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New Of -the -Month Clubs: Worth It?
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Retire Here, Not There: Tennessee
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The 5 Biggest Muni Defaults Ever
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Grad School: Higher Degrees of Debt
by the numbers
Jack Hough
Beware the Dividend Fakers; Hough: Some companies pay cash to stockholders while quietly issuing plenty of new shares.
SmartMoney.comUtility stocks have a reputation for providing investors with plump dividends. Sure enough, the utility sector of the S&P 500 index carries a dividend yield of 4.1%, versus a 2.2% yield for the broader index.
Why U.S. House Prices Won't Recover; Hough: Taking inflation into account, U.S. home prices are down to 1895 levels.
SmartMoney.comWhen will U.S. house prices recover? Likely never. But that's no reason not to buy. The latest S&P / Case-Shiller numbers, reported last week, show that prices in 20 major markets declined 3.5% over the year through February. They're now ...
Strategist: Stock Market Should Double Again; Hough: Why one market forecaster thinks the current bull market isn't nearly over.
SmartMoney.comU.S. stock prices have doubled from their financial-crisis lows of just over three years ago, judging by the S&P 500 index. That has investors wondering if the market has rallied too far, too fast.
Coffee Stocks Look Shaky; Hough: Green Mountain's tumble is a cautionary sign. It's time to kick caffeine.
SmartMoney.comFor a 500 year-old beverage made from water and fruit pits, coffee sure has got investors buzzing. Consider: The broad S&P 500-stock index sells for 13 times this year's earnings forecast. But Starbucks fetches more than 25 times ...
How to Outsmart Social Security; Hough: A new study offers tips on when to begin collecting benefits.
SmartMoney.comSocial Security is designed to be fair, but it plays favorites. A savvy retiree can maximize benefits by choosing to begin payments at just the right time. Most choose wrong, whether from necessity or because they don't understand the ...
Why College Aid Makes College More Expensive; Hough: New research shows how federal spending on higher education can backfire.
SmartMoney.comFederal aid for students has increased 164% over the past decade, adjusted for inflation, according to the College Board. Yet three-quarters of Americans and even a majority of college presidents see college as unaffordable for most, and ...
How Families Can Get $3.5M in FDIC Coverage; Hough: Bank account insurance stretches much further than savers may realize.
SmartMoney.comIt's a nice problem to have, but a problem nonetheless: Some savers have more than $250,000 in cash, the current limit for protection by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
To Beat the S&P 500, Try the Other S&P 500; Hough: For equal-weight indexing fans, "the market" is doing just fine -- and closing in on an all-time high.
SmartMoney.comInvestors seeking better returns from the stock market might want to change their definition of it. The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index -- "the market" to many investors -- must climb another 16% to top its October 2007 ...
'Safe' Stocks Off to Wobbly Start in 2012; Hough: Consumer staples shares have been stars in recent years. Now they look vulnerable.
SmartMoney.comStock investors are having a mostly happy new year. The S&P 500-stock index returned around 5% through Friday. And yet the slice of the index that represents safety to many investors -- consumer staples -- is down slightly.
Why Food Stocks Could Give Investors Heartburn; Hough: Two recent stock collapses look like isolated cases, but lofty valuations are widespread.
SmartMoney.comSix months ago this column drew reader attention to a trio of food stocks that looked too expensive. One of them, snack specialist Snyder's-Lance, has risen a bit since then, but the other two have plummeted.
ETFs That Pay Up to 7% -- Then Mature; Hough: A new class of exchange-traded fund puts the "fixed" back in fixed income. Should investors buy in?
SmartMoney.comIn about two weeks, one exchange-traded fund will do something highly unusual. It will mature. The Guggenheim BulletShares 2011 Corporate Bond ETF is like most fixed-income ETFs in that it holds a diversified basket of bonds, passes the ...
Don't Spend 2012 Hiding in Cash; Hough: Why it's time to stop sitting in money market and savings accounts while waiting for the big crash.
SmartMoney.comPresidential election years usually cheer stock investors. The S&P 500 has returned more than 22%, on average, during election years since World War II. But don't get excited for 2012. Those past returns are from too small a sample ...
