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Media
Matters
Elissa was recently selected for inclusion in Northern
Virginia Magazine's 2009 list of "Expert Financial
Advisors."
The magazine's list of independent financial
advisors was culled from Wealth Magazine's "Top Dog"
list and information provided by the Financial
Planning Association's National Capitol Chapter. Elissa
and Yeske Buie were among 15 of the listed firms to have
appeared in the "Top Dog" list.
See
the full list.
Financial Tools on the
Web
Credit scores are under pressure these days, and yet
they've never been more important as lenders continue to
tighten standards. A new website, CreditKarma.com, not
only offers the ability to get your score for free, but
will point out the factors that went into the score and
suggest ways for improving it. Even those who have taken
advantage of our discounted offering of LifeLock (see below)
still have to pay extra for their credit scores, so this looks
like a useful and cost-effective way to manage that all
important number.
And speaking of lenders, many people are finding themselves
in that role with cash-strapped family members who have
found it harder to borrow during the recession. One
good way to manage those loans (and preserve good feelings
within the family!) is to set up loans using Virgin Money.
Not only will Virgin Money manage the collection and tracking
of all loan payments, but you can even choose to have payments
reported to the major credit bureaus, creating the opportunity
to heal damaged credit histories.
Identity Theft and
LifeLock
Just
a reminder that we’ve posted an article on our website
("Guarding
Against Identity Theft") on how to protect
yourself from identity theft and have also negotiated a
discount for you, your family members and your friends to
enroll in the LifeLock® service. We've posted a complete
description of the LifeLock system on our website (About
LifeLock®).
Although
the many clients who have already taken advantage of this
offer reported that signing up was easy, you should feel free
to contact Marcia by phone (1-800-772-1887) or email (marcia@yebu.com) if you have
any problems.
Use
Promotion Code: YESKEBUIEEMP when you enroll online, to
obtain your discount.
How
to Get Help
And don't forget that our updated client page (http://www.yebu.com/portal.htm)
offers a full list of who does what and who you should contact
for help with various issues. Contact numbers and email
links are available from that page as well.
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More Green
Shoots
Citing signals from
a new USA TODAY/IHS Global Insight economic outlook index,
IHS's Nariman Behravesh said "we're two to three months away
from an upturn." David Wyss, chief economist for
Standard and Poor's agrees: "We see a bottom in the fall, but
there's a lot of risk attached to that."
The new index is based on 11
forward-looking economic and financial indicators that predict
future GDP growth.
http://usat.me/?35319490
And in the Federal Reserve report
released Wednesday, known as the Beige Book, there were signs
that the economy's downward slide is easing, suggesting that
the worst of the recession is over.
http://usat.me/?35315644
A study conducted by JennisonDryden and released through
Prudential Investment Management, meanwhile, suggests
that whenever we have a period in which 10-year rolling
returns of the S&P 500 are 5% or less (the last 10 years
qualify), the following decade produces higher than
average returns. Since 1929, such periods have produced
returns that averaged 15% a year.
Muted
Returns and Good News
In another study, the same research firm notes that small
company stocks have outperformed large company stocks
following the last nine recessions. Reasons cited
for this behavior include a greater sensitivity to changes in
business conditions resulting in more rapid growth during the
early stages of an economic expansion.
Small
Caps Lead the Way
The World to
Come
David Brooks, writing in today's New York Times ("The Great
Unwinding"), observes the explosive growth in public and
private debt, pointing out that the ratio of debt to
disposable income grew from 55% to 133% between 1960 and
2007. And while Americans aren't borrowing as before,
the accumulated debt lingers on. Reuven Glick and Kevin
Lansing of the San Francisco Fed point out that Americans
would have to raise household savings rates from 4% to 10% by
2018 in order to restore the balance.
The implications for public policy are clear, but whether
or not our elected officials can make the hard calls, asking
Americans to sacrifice a lifestyle that depended on easy
credit and little concern for saving, is far from certain.
Read
the full essay.
Quote of the
Week
The members of the Obama
administration fully understand this and are brimming with
good ideas about how to move from a bubble economy to an
investment economy. Finding a political strategy to accomplish
this, however, is proving to be very difficult. And getting
Congress to move in this direction might be
impossible.
David Brooks, The Great Unwinding |