Delaware Mortgage Loans

There will be a Free Budgeting Seminar on March 5, 2008 from 6:30 PM till 8:00 PM at the Citizens Lending Group’s Office in Newark, Delaware.  The seminar will cover the basics of making a household budget, how to track daily, weekly, and yearly expenses, and how to use your budget as part of an overall […]

FORECLOSURES OVER HYPED?:  The foreclosure figures used by much of the media come from RealtyTrac, a source that counts each filing in the foreclosure process. One house has to go through several steps in the process (each with its own “filing”), so counting each one as a separate foreclosure, as many in the media do, is inaccurate. 

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SERVICE JOB LOSSES CAUSE MARKET LOSSES:  The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) non-manufacturing index dropped from 54.4 in December to 41.9 in January.  Anything higher than 50 on that index shows expansion, and anything lower shows contraction.  This is the lowest reading since October 2001.  The markets were spooked by the ISM numbers and ended […]

You can’t always avoid natural disasters like earthquakes, floods, or hurricanes, but you can minimize their impact on your finances.  Do you have a plan for how you would cope if a hurricane like Katrina or Floyd or some other potentially devastating event – even the loss of a job – hit you?
Have a Plan
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SLOPPY FOURTH QUARTER;  According to Morningstar,  the average returns by mutual fund category for the fourth quarter of 2007 were:

taxable bonds:  +1.3%
municipal bonds:  +0.5%
international stocks:  -0.8%
U. S. stocks:  -2.8%

SLOPPY WEEK:  For the week, the Dow declined -1.5%, the S&P 500 -0.75%, Nasdaq -2.6%, and the Russell 2000 -2.4%. Year-to-date, the Dow is now down -4.9%, […]

A BAD START:  The year has started off on a bad note.  (I am watching Chariots of Fire on ESPN Classic as I write this.  The Scottish runner, Eric Liddel slipped and fell but finished his race in first—I hope the markets mirror this performance in 2008).  After only three trading days, the S&P 500 […]

Various economists and investment houses are now coming out with their “odds” as to whether we will move into a recession.  Here is my wisdom:  I don’t know.  Of course you should be prepared in case we do or if we don’t.  Depending on your situation, you want to be appropriately defensive, but not so […]

HOLIDAY SPENDING?:  Americans skimped on furniture and sporting goods in October to offset higher energy costs.  As a result, Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. is  anticipating “one of the weakest’’ holiday shopping periods in years. Meanwhile, a less-than-forecast 0.1 percent increase in wholesale prices reinforced traders’ expectations that the Federal Reserve will be forced to reduce interest rates […]

BLACK MONDAY - Last week marked the 20th anniversary of Black Monday on Wall Street.  From a total US stock market capitalization of $2.3 trillion following the losses of 10/19/87 the total value of US stocks has rebounded to $18.7 trillion today, an annual growth rate of +11% over the past 2 decades.

HERE COME THE BABY […]

There will be a Free Seminar - Financial Planning for Everyone on Tuesday October 23, 2007 from 6:30 PM till 8:00 PM.  The seminar will present the basics of making a financiial plan and provide the participates with all the tools they need to design their own financial plan.  The seminar is being presented by […]