There is a confluence of factors that are painting a very odd picture of current investor behavior. Common sense and a careful analysis of the market dynamics between equities and bonds today would indicate that investors should be acting in the exact opposite manner than they are. Interest rates are hovering at a 100-year low, which creates two problems for investors. First, >>

During the summer of 2006, our analysis indicated that the top of the housing market was likely in place and we predicted several years of financial market turmoil as the most speculative real estate bubble in US history imploded. The initial phase of the secular decline in housing prices has proceeded exactly as expected since then and it has now been more than five years since >>

When the mortgage meltdown occurred in 2008, the mortgage broker was the first hit by the wave of change struck by the mortgage industry and regulatory reform. In 2011, the mortgage servicers, the back side of mortgage industry, are having its day of reckoning. The mortgage industry will have several more years before mortgage professionals will refer to these past years of mortgage correction as an historical >>

In many cases a will or living trust has no effect on some of your important assets such as life insurance and a 401 (k) account. Your beneficiary designations control who receives those assets. A comprehensive estate plan includes beneficiary designations that fall outside of your will and trust but are part of your overall estate plan. You want each part of your plan to work effectively and efficiently to >>

We have received several inquiries over the last year or so about using IRAs for nontraditional investments. This frequently means real estate, perhaps commercial real estate to house a closely-held business. It might also mean using the IRA to start the business itself. These types of transactions are not without risk. One has the risk of business failure or decline in property value, of course, but also the >>

Last week, Lakshman Achuthan of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) made the rounds on financial television once again to discuss the current state of their recession call from late last year. Achuthan reaffirmed their belief that a return to economic contraction is likely in 2012, noting that the coincident data used to officially define economic cycle boundaries continue to signal slowing growth. >>

It's no surprise the NBC show, "Outsourced" was set in India—in 2011, revenues for the country's outsourcing and information technology industries reached $100 billion, according to The New York Times. However, if the now-cancelled show gets remade in the future, it may take place in the up-and-coming location of the Philippines. Historically about 10 percent of the country's GDP growth has been from >>

Can you be on the hook for unpaid payroll taxes if you are a volunteer director for a nonprofit? What if you do not have authority to write checks? Let's take a look at the recent (March 8, 2012) U.S. District Court decision Bunch v Commissioner. Perceptions, Inc. was a Tennessee nonprofit formed in 2004, Perceptions provided supportive living service for developmentally disabled clients. The incorporators >>