Monday, March 15, 2010

“Personal Finance Daily - Marketwatch” plus 3 more

“Personal Finance Daily - Marketwatch” plus 3 more

Personal Finance Daily - Marketwatch

Posted: 15 Mar 2010 12:52 PM PDT

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By MarketWatch

Don't miss these top stories:

Starting in April, new rules will govern how lenders handle short sales -- the process where lenders let homeowners sell their properties for less than is owed on the mortgage loan. Short sales not only help homeowners avoid foreclosure, but also mean great deals for home buyers.

The new rules are aimed at speeding up the process, which right now is painfully slow, with homeowners and buyers waiting through months of uncertainty, unclear where they stand as lenders decide whether to approve the short sale and how low they're willing to go on price.

While the new rules might clarify the steps of the process, it's hard to believe short sales will happen much faster, at least in the current lending environment. These days, even on regular home-purchase deals -- with sellers up to date on their mortgage payments; buyers with stellar credit ratings and large down payments; and the asking price in line with the appraiser's assessment -- it can still take months for deals to go through.

As Amy Hoak notes in her story about the new rules, the degree to which homeowners and buyers will see improvement in the short-sale process will depend at least partly on lenders' employees, those people who are on the front lines of this effort, and by all accounts those people already are swimming in a sea of paperwork. Faster short sales? Seems unlikely.

-- Andrea Coombes, Personal Finance editor

REAL ESTATE

Government, lenders try ways to make short sales simpler and quicker

Short sales are a valuable tool for struggling homeowners, but they've been notoriously difficult to complete, with buyers and sellers often playing a long waiting game before hearing back from lenders. Now, however, a new government program plus some lender initiatives may make for shorter wait times and a smoother process.
See story on speeding up the short-sale process for homeowners and buyers.

Foreclosures sour home-builder's outlook

U.S. home builders grew more discouraged in early March by competition from cheap foreclosures, according to a monthly sentiment survey released Monday by the National Association of Home Builders.
See Economic Report.

Nabbing a bargain-basement mortgage before rates rise

Is it time to rush out and buy a house before mortgage rates go up? As the Federal Reserve winds down its intervention in the mortgage market, rates on home loans are generally expected to rise at least modestly during the rest of this year from today's unusually low levels. Some analysts believe mortgage rates will jump to around 6% by year end from 5% in recent weeks, while others see only a slight increase.
See Mortgages.

Home-credit derby has its price

Federal tax credits for home buyers are some of the best deals around -- but you will have to jump through some hoops to get one before the deadline.
See story on home-buyer tax credit.

ECONOMY & POLITICS

Dodd to propose limits on banks' risk

Banks and other large financial institutions would face tough new restrictions on how they lend, borrow, invest and trade under a comprehensive financial reform bill to be proposed Monday by Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn.
See story on Dodd to propose limits on banks' risks.

Fed looking at long, slow recovery

Day traders immerse themselves in the daily flow of economic data, which can take them from euphoria to depression and back again before they've had their second cup of coffee.
See the Fed looking at long, slow recovery.

RETIREMENT

Commentary: Americans are woefully unprepared for retirement

There's some news from the front lines of retirement in America, and it's not good. The latest annual survey by the Employee Benefit Research Institute, which represents businesses, pension funds, unions, and others, shows that despite a giant stock market rally since last March, American workers' confidence that they will have a secure retirement remains near 2009's rock-bottom levels.
See Howard Gold's column on Americans unprepared for retirement.

Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

Free personal finance workshops - Riverside Press Enterprise

Posted: 15 Mar 2010 10:57 AM PDT

Two free evening workshops to help people improve their financial planning will be offered this month in Riverside by Altura Credit Union. A workshop is scheduled Wednesday, March 17, at the Altura branch at 6403 Riverside Avenue and Wednesday, March 24, at the Altura branch at 10725 Magnolia Ave. Both sessions will be held from 6 pm to 7:30 pm. Space is limited so reservations are requested. Registration is available on Altura's Web site, www.AlturaCU.com under the "education/workshops" tabs. Or call Andrea Nanni at 951-571-5369 or e-mail her at ananni@alturacu.com.

Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

Fox Business Network hires Willis away from CNN; former ... - Washington Examiner

Posted: 15 Mar 2010 12:45 PM PDT

NEW YORK — Fox Business Network said Monday that it has hired Gerri Willis away from CNN.

Willis, formerly CNN's personal finance editor, will serve as host of weekend program "The Willis Report" and provide analysis across Fox Business programming on how the news of the day affects American taxpayers.

She makes her network debut Monday. "The Willis Report," focusing on consumer and personal finance issues, will begin in the second quarter of this year.

While at Time Warner Inc.'s CNN, Willis hosted the weekly half-hour "Your Bottom Line" program. Prior to CNN, she was the senior financial correspondent for SmartMoney magazine.

Willis graduated from Columbia Business School and is author of two books, "The SmartMoney Guide to Real Estate Investing" and "Home Rich."

Fox Business Network is owned by News Corp., which said recently it was buying the 50 percent of SmartMoney it didn't own from Hearst Corp.

Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

Advisor Software Launches goalgami Personal Finance ... - Big Hollywood

Posted: 15 Mar 2010 07:22 AM PDT

LAFAYETTE, Calif., March 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Advisor Software, Inc., a leading provider of advice solutions for the advisor market, today announced the launch of goalgami(SM), an online personal finance tool that helps people take control of their finances in a new way.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100315/NY69865LOGO )

"goalgami is the first, goal-oriented personal finance tool designed to empower individuals," said Advisor Software's CEO Andrew Rudd. "By giving people a full view of their household Balance Sheet, goalgami helps them set measurable financial goals and understand how to make trade-offs in order to form a sustainable financial plan."

Available now at www.goalgami.com, goalgami is a free, interactive Web-based software solution that enables individuals and families to quickly assess their financial health. Investors can prioritize their goals along a timeline and use goalgami to stay on track to meet them. goalgami is unique because it uses a household Balance Sheet approach to helping people manage their finances, empowering them to make smarter decisions and better prioritize their spending and savings. The household Balance Sheet gathers an individual's income, assets, debts and goals and leverages a sophisticated analytic engine for present value analysis.

Powered by Advisor Software's patented ASI Wealth Manager® solution for financial advisors, goalgami offers individual investors the ability to:

  • Easily identify and organize their financial resources and goals;
  • Quickly generate a personal household Balance Sheet;
  • Measure their financial resources vs. their goals over a life span;
  • Calculate to what extent their resources can fund their goals;
  • Explore how different life scenarios will affect their Balance Sheet;
  • Create their own financial plan and send it directly to their financial advisor;
  • Get instant feedback that informs their financial decisions and priorities.

goalgami goes beyond other programs to answer a fundamental question for investors: Can you really achieve your lifelong goals? And if not, what steps can you take right now to get yourself back on track? The key goalgami features that help users do this include:

  • Progress Report. Users receive instant feedback on whether or not they can afford their life's goals and expenses.

  • Affordability Meter. Gives an indication of whether an investor can achieve the expenses and goals, including retirement, that they enter as part of their financial plan.

  • The Balance Sheet. Provides a simple, customizable snap-shot of an investor's Resources (income and assets) versus their Claims (debts, bills and expenses).

"Advisor Software is committed to developing innovative solutions that help investors achieve concrete financial goals," Mr. Rudd continued. "With goalgami, we're bringing our new goal-based advice approach to individuals at an important time, as many households reassess their financial needs and resources."

For more information, or to speak with Andrew Rudd, please contact Kate Rambo at 973.732.3521 or kate@jcprinc.com.

About Advisor Software, Inc.

Advisor Software, Inc. is a leading provider of advice solutions for the advisor market. The company has pioneered the first enterprise rebalancing solution and a unique goal-directed financial planning platform that combines institutional-caliber analytics and a balance sheet approach to financial planning. Advisor Software's solutions are designed for a wide range of asset management firms, broker-dealers, banks, insurance companies, online brokerages, and other financial institutions, enabling these institutions and their advisors to deliver more insightful, actionable investment advice and build stronger, more profitable client relationships.  For more information, visit www.advisorsoftware.com or call 925.299.7782.

SOURCE Advisor Software, Inc.

Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.
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