Futurist Thomas Frey, a keynote speaker, suggests planners take advantage of the ‘untethered marketplace’.
Since its inception in 2000, the FPA Retreat has always been sui generis: It is as much a gathering of like-minded financial planners who draw strength from communing with each other as it is an educational conference.
Continue reading… “Focus on the Future of Financial Planning at FPA Retreat”
States have laws stipulating that the government becomes the owner of abandoned property after a period of time.
Billions of dollars in unclaimed life insurance benefits are at the center of a legal wrestling match as cash-strapped state governments step up their efforts to make sure insurance companies properly account for the funds.
Raiding retirement accounts can have significant consequences.
Many Americans struggle to pay the monthly bills and are feeling less secure about their finances. A Bankrate.com study released this week shows nearly one in five Americans (19 percent) admit raiding their retirement accounts during the past 12 months to cover expenses.
Continue reading… “1 in 5 Americans are Raiding Their Nest Eggs”
Frederick Kaufman’s piece for Foreign Policy examines how the Goldman Sachs Commodity Index (GSCI) is responsible for the increase in food prices.
College loans will top a trillion dollars.
More students will be going to college this and more of these students will borrow money to do so. Student loan debt will likely top a trillion dollars this year. And for the first time last year student loan debt outpaced credit card debt.
Continue reading… “Growing Student Loan Debt Weighs Heavier on Graduates”
Thomas Gonzales is one of the only Delacroix fishermen who refused to work for BP.
Instead of economic ruin in the Gulf Coast, the oil spill has brought in a gusher of money. The many people who cashed in on the oil spill have earned nicknames: “spillionaires” or BP rich.” But there were some people who wound up getting little of the money.
Continue reading… “‘Spillionaires’ – BP Oil Spill Payouts Create New Rich”
Jobs are back. Just not for everybody.
Like many other things in the stutter-step economic recovery, the job market is finally recovering, but progress is uneven and some people are being left out. The latest jobs report, for example, shows that the economy created 216,000 jobs in March, for a total of about 1.9 million new jobs since employment levels bottomed out at the end of 2009. That’s a healthy pace of job growth that will help bring down the uncomfortably high unemployment rate, and, with luck, cement the recovery.
Continue reading… “Jobs Are Back Just Not For the Middle-Aged Worker”
North Dakota has a budget surplus.
While many states are confronting severe budget shortfalls and dragging economies, North Dakota has a different sort of problem. It’s stuck deciding how best to deal with a budget surplus. Yes, a surplus. North Dakota’s balance sheet is so strong it recently reduced individual income taxes and property taxes by a combined $400 million, and is debating further cuts.
Continue reading… “Why North Dakota May Be the Best State to Live In”
The highest paid of the CEOs was Philippe Dauman, CEO of Viacom.
CEOs didn’t have to cry poor for long. The heads of the nation’s top companies got the biggest raises in recent memory last year after taking a hiatus during the recession.
Continue reading… “CEO Pay Jumps 27% While Workers’ Pay Stalls”
The best use of money as a motivator is to pay people enough to take the issue of money off the table, so that people can focus on the work rather than on the cash.
The best use of money as a motivator can be to pay people enough to take the issue off the table.
After more than 200 years of sharing a common language, the United States and Great Britain now share a common predicament.
California patients wait for assistance at a marijuana dispensary.
It is called a lot of things: grass, pot, Mary Jane, wacky weed. Now, researchers are suggesting a new moniker for marijuana: alternative investment.
Continue reading… “Legal Pot is Sound Business at $1.7 Billion and Growing”
The merger would leave just three major cellular carriers in the United States.
The proposed $39 billion merger of AT&T and T-Mobile could save the companies a lot of money. For everyone else, it could cost a lot of money. No sooner did the two companies announce a $39 billion merger on Sunday than industry analysts began assessing the impact on the biggest potential losers in the deal: consumers.
Continue reading… “Potential Losers in the AT&T and T-Mobile Merger: Consumers”
By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.
Learn More about this exciting program.