Why Investors Should Sell Their Losers Now; Hough: Investors tend to wait until year's end for tax loss harvesting. That's a mistake.
SmartMoney.comThere are 23 trading days left in 2011 -- plenty of time to sell losing stocks for tax purposes. But investors shouldn't wait, for two reasons.
IPO Feast: Worth a Bite? Hough: Several companies are scheduled to go public today, including Angie's List, but investors should be cautious.
SmartMoney.comWall Street is serving up its biggest buffet of initial public offerings in six months -- but the menu isn't especially appetizing. Among issues slated to begin trading today is Angie's List, a review site for local businesses. The ...
Buffett Buys Big Blue -- Should You? The value guru has turned keen on IBM. Other investors might want to consider a purchase, too, writes Jack Hough.
SmartMoney.comBerkshire Hathaway bought $10.7 billion worth of IBM shares, raising its stake to 5.5%, Warren Buffett told CNBC Monday, a day before Berkshire is scheduled to report its third quarter holdings.
No Pension? You May Still Owe $30,000 On One; State and local retirement shortfalls are everyone's problem, writes Jack Hough.
SmartMoney.comPension accounts for state and local government workers are underfunded by $4 trillion, according to one recent analysis. If America's households were to split that tab today, each would have to kick in $34,000.
Is Salesforce.com Worth 100 Times Earnings? The cloud software stock fetches a stratospheric price. It could be due for a tumble, writes Jack Hough.
SmartMoney.comYou might not have heard of Salesforce.com. It's only 12 years old and it does business mainly with other companies, not consumers. But its stock market value is larger than that of J.C. Penney, Hasbro and Netflix -- combined.
As Dow Plunges, Beware 'Low-Beta' Stocks; The latest threat to the European debt deal could send investors scrambling for less-volatile shares. That move could backfire, writes Jack Hough.
SmartMoney.comU.S. stocks shed more than 2.5% on Tuesday, as Greece's call for a voter referendum threw a newly inked European debt deal into doubt. This, after October proved the best month for stocks in decades. Head-scratching volatility like ...
Why Netflix Plunge Is a Problem for Amazon; Investors may be souring on glamour stocks in general, writes Jack Hough.
SmartMoney.comIn early September this column argued that Netflix stock, which had gotten one-quarter cheaper since summer, was no bargain (see "Is Netflix Cheap Enough" ). It was $218 then. It's $80 or so now.
At Half-Off, Is Groupon a Buy? The discount site gets its IPO price slashed -- but not all markdowns are bargains.
SmartMoney.comAs with half-priced crochet lessons, Groupon's newly planned stock offering is sharply discounted from a price that was arbitrary to begin with.
Apple 'Disappoints'? Blame Wall Street; The earnings shortfall is mostly owed to starry-eyed forecasting, but buyers should wait, writes Jack Hough.
SmartMoney.comNormally, a 54% profit jump would be impressive even for a promising start-up in a booming economy. On Tuesday, America's largest firm reported such a feat -- even though its posh gadgets fetch high prices and consumer sentiment is ...
Could Apple Disappoint? It's not as far-fetched as a soaring stock price and bumper phone sales might suggest.
SmartMoney.comIt's a testament to Apple's new management that the stock hasn't tumbled since founder Steve Jobs died on Oct. 5. But shares have done more than hold their ground; they've jumped 11% in that time, twice as much as the ...
How to Tame the Volatile Stock Market; Investors may not know what's causing the wild swings, but here are four steps they should take, writes Jack Hough.
SmartMoney.comOops -- investors on Friday made a $400 billion mistake. That's the amount by which they left the U.S. stock market underpriced over the weekend, judging by Monday's dramatic 3% rise in the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
New iPhone Bodes Well for Speech Stock; Buyers of the device might want to tell it, "Show me a quote on Nuance."
SmartMoney.comStar Trek fans must have sweaty palms just thinking about it: Apple on Tuesday confirmed that its newest iPhone, available mid-month, will feature a natural speech personal assistant called Siri. Voice recognition is nothing new, but this ...
How to Join Sprint's iPhone Gamble; The carrier is reportedly betting big on Apple's popular device. Here's a low-stakes way to get in on the action.
