When state and local governments need money for public projects, they sell municipal bonds -- a popular investment among the wealthy because the interest they earn is tax free. Now, with the fiscal cliff looming, tax breaks like that one are under scrutiny.
First impressions matter, especially these days when many high profile IPOs are falling out of favor with the same investors that couldn't wait for these dot-com darlings to go public. Kayak Software has only been public for a month, but it's already paddling in the wrong direction.
Get ready to play the retirement game even more cautiously: The common wisdom that a 4% annual withdrawal rate is the safe way to avoid outliving your money is increasingly coming under fire. In fact, it may well become a thing of the past.
Aware that most Americans would like to dump them all, members of Congress hope to regain some sense of trust by subjecting themselves to tougher penalties for insider trading and requiring they disclose stock transactions within 30 days.
Good news: Retirees will get a 3.6% Social Security cost-of-living adjustment in 2012 -- their first boost since 2009. Bad news: The average benefit is $1,229 a month, about the equivalent of working for minimum wage.
With all the ups and downs in the stock market in the last week, it's not surprising that some investors have panicked. But we've also found examples of investors who have kept calm. Here are some of their secrets.
Amid plenty of uncertainty, investors are looking for strategies that will make them wealthy. But you should forget about the idea of getting rich quick and focus on diversity, according to Larry Light, author of the new book, Taming the Beast: Wall Street's Imperfect Answers to Making Money.
If you need cash and have investments you don't want to sell, a stock-based loan may sound like a good idea. But the unregulated stock-based loan industry can be a risky way to tap into the value of your portfolio, warns the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.
Though it has been part of the retirement investing landscape for more than a decade, many people still don't understand the Roth IRA, or what it can do for them. DailyFinance clears up the myths and misunderstandings about this tax-advantaged savings vehicle.
The moods that dictate underlying prices can quickly swing from one extreme to the other. Such swings often create opportunities for investors. For instance, the rush back to domestic markets is leaving opportunity on the table overseas again.
It's hard to make huge changes in your spending habits all at once. To reach your new year's resolution to manage your finances better, try small steps instead. Financial experts offer 10 easy suggestions that could help you spend less and save more in 2011.
As 2010 draws to a close, it looks like 2011 is likely to be another wild year for the stock market. Fear not: Here are some tips from T. Rowe Price portfolio managers on how careful investors can take advantage of drops and rebounds in the coming year.
In his new book, Trading Realities, tech-executive-turned-personal-investor Jeff Augen offers a refreshingly realistic account of how markets function in a sensible look at the forces that shape today's chaotic investment landscape.
