal Reserve, in its role to set monetary policy, is focusing now on keeping prices in check by changing the interest rate, most notably and likely up for the 17th time when they meet tomorrow. The goal is to keep the economy humming along, but not too fast

Barry Unterbrinknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19951725.post-1150122852500999532006-06-12T10:30:00.000-04:002006-06-12T10:34:12.516-04:00

The stock market muddled through last week with just one positive day on Thursday with a meager 8-point gain on the Dow Industrials. Other well-followed benchmarks fell on the week too: S&P 500 off 2.8% and Nasdaq Composite –3.8%. Banks, insurance, health care and utility stocks bucked the trend somewhat, still falling 0.9% to –1.8%. Gold fell $27 or 4% while oil prices were down just $1. With

Barry Unterbrinknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19951725.post-1149610349605404442006-06-06T12:01:00.000-04:002006-06-06T12:15:24.940-04:00

Since my last blog update on May 31st, the stock market has continued to fall, with few meaningful rally attempts. Looking at the averages, the Dow 30 Industrial Average has given back all gains since March 9th, the S&P 500 since year end, and the Nasdaq Composite erased all since last November 1st. Bonds and cash have been the best places to hide. I had been reducing stock exposure starting May

Barry Unterbrinknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19951725.post-1149077986078553842006-05-31T08:15:00.000-04:002006-05-31T08:22:40.783-04:00

Monday, May 30thA recovery in stock prices last week to the tune of 1% to 1.2% in the S&P 500 and Dow Industrials erased about one-fifth of the damages since early May. Today would have marked the fourth day of accumulation in the stock market, a positive sign in which stocks gain on increased trading volume. As the stock market often moves in waves, it's important to watch for when the next wave

Barry Unterbrinknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19951725.post-1147751293628537392006-05-15T22:54:00.000-04:002006-05-15T23:48:13.670-04:00

The stock market's balloon has been losing a bit of air the past week or so. The S&P 500 Index has fallen 3.1% the past 5 sessions, while the Nasdaq Composite has slid 5.5% since it's mid-April recent high. Just a week ago the 'talking heads' on the financial shows were salivating over another yearly high for the Dow Jones 30 stocks, when the Federal Reserve hiked the lending rate a quarter point

Barry Unterbrinknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19951725.post-1146066675661635222006-04-26T11:48:00.000-04:002006-04-26T11:51:15.663-04:00

So far now, into the middle innings of the 1st quarter’s earnings reporting season, corporate profitability is rising. With 35% of the Standard & Poor’s 500 stocks reporting, total reported profits are running 11.6% above the comparable period last year (Jan. – Mar. ’05). Moreso, two-thirds of reports are better than the current estimates by stock analysts.However, troubling in this rush of

Barry Unterbrinknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19951725.post-1144896203480762252006-04-12T22:13:00.000-04:002006-08-16T17:19:52.823-04:00

It's been about one month since my last blog post. Since mid-March, stocks have risen generally, but not by much. The smaller, technology-laden Nasdaq is ahead 2.3%, the Dow Industrials and S&P 500 are up about 1/2% each. My worries last month were that interest rates could rise further and put a lid on stock price gains. Stocks and interest rates both rose in March, with respectable gains of

Barry Unterbrinknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19951725.post-1142018716452731732006-03-10T13:41:00.000-05:002006-03-10T14:25:16.483-05:00

Dear clients and friends: The stock market is up about 2% so far this year. Absent the first trading day of 2006 when the S&P 500 lept 1.8%, we are virtually flat for the first 10 weeks. Stock and bond market volatility continue to make it tough to jump on a rising trend. Consider that since last April the S&P 500 Index (500 of the largest American companies), rose 10% from April to August, then

Barry Unterbrinknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19951725.post-1137004829022045532006-01-11T13:37:00.000-05:002006-06-22T17:40:12.630-04:00

Barry Unterbrinknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19951725.post-1134830511527047182005-12-17T09:39:00.000-05:002006-01-28T23:02:18.800-05:00

Welcome to Money Ruminations, the on-line blog of Barry Unterbrink. Please revisit here starting in February, 2006 for on-line financial commentary, ideas and outlook.

Barry Unterbrinknoreply@blogger.com1