SmartMoney.comSprint is reportedly making a high-stakes bet on Apple's iPhone. Investors who wish to join in the gamble might want to keep their own stakes low--by using options contracts rather than shares.
What NFL Coaches and Investors Share; New research suggests a common portfolio mistake shows up on the gridiron, too.
SmartMoney.comExcessive fear of risk can be bad for returns -- including kickoff returns. New research suggests National Football League coaches struggle with a behavioral flub common to stock market investors. They focus so intently on not giving up ...
Companies That Divide Often Don't Add to Returns; Stockholders shouldn't expect much from Netflix's split-up and a string of others, evidence suggests.
SmartMoney.comSplitting is in. With the announcement that it will turn its DVD-by-mail business into a separate subsidiary, Netflix joins a long list of companies planning to conquer by dividing. Among them: Tyco plans to separate its security, fire ...
Europe's Plunge Leaves 9% Yields; The euro zone is at risk for a financial crisis, but for the bold, there are buying opportunities.
SmartMoney.comAs world stocks plunged Friday, investors craved safety, not yield. At one point, buyers of 10-year Treasury notes accepted yields of barely 1.9%. That's a record low. It's also more than a percentage point short of the past ...
Countries That Pay Big Dividends; Fat yields are still in style overseas. Here's where to look.
SmartMoney.comU.S. stock investors aren't quite starved for dividends. The S&P 500 index has a yield of just 2.2%, which is less than half the 130-year average for U.S. stocks. But 130 of the index's members pay more that 3%. Many are ...
The Truth About the September Swoon; For stocks, the seasonal pattern doesn't matter. Junk bonds are another story.
SmartMoney.comIt's beginning to look a lot like September. On Thursday and Friday, the first two trading days of what is historically the worst month for stocks, the S&P 500 lost 3%.
Is NFLX Cheap Enough? Shares are down 25% this summer, but they still may not be a bargain.
SmartMoney.comNetflix is cheaper, but is it cheap enough? On a day when more than three-quarters of stocks in the S&P 500 lost value, Netflix stock had the distinction of being the ninth biggest gainer. Despite that bump, the stock has lost about ...
Treasurys Versus Stocks: Spot the Safe One; Textbooks say government bonds carry less risk, but conditions today favor shares.
SmartMoney.comWhat's safer: holding a 10-year Treasury bond until maturity or spending the next ten years in the broad U.S. stock market? Finance course books say Treasurys, but current conditions favor stocks.
Which Stocks Are Risky? Ask the F.A.A. New research suggests a link between small-craft piloting and corporate daredevilry.
SmartMoney.comWhen stock investors turn cautious, they tend to favor steady Eddies over volatile Victors. Modest valuations, dividends and dependable earnings fall into fashion and high prices based on expectations of splendid but distant growth fall ...
What Google's Bid Means for Tech Stocks; Its Motorola Mobility bid is a test for other cash-stuffed tech firms.
SmartMoney.comGoogle's $12.5 billion cash purchase of handset maker Motorola Mobility is an important test for cash-stuffed technology giants. As these firms operate increasingly like investment companies, squirreling away cash to be spent on ...
Why the Stock Market Has Turned Bipolar; Ups and downs for shareholders are normal, but what's going on now is not.
SmartMoney.comIf U.S. stocks typically return 7% a year after inflation as history suggests, then shareholders lost one and a half years' worth of reward in just three days ended Monday. Late Tuesday, they secured nearly a year's return in an ...
The New Safe Havens (Without the Crowds); Treasurys and gold are too popular. Here are some roads less travelled.
SmartMoney.comFor investors, there's anything but safety in numbers. When safe-haven assets are crowded by the fearful, the result is often meager returns, increased risk or both.
The Downgrade: What It Means for Investors; America's new credit rating may bode worse for stocks than for Treasurys, writes Jack Hough
SmartMoney.comStandard & Poor's lopped an A off America's credit rating late Friday, ending the nation's 94-year streak as a triple-A borrower. A reading of the downgrade note suggests that if it could have, S&P would have left the ...
Why Falling Stocks May Increase Taxes; The market correction could prove doubly costly for investors.
