All Articles Tagged "bonds"
Make Money, Money: President Obama Gives Us a Lesson in Investing
Image: AP Photo/Alex Menendez
Business Insider recently took at look at the financial history of Michelle and Barack Obama to explain just how they went from being middle class to multi-millionaires. As Senator, Obama was pulling in $80,287 plus another $32,144 from the University of Chicago Law School where he taught as a lecturer. Add to that Michelle’s salary from the University of Chicago Hospitals, where she was an administrator. (According to FactCheck.org, Michelle went from earning $121,910 in 2004 as an executive director at the hospital to making $316,962 in 2005 as a vice president.)
But the couple began raking in serious dough from three investment assets in 2004 the article says. First was the Illinois State Senate Pension Fund, worth between $50,000 and $100,000. Then there were investments in funds with investment management company Vanguard, through which had investments in the Vanguard Wellington Fund (worth between $100,000 and $200,000) and $50,000 to $100,000 invested in the Vanguard Wellesley Fund. Obama’s book deal for The Audacity of Hope, about his famous 2004 Democratic National Convention speech, pushed him into the millionaire bracket.
If the Obamas could invest before they had millions, so can any woman with money smarts.
When many women consider investing, they think you need lots of money to get started. Not so, says small business consultant and “worry-free living” consultant Princess Clark-Wendel, president of Princess Clark Consulting Inc. But don’t jump into investing blind.
Before you invest any cash, do your research about stocks, bonds and mutual funds. And, figure out an investment strategy with a professional money manager, financial consultant or broker. “Find a financial advisor to help you find products that will meet your financial goals,” says Clark-Wendel.
Clark-Wendel sent over three top tips via email.
1. Set financial goals. Spend some time thinking about what you what your money to do for you. Do you need to pay for your kid’s college education? Are you saving for retirement?
2. Know your time horizon. When will you need the money?
3. Know your financial tolerance for risk. A large gain could result in a large lost. Could you stomach it?
Call us when you’re rich!
Should You And Your BFF Kiss And Make Up? Petty Reasons Friendships Fall Apart
essence.com
It’s usually around high school when we begin to learn how rare a true friend is. Good friends are like a bomb pair of designer shoes, the ones that are actually comfortable and are marked down at a ridiculously low price. They’re hard to come by and when you do happen to come across a pair, you cherish them because you are well aware of their value. A good girlfriend can act as the sister you’ve never had, the therapist you can’t afford, and provide the encouragement that you need when the going gets tough. Sadly, many beautiful friendships end for trivial and foolish reasons. I know the saying goes, some people enter your life for a reason, some for a season, and some for a lifetime, but what if you’re allowing a lifetime friend to walk away over something petty? Check out some of the common reasons friendships end below and maybe you’ll decide that it’s time for you and your BFF to kiss and make up.
vibe.com
Social Network Squabbles
The infamous subliminal Facebook statuses and misunderstood tweets have been like a cancer to friendships everywhere since about 2005. I remember watching in amazement last summer as I witnessed the original Twitter “beef” breakout on my timeline between “Basketball Wives” stars and besties Jennifer Williams and Evelyn Lozada. I then began to reflect on my own life and my friends. I could count at least five of them who had fallen out over ridiculous social networking wars that originated over something being said that may or may not have even been about them. Are you really beefing over what you saw someone Tweet?? Come on ladies, think about how foolish you’d feel if you allowed yourself to lose a friend a few years back over Myspace. No one even visits that site anymore!
heartbait.com
Men
*Sighs* Men are one of the leading causes of ruined friendships between women in America. Seriously though, this is such a common reason that great friendships fall apart. No, I would not suggest making up with a friend who vindictively slept with your man, that’s just trifling. And how could you trust them again? I would, however, suggest that you try to make amends with the friend who may have gotten a little caught up in her new relationship and may be unintentionally neglecting your friendship. I mean, we’ve all been there at one point or another. Express to her how you feel and try to work through it! Then, there’s the scenario where a rift can appear between friends when they realize that they’ve both been eying the same guy. This is not grounds to end a friendship. Two mature women will foresee the disaster which lies ahead and both agree to leave him alone. Sisters before misters, right? Chicks before … um, you get the point.
