Tag Financial Planning

Tag Financial Planning

MacGray Matters – Financial News Update – July 19, 2010

John Thomas July 19, 2010 Tags: ,

MacGray Matter   July 19, 2010

FINANCIAL REFORM: Early this week, President Obama will sign the Financial Reform Act passed by the Senate this past week. What does the bill say?  Once again, it is very, very long and rather confusing. One of the main reasons I can’t tell you what it all means is that much of the Act simply directs the Executive Branch to do things, like make regulations. The bill will immediately create a 10-member Financial Stability Oversight Council, a powerful assembly of regulators chaired by the Treasury Secretary to keep watch over the entire financial system. The Obama administration has one year to create a new Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection. The Fed has until April to derive standards to measure the fairness of fees charged by banks to merchants for customers who use debit cards.  Regulators also will have to figure out how to implement new standards for how much capital banks should hold in reserve to protect against losses. The legislation requires rules in 18 months, but the U.S. is also part of international negotiations on what global capital standards should be, and those could move more slowly and affect how quickly the regulations are enacted. As we learn more about this legislation and its implications, we will provide additional information. Keep Reading...

Financial Planning Crisis

John Thomas August 14, 2007 Tags:

To any conscientious financial planner or mortgage consultant, the numbers are distressing. The federal government is so concerned that it has revamped provisions of the U.S. tax code at least three times in recent years in an effort to reverse the trend.

Recent studies have shown that most American families are now living beyond their means, cramped for cash, and few have taken adequate steps to secure their financial futures.

Only about four out of ten have established a tax-deferred savings fund – a 401(k), IRA or Keogh account – and even these forward-thinking Americans seldom contribute the maximum allowed. Today, the average balance on a 401(k) account nationwide hovers around $50,000; and half of all account holders have $15,000 or less saved against future uncertainties that often aren’t uncertain at all. Keep Reading...

Financial News for February 2007

John Thomas February 9, 2007 Tags:
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Financial News for February 2007

Citing healthy economic growth and reduced inflation, the Federal Reserve on January 31 held its key federal funds rate at 5.25%. The Fed Funds Rate is the overnight interest rate that banks charge one another to borrow money. It was the fifth straight time the Fed has held steady, a move that was widely expected by Wall Street analysts.

In the final quarter of 2006, the economy grew at a faster-than-expected 3.5% pace, despite lagging automotive and real estate markets, the Commerce Department said January 31. The performance exceeded analysts’ forecasts for a 3% growth rate. For all of 2006, the gross domestic product (GDP) increased by 3.4%, an improvement over 2005’s 3.2% showing. Keep Reading...