SmartMoney.comWhen stock prices slide and gains evaporate, investors are usually left with the meager consolation of smaller tax bills. If a long stock decline were to hit now, however, investors could easily be required to pay more.
How Much More Could Stocks Drop? Investors should treat further stock market declines as entirely possible -- even likely.
SmartMoney.comThe Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged more than 500 points Thursday, its ninth decline in 10 sessions. In terms of points, that's the Dow's ninth-worst day ever, the worst being a 777-point drop in September 2008. As a ...
Default Averted. Poor Returns to Come; Debt deal doesn't clear the way for growth and returns. Quite the opposite.
SmartMoney.comMonday's stock market tape said plenty about what the new debt deal means to investors. The Dow Jones Industrial Average opened more than 100 points higher in celebration of word from Congress that it would narrowly avoid a U.S. ...
HomeAway IPO Bodes Well for Expedia; As vacation rental sites attract rich valuations, the travel booker is planning a spin-off.
SmartMoney.comIf asked to choose between licking a pay phone and allowing a random stranger to sleep in my home, I'd need some time to think it over. But it turns out that although phone-licking isn't worth much to anyone, two young companies ...
S&P, Moody's U.S. Downgrade Irrelevant; What ratings firms say about Treasurys matters less than many suppose.
SmartMoney.comTo hear politicians, the fate of modern finance is now being decided by perhaps a dozen Manhattan bond geeks. Their job at Standard & Poor's and Moody's is to paste letter grades on governments so bond buyers can decide which ...
Price Check on Whole Foods Shares; The posh grocer might report strong results Wednesday, but is its stock worth the premium?
SmartMoney.comWhole Foods sells beef, poultry and fish at prices that suggest its animals are not only humanely raised but also college-educated. I know too well; my wife won't shop anywhere else. She says prices for store-brand basics from baby ...
What Could Bury Gold; The doomsday scenario that could end the metal's hot streak.
SmartMoney.comAmerica failed to collapse into ruinous anarchy this week when its president late Tuesday endorsed a deficit-reduction plan proposed by the Senate. Policy makers, it's beginning to seem, are a few weeks of mannerly negotiation away ...
As Borders Folds, Which Other Stores are Struggling? These chains are having difficulty winning customers and turning profits.
SmartMoney.comBorders said Monday it will close its remaining 399 stores and sell its assets to a liquidation firm. The No. 2 U.S. bookstore chain, which has operated under bankruptcy protection since February, blamed industry challenges, e-readers and ...
Phony Default Crisis May Yield Bargains; If the drama in Washington rattles markets, here's what investors should buy.
SmartMoney.comAmerica is two weeks away from defaulting on its debt, dramatists in Washington say. Fortunately, this crisis is as phony as a million dollar bill, which is why Treasury bond prices have barely flinched, which in turn is why the players ...
Want Returns and Safety? Buy Dogs; Most unloved companies won't stay that way for long, a new study concludes.
SmartMoney.comShares of the largest two-dozen American firms sell for 20% less than those of other companies based on forecast earnings. Giants are priced like dogs, in other words. History says buy them; the stocks investors like least ...
Why Is Google So Cheap? Search Me; The once-glamorous growth stock now sells at a tempting discount.
SmartMoney.comThe recent threat of a federal anti-trust probe against search giant Google has provoked plenty of comparisons to Microsoft, circa 2000, complete with the stagnation that implies. And the stock price suggests investors lack confidence. At ...
Shopping For Stocks? 5 Measures to Ignore; Investors are snatching up shares, but these numbers won't help them pick winners or stay safe.
SmartMoney.comStock investors are busy buying: The Dow Jones Industrial Average has jumped 480 points, or 4%, since last Friday. For those who are still shopping for shares, there is plenty of information to help them decide.
The L.A. Dodgers Guide to Personal Finance; 7 lessons from the baseball team's high-profile bankruptcy
SmartMoney.comIn a dramatic twist befitting a baseball team that plays five miles from Hollywood, the Los Angeles Dodgers filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Monday. Bankruptcy is usually associated with near-worthless companies, but the estimated value of ...
Is America the Next Greece? 'Hellas' No; Washington D.C. has money troubles, but it's no Athens.