Tags:
bestie, BFF, bonds, falling out, foolish, friendships, jealousy, men, money, new friends, petty, reasons, reevaluate, rift, season, social networking, valueBlack Firm Earns Distinction on Wall Street
(San Francisco Chronicle) — “I’ve been striving for this for 15 years,” said Napoleon Brandford, founder and chairman of Oakland’s Siebert Brandford Shank & Co. It’s the first minority-owned firm of its kind in Wall Street history to be ranked among the top 10 municipal bond underwriters, according to The Bond Buyer, the leading public finance trade publication. Based on numbers compiled by Thomson Reuters, the firm participated in public financings with a total value of $100.9 billion, according to Bond Buyer. Citing its lead manager role in $9.14 billion worth of municipal bonds during 2010, Bond Buyer ranked Siebert Brandford Shank eighth, and “the fastest-growing in the underwriting tables.”
Bondholders Pick a Fight With Banks
(Wall Street Journal) — As banks restart foreclosures they had suspended, bondholders are stepping up efforts to recoup losses on soured mortgage portfolios amid concern about sloppy mortgage servicing and underwriting practices. In a letter Monday, a group of institutional bond investors raised objections to the handling of 115 bond deals issued by affiliates of Countrywide Financial Corp., acquired by Bank of America Corp. in 2008.
Buffett Hints at Bond Bubble
(Forbes) — Investors buying bonds at the prevailing high prices are ‘making a mistake,’ billionaire investor Warren Buffett said. Buffett, speaking Tuesday at Fortune’s Most Powerful Women Summit in Washington, said it’s “quite clear stocks are cheaper than bonds” now. He added that he “can’t imagine” the rationale for adding bonds to your portfolio at current prices.
Georgia Again Keeps Triple-A Bond Ratings
(Atlanta Business Chronicle) — Georgia has again retained its three triple-A bond ratings from all three rating agencies, Gov. Sonny Perdue’s office reported Monday.
Georgia is one of a few states to maintain the highest bond ratings possible from Moody’s, Fitch, and Standard & Poor’s. Perdue’s office said the rating agencies credited the state’s active management of the budget, including withholding allotments to agencies to ensure expenditures do not exceed revenues.
Atlanta Strikes Deal With Airlines
(AJC) — Airlines at Atlanta’s airport have agreed to make $30 million in extra rental payments to help the city get bond financing needed to keep the new international terminal project on track.
Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed, flanked by the chief executives of Delta Air Lines and AirTran Airways, announced the deal Tuesday. The supplemental rent payments will occur over four years starting in fiscal 2013, and the city could refund at least some of the money later in the decade depending on financial conditions.
The move is designed to boost Hartsfield-JacksonInternational’s revenue stream, making bonds more attractive by assuring investors that it has adequate revenue and reserves to repay the debt, city officials said.
Investor Appetite for Bonds in a Tepid Recovery Weighs on Rates
(Huffington Post) — Just how low can interest rates go? Rates keep falling, and Wall Street increasingly seems convinced that they will stay low for years. But it isn’t the Federal Reserve that is cutting them — it is the bond market. The weak-kneed economy has investors piling into United States Treasurysecurities, driving prices up and yields down.
Chicago's Bond Rating Cut; Adds Millions to Borrowing Costs
(AP) — A bond rating firm has downgraded Chicago’s bond rating, citing the city’s weakened financial flexibility and reduced tax revenue. Fitch Ratings on Thursday reduced Chicago’s $6.8 billion in outstanding general obligation bonds from AA-plus to AA, which means millions of dollars will be added to the cost of borrowing by the city. The action by Fitch comes as the city faces a record,$654.7 million budget shortfall next year.
Stocks Are Safer Than Bonds, Fund Manager Says
(Market Watch) — The investment move that has made consumers most comfortable since the market crisis of 2008 is about to become the investment folly of the 2010s. That’s according to Chris Davis, head of the Davis Funds. He said recently that bonds are an emerging bubble, destined for a fall over the next decade, just as investors have been throwing virtually all of their available cash into bonds so that they could sidestep the pain in the stock market.’
