MEMBER SIGN IN
Not a member? Become one today!
         iBerkshires     Berkshire Chamber     Berkshire Community College     City of Pittsfield    
Search
Home About Archives RSS Feed
@theMarket: It May Be That Time Again
By Bill Schmick,
01:12PM / Saturday, April 30, 2016

For traders, the old adage to "Sell in May" is now upon us. Over the past 40-plus years this recommendation has worked over 70 percent of the time. Should you go with the statistics or ignore them?

As regular readers know, the S&P 500 Index has already reached my target of 2,100. We did so over two weeks ago and until yesterday the bulls have been trying to break over that line and get back to the historical highs around 2,134.

The perfect excuse to do so should have occurred on Wednesday when the central bank's Federal Open Market Committee announced their latest decision to keep rates where they are.

The wording of the news release was almost identical

0 Comments
Read More >>

The Independent Investor: What Do Prince, You and a Will Have in Common?
By Bill Schmick,
03:05PM / Friday, April 29, 2016

What do Prince, you and a will have in common? The short answer is maybe nothing, unless, like so many of us, you still have not finalized such a document. If you haven't, get on the phone with a lawyer and get it done.

The passing of Prince was a sad day, but even sadder is the fact that this week his sister just opened a probate case in Carver County, Minn., the home of the late rock star.

"I do not know of the existence of a will and have no reason to believe that the Decedent executed testamentary documents in any form," Tyka Nelson wrote in her filing.

Prince had no spouse or children but he does have several siblings and an estate valued at $300

0 Comments
Read More >>

@theMarket: Markets Hold on to Weekly Gains
By Bill Schmick,
09:19AM / Saturday, April 23, 2016

It was a struggle, but the stock market indexes stubbornly refused to cave in despite some really horrendous earnings reports. A battle is being waged among bulls and bears right here, right now. Who will win?

Remember last week when I reported that earnings have been revised down so low that it was practically impossible for most companies to disappoint the market? Well, that proved to be not quite accurate. Not only did some really big companies in industry, technology, banking and finance fail to beat, they actually came in less than anticipated on both earnings and revenues.

Although traders punished these companies' stock prices in after-hours trading and through the

0 Comments
Read More >>

The Independent Investor: Leaving your Legacy
By Bill Schmick,
12:53PM / Friday, April 22, 2016

It may not seem so sometimes, but your children value your opinion. The older they get, the more importance they place on things like your ethics, moral teachings and values. That's why it is extremely important to leave a legacy after you are gone that your children can turn to when they need it.

Leaving your legacy is an integral part of my on-going series of columns on estate planning. My last column on "passing the torch" to another generation concerned the family meeting. Hopefully, the Alpha Child (you or another sibling) has arranged the date, time and place of this momentous occasion and all the invitees (advisor, parents and adult kids) are on hand.

The

0 Comments
Read More >>

The Independent Investor: Have You Had 'The Talk' Yet?
By Bill Schmick,
02:18PM / Thursday, April 14, 2016

Whether you are a Baby Boomer or the child of one, it is about time you faced the music.

We all know that life ends, no matter how hard we try to ignore it. Having a family meeting before it is too late may save all of you needless heartache and financial turmoil.

Today, we are in the midst of an enormous transfer of wealth within America. Trillions of dollars of assets are passing from one generation to another and will continue to do so over the next couple of years. And whenever large amounts of money are involved, there is a need for knowledge, advice and estate planning. You can't do that if you or your family is in the dark when it comes to family finances.

Most

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