As people begin filing their taxes, they may discover they are due a large refund. Is it better to pay off debt or invest? Tradition's Frani Feit, CFP answers this question on NJ.com.
Gifting money to help a child pay off debts may trigger the federal gift tax. Tradition's Chip Wieczorek, CFP reviews the gift tax law on NJ.com.
Investors got a big lump of coal in their stockings this Christmas. For equity investors, the decline in prices that started the first week of October reached a crescendo on December 24th, when the Dow Jones Industrial Average suffered the worst Christmas Eve decline in its history, with the Average declining more than 1300 points (5.8%) and other equity measures following suit.
The market has rallied about 10% since December 26, 2018.
The Fed is looking like it may pause in February.
There has been some progress on China trade.
Earnings for 2018 were up about 25%.
The stock markets had the worst December in 2018 since the Great Depression. Even so, the U.S. economy is showing its resiliency with unemployment at its lowest level in 49 years, wage growth reaching levels not seen since 2009, and consumer spending and industrial production remaining strong. Read our recap of the month of December's market and economic activity.
One method of getting income out of your portfolio is to invest in stocks that pay dividends. Benjamin C. Halliburton, Tradition's Chief Investment Officer, offered a couple of stock choices, Citigroup (C) and Qualcomm (QCOM), in the U.S. News & World Report article, "7 Great Dividend Choices for the New Year."
U.S. News & World Report recently quoted Tradition's Chief Investment Officer, Benjamin C. Halliburton in the article, "3 Dividend Stocks to Buy in January." Below is an excerpt from the article:
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