SmartMoney.comLike Greece, the United States shoulders a worrisome government debt that's growing larger each day. It can therefore only be a matter of time before the fiscal meltdown gripping Athens reaches American shores, right?
Who Would Pay $28 for a $25 Gift Card? Ebay Buyers; The auction site's bizarre bidding makes Wall Street's IPO frenzy look sane
SmartMoney.comDotcom stock offerings have lately displayed frenzied pricing not seen since the 2000 tech bubble. LinkedIn, which debuted a month ago as the priciest stock in America, has lost one-third of its value since trading began, while Pandora, the ...
What Weiner Walks Away With; After just 12 years on the job, the departing Congressman gets hefty retirement benefits.
SmartMoney.comAnthony Weiner just resigned from the House of Representatives, his 12-year political career ended by Twitter indiscretion. In doing so, Weiner walks away with retirement benefits that are far more generous than what most workers with ...
How to Greece-Proof Your Portfolio; Europe's debt crisis makes this a good time to reduce risk in your stock portfolio.
SmartMoney.comU.S. shares tumbled nearly 2% yesterday as the latest Greek protests turned violent. At issue in Athens are tax hikes and budget cuts that workers say have inflicted much pain and done little to shrink the country's crippling debt and ...
Is the Stock Market Still Fair? As exchanges let high-speed traders move in, what it means for the little guy.
SmartMoney.comOnce-raucous trading floors in New York and Chicago are growing quieter every day. The real action now takes place in distant suburbs like Mahwah, N.J. and Aurora, Ill. There, in buildings twice the size of a Wal-Mart Super Center with ...
The Bitcoin Triples Again; The online currency has minted off-line millionaires. But for how long?
SmartMoney.comThe world's fastest-gaining currency has tripled in price again. Last week, SmartMoney.com reported that the Bitcoin had exploded from an exchange rate near zero to more than $10 in about a year, making it one of the top-returning ...
The Other Money-Crime Connection; Prisons are sending inmates home to raise cash. Will crime surge?
SmartMoney.comCalifornia must reduce its inmate population by 30,000 because its over-filled prisons amount to cruelty, the Supreme Court ruled Monday. In a dissent, Justice Samuel Alito likened the ruling to turning loose three Army divisions of ...
Groupon and Pals: Worth More Than Google Soon? When internet hopefuls are valued higher than tech titans, investors should be wary.
SmartMoney.comGroupon, a website that offers daily discounts from local merchants selling flowers, massages and the like, has filed for an initial public offering and might raise an amount that would value the company at $20 billion, the Wall Street ...
The Most Expensive Stock in America; LinkedIn debuted with a market-leading valuation -- then promptly doubled. Is it worth it?
SmartMoney.comLinkedIn shares doubled in price early Thursday after making their public debut, giving the company a value of more than $8 billion. How expensive is that for such a stock? By my math, even at the subscription price of $45 a share, with a ...
The Invisible Stock Bubble; Prices seem normal next to earnings, but history says earnings might plunge.
SmartMoney.comAsset bubbles typically form because of widespread denial, not a lack of obvious signs. In 2000, just before the dotcom stock crash, the S&P 500 index of large American companies traded near 30 times trailing earnings, about double its ...
How to Insure a Stock Portfolio; Wall Street offers ways to crash-proof your portfolio -- for a price. Which ones are worth the money?
SmartMoney.com"Double your money in less than two years." That's the sort of suspicious offer made in an anonymous spam mailing or a boiler room pump-and-dump scheme. Incredibly, it's also the actual performance of the S&P 500 ...
What Dividend Neglect Says About Stocks; Companies are clutching cash instead of parting with it. Historically, that has been a telling sign.
SmartMoney.comWhen companies turn stingy with their profits, the result has historically been a period of disappointing profit growth. That's troubling, because stinginess just hit a record high.
The Currency That's Up 200,000%; Bitcoins are the top-performing money in the world -- but what are they?
SmartMoney.comThe best performing currency of the past year isn't Brazil's real, up 15% versus the U.S. dollar, or Australia's dollar, up 27%. It's the Bitcoin. A year ago one was worth half a penny. Thursday morning it hit $10.50. ...
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