MEMBER SIGN IN
Not a member? Become one today!
         iBerkshires     Berkshire Chamber     Berkshire Community College     City of Pittsfield    
Search
Home About Archives RSS Feed
The Independent Investor: Gay Marriage Comes of Age
By Bill Schmick,
11:07AM / Friday, June 28, 2013

This week’s historic Supreme Court ruling could be a windfall for gays married and living in at least 13 states and the District of Columbia. That accounts for about two-thirds of same-sex marriages in this country. For the rest, things are not so clear.

The high court's decision to lift bans on federal same-sex benefits will have repercussions throughout this country and will send corporations scrambling to reassess everything from withholding taxes to fringe benefits.

For those living in the 13 "Free" states where gay marriage has been legalized, they will immediately gain access to more than 1,000 federal benefits, including Social Security and tax law

0 Comments
Read More >>

The Independent Investor: The Fed Speaks
By Bill Schmick,
10:50AM / Friday, June 21, 2013

You would think the world was coming to an end, given the global investment community's reaction to Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke's press conference on Wednesday. Evidently, we are so addicted to the Fed's multiyear stimulus program that even a hint that the party may be coming to an end is a major cause of concern.

As for me, the end of the central bank's quantitative stimulus program is actually good news. It means that our economy and employment would have finally turned the corner. It means that all the stimulus efforts of the Federal Reserve Bank since 2008 has finally paid off. It means that our financial markets can finally be returned to the private sector where

0 Comments
Read More >>

@theMarket: Say It Isn't So
By Bill Schmick,
04:37PM / Friday, June 14, 2013

So far June is playing out as expected. Stocks are see-sawing in a trading range that is driving day traders crazy. Hopefully, you are not one of them.

This week was almost a carbon copy of last week. For two weeks in a row the averages tested the 1,600 level on the S&P 500 Index and then bounced higher. That was also the level where technicians predicted the market would find support (at what is called the 50-day moving average).

Don't worry; I'm not going to get all technical on you. It is sufficient to note that buyers stepped in at the same level that they did last week. And that is understandable since there really is no reason to go much lower than that. I

0 Comments
Read More >>

The Independent Investor: A Taste of Things to Come
By Bill Schmick,
04:34PM / Thursday, June 13, 2013

If you are a bond holder, the last few weeks may have come as a shock. Ever since the Fed raised the possibility of tapering their stimulus program, interest rates have spiked higher. For the first time in years, bondholders actually saw bond prices decline. Get used to it.

If you are a baby boomer, the price declines in all things that yield interest or income since May 22 might have you wondering what happened to your "safe" investments. All our professional lives we were told that bonds were "safe" for "conservative" investors, widows and orphans and for those among us that find the stock market too risky.

That was sage advice, if somewhat

0 Comments
Read More >>

The Independent Investor: Will the Fed Falter?
By Bill Schmick,
10:06AM / Friday, June 07, 2013
As we enter the fifth year of the Federal Reserve Bank's grand experiment to save our economy, doubts are beginning to surface. After a wonderful run in the financial markets, investors are concerned that the Fed is planning to once again slow their stimulus program. That would be a mistake.   To understand why, just recall the ups and downs of the economy and stock market over these same five years. The first attempt at jump-starting the economy by the Fed occurred in late November 2008. The Fed started buying $600 billion in mortgage backed securities in an effort to inject liquidity into financial markets frozen with fear. It worked. By March 2009, it held $1.75

0 Comments
Read More >>

Pittsfield.com is owned and operated by: Boxcar Media 106 Main Sreet, P.O. Box 1787 North Adams, MA 01247 -- T. 413-663-3384 F.413-663-3615
© 2008 Boxcar Media LLC - All rights reserved