CBS News correspondent Trish Regan now reports on how to get out of debt once you’re in the trap. Dabney Oliver is 31 years old, single and carrying $13,000 in credit card debt. “I look at my budget and it’s really tight, you know. It’s…
By Kathy Chu, USA TODAY Dave Yeske, a financial planner in San Francisco, recommends a balancing act for Kevin and Amy Smith: build up an emergency fund and chip away at debt. Then save simultaneously for retirement and for their six kids’ college education. But…
Morningstar Influence Grows; Some Concerns Remain By Arden Dale Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES NEW YORK — Morningstar Inc. (MORN) casts a long shadow over the mutual-fund industry. Founded in 1984, the Chicago investment-research firm went public in May and has been growing by leaps and…
By ARDEN DALE Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL Exchange-traded funds have exploded in popularity, but for many investors these investments remain something of a mystery. Like traditional funds, ETFs hold baskets of securities and other investments. Rather than get priced once-a-day like a…
By ELIZABETH HARRIS (NYT) 1098 words BOND index funds have been catching on, and for good reasons. Like stock index funds, they have cheaper fees, more transparent holdings and higher average annual returns, over time, than the vast majority of actively managed funds in their…
By Stacy Perman What can the superstar do to repair his balance sheet? Ax some luxuries, focus on asset protection, and cash in on his talent, experts say What kind of financial advice can help a 46-year-old with questionable career prospects and huge debts on…
By BARBARA KIVIAT While folks financing a house or carrying loads of credit-card debt are mourning the end of the lowest interest rates in 46 years, savers who have been stressing over paltry yields on cash investments are partying in response to the Fed’s quarter-point…
Ulysses Torassa, Chronicle Staff Writer Making extra payments against your mortgage is a time-tested way to pay off your house early and can save an enormous amount of interest over the life of a typical home loan. With 80 to 90 percent of initial mortgage…
By ELIZABETH HARRIS SMARTMONEY Got $50? Then do yourself a favor, mutual-fund investors. Sign up for an automatic investment plan. These plans force you to save money before you spend it. And they create another good habit, because they use a tried-and-true investing strategy known…
Kathleen Pender The California Public Employees Retirement System yanked $1.2 billion in assets from Putnam Investments this week, but it is letting AllianceBernstein — another firm implicated in the mutual fund scandal — continue to manage $1.2 billion in pension money for state workers and…