Personal Finance Daily
AUGUST 26, 2011
Hurricane survival tips for city folk
By MarketWatch
Don't miss these top stories:
Hurricane
Irene "is an extremely dangerous storm for an area that has no
experience with hurricanes," meteorologist Jeff Masters, co-founder of
Weather Underground, tells Jennifer Waters in her column today on 10
hurricane survival tips for New York and Washington, D.C. These tips may
seem obvious to many people, but preparing for a natural disaster when
you live in a heavily populated area or rely entirely on mass transit is
serious business. And Friday morning, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said
the mass-transit system across the New York City area will shut down at
noon on Saturday. The shutdown will cover all of the transit services
operated by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, including
subways, buses and the nation's two largest commuter railroads. If you
live in the mid-Atlantic region, get ready now if you haven't started.Also
in today's Personal Finance lineup, Dawn Lim writes about how identity
thieves are targeting children's Social Security numbers and how they
get away with it for years.Finally,
MarketWatch would like to extend a special invitation to our readers who
are in Chicago and New York next month to attend one of our live panel
discussions on ETFs and Retirement."Finding
the Right Exchange-Traded Funds" is the topic of a MarketWatch panel
discussion set for 9 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 21 in Chicago, hosted by
columnist Chuck Jaffe. Join us for this breakfast event featuring the
expertise and analysis of Michael Falk of Michael S. Falk Asset
Consulting in Chicago; David Trainer, president of New Constructs Inc.
in Nashville; and Scott Burns, director of ETF, Closed-End and
Alternative Fund Research for Morningstar. They'll discuss how to
evaluate your investment strategies and navigate the increasingly
complex world of ETF products. If you'd like to join us for this free
event, email your RSVP to wsjdnevent@dowjones.com by Monday, Sept. 19."How
to Deal with Retirement's Biggest Risks" is the topic of a MarketWatch
panel discussion set for 8 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 13 in New York, hosted by
Robert Powell. Join us for this breakfast event featuring Dr. Kathryn
McCabe Votava, president, GOODCARE.com;
Joseph Coughlin, director, AgeLab; and Rick Miller, CFP, founder of
Sensible Financial Planning. They'll discuss how to protect and grow
your retirement savings, how to cope with long-term health-care costs,
how to live the retirement lifestyle you seek and provide a road map
that can help you manage those risks. If you'd like to join us for this
free event, email your RSVP to MarketWatchevent@wsj.com by Friday, Sept.
9.— Anne Stanley , Managing Editor, Personal Finance
10 hurricane survival tips for New York, D.C.
As
Hurricane Irene barrels toward New York and other large metropolitan
areas such as Washington, D.C., Boston and Philadelphia, residents who
have never faced this kind of natural disaster need to be prepared for
the dangerous high winds and possible flooding that such a storm — even
if not at hurricane strength — can bring.
Read more: 10 hurricane survival tips for New York, D,C.
Children's Social Security numbers easy hit
Children are more vulnerable to having their identities stolen but less likely to be detected as victims.
Read more: Children's Social Security numbers easy hit.
The 4 worst contracts in sports
In
a week when a soccer player moved to Russia to get paid $30 million a
year, here's a look at some of the most outlandish labor deals in U.S.
sports.
Read more: The 4 worst contracts in sports.
TAXES
Tax deadline looms for people with money overseas
If
you have a bank account or other assets stashed overseas that you've
failed to report to the IRS, you're almost out of time to take part in
an amnesty program to avoid steep tax penalties. But tax attorneys say
that plenty of taxpayers are unaware they're on the wrong side of the
law.
Read more: Tax deadline looms for people with money overseas.
REAL ESTATE
Condo owner on the brink of foreclosure
A
homeowners association's function is, in part, to protect the value of
the entire property for its members. So it absolutely, positively had
the right to go after a developer accused of construction defects, Lew
Sichelman writes.
Read more: Condo owner on the brink of foreclosure.
Charting home-price slump and new-house inventory
The
week's economic indicators show, by state, how much home prices have
fallen, and the smallest inventory of new builds on record. European
business sentiment dips.
Read more: Charting home-price slump and new house inventory.
INVESTING
Debt will haunt the market for years to come
Subpar
economic growth makes it harder for governments to solve their debt
problems. So, the dark debt cloud may hang over the U.S., Japan and many
European countries for years.
Read more: Debt will haunt the market for years to come.
Why charity should use an investing model
As
the famine crisis looms in the Horn of Africa, natural disasters strike
around the planet, and more people are pushed into harm's way, it's
time to rethink the way we conduct charitable giving, says Thomas
Kostigen.
Read more: Why charity should use an investing model.
ECONOMY & POLITICS
Bernanke: Fed will decide next month on new policy
Federal
Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Friday put off a lengthy discussion of
the easing options available to the central bank until the next Federal
Open Market Committee meeting late next month.
Read more: Fed will decide next month on new policy.
U.S. growth revised lower to 1% for second quarter
The
U.S. economy grows slower in the second quarter than initially
reported, mainly because of lower exports and less inventory restocking.
Read more: U.S, growth revised lower to 1% for second quarter.
America's unemployed can't wait, Bernanke says
We
cannot afford to stand by idly while millions of Americans remain
unemployed or underemployed for years and years, because it's hurting
our growth potential, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke says.
Read more: America's unemployed can't wait.
August consumer sentiment revised slightly higher
A reading of consumer sentiment for August was revised slightly higher but still shows a lack of faith in the U.S. economy.
Read more: August consumer sentiment revised slightly higher.
