CORDASCO Financial Network

Insights & Recordings

The breadth of your financial knowledge is just as important as the size of your portfolio. But with the surplus of information written in incomprehensible industry jargon, the financial world can be hard to navigate and even harder to understand.

To help you stay up-to-date, well-versed and ultimately identify opportunities that work for you needs, our market and economic strategists translate market trends and economic news into easily-digestible summaries, reports and podcasts.

Steve broadcasts live from the stairs of the Art Museum for Earth Day

Pictured: RJ McKay, Steve Cordasco, Tom MacDonald

History says sell stocks in May. Should you?

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May kicks off the worst seasonal period for stocks. The May-through-October span is a bearish one, indeed. Bears say history doesn't lie and investors should get defensive. Bulls say stay the course.

There's no shortage of statistical evidence that shows that selling stocks in May and staying out of the market for the ensuing six months is a winning investment strategy.

Google Predicts Stock-Market Crashes, Study Suggests - Yahoo! News

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On Tuesday (April 23), a tweet from a hacked Associated Press account claiming there had been explosions at the White House sent the Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeting 145 points almost instantaneously. The incident was an example of how quickly the Internet can send shock waves through the financial world, given how many trades are completed by computers rather than humans.

But new research finds the financial world doesn't just respond to the Internet; the Internet can also predict what the stock market will do. The research isn't the first to find such online clairvoyance. For example, Google may even be able to predict medication side effects before doctors can, thanks to people's tendencies to self-diagnose using the search engine. Google searches can also forecast the spread of the flu.

Apple Bonds: 'Market Is Going to Be All Over It'

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Apple's groundbreaking move to issue debt could be just the thing the battered company needs to rehabilitate its image with investors.

The tech giant Tuesday booked a $17 billion deal that will come in six parts, with pricing of the floating- and fixed-rate debt combination near top-quality investment grade.

What would an online sales tax mean for you? - Fox News

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Congress is considering legislation that would give states the ability to require out-of-state retailers to collect sales taxes.

If the measure passes, consumers would lose a loophole that has resulted in years of tax-free online shopping. Out-of-state merchants would have to collect statewide sales taxes on Internet, mail-order and other purchases -- as well as any county and local sales taxes. Why is this necessary? And what will this mean for your online purchases?

IRS Kept Shifting Targets in Tax-Exempt Groups Scrutiny: Report - Yahoo! Finance

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When tax agents started singling out non-profit groups for extra scrutiny in 2010, they looked at first only for key words such as 'Tea Party,' but later they focused on criticisms by groups of "how the country is being run," according to investigative findings reviewed by Reuters on Sunday.

Over two years, IRS field office agents repeatedly changed their criteria while sifting through thousands of applications from groups seeking tax-exempt status to select ones for possible closer examination, the findings showed.

10 Ways to Afford Life After College (Without Moving Back Home) - MainStreet

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My college daughter lives a very nice life indeed, afforded by the monthly spending money I put in her account plus the money she earns from a part time job. And, we agreed that neither of us would take on college debt, so while she earns academic money and a big athletic scholarship every year, I work hard to pay whatever is left over. But I also still pay for the iPhone plan and she spends all her extra money every month on eating out and designer clothes and accessories which has me worried about how she will afford things on her own once she graduates. She says other college kids around her live even better with nice new cars and seemingly unlimited funds for shopping, travel and activities.

Lehman Reaches Beyond Grave Seeking Millions From Nonprofits - Bloomberg

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Almost five years after Lehman Brothers Holding Inc (LEHMQ). filed for bankruptcy and set off the global financial crisis, managers of the bank’s estate are demanding millions of dollars from retirement homes, colleges and hospitals.

After selling most of its assets, Lehman now says it was shortchanged by scores of nonprofits that were forced to pay to exit derivatives that were unwound after the firm filed for Chapter 11 protection.

Americans’ Perspectives on New Retirement Realities and the Longevity Bonus - Merrill Lynch Retirement Study

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The 2013 Merrill Lynch Retirement Study reveals new insights into people’s approaches to and thoughts about retirement, including:

Reinvention: Today’s retirees aren’t retiring — they’re moving on to explore new options, pursue old dreams and live life to the fullest. They’re seeing the longevity bonus as a chance to devote energy to pursuits they may not have had the time or freedom to chase during the “career” portion of their lives, to stay stimulated, and to strengthen and expand their social network.
Connectivity: The “Me Generation” is becoming the “Us Generation.” Today’s retirees are finding comfort, meaning and safety in connections — family, friends, communities and trusted guides.
Traditional Values: Today’s retirees are defining happiness not in terms of dollars but in terms of new experiences, peace of mind, helping family and making a difference.

Fertile Investments in Health Care - TheStreet

A few weeks ago, I had journalist Jonathan Last on my radio show. Last's most recent book, "What to Expect When No One is Expecting," details what we might expect from America's population implosion.

That's right, implosion.

The alarmist 1968 Book, "The Population Bomb," written by Stanford University Professor Paul Erlich, which predicted mass starvation and other privations, has largely been refuted as fertility rates over the last 40 years have fallen below the so-called replacement rate.

No-buy month saves family $450-plus- MSN Money

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This February we invited readers to take the Frugal Month Challenge and commit to what some have called a "no-buy month." My family of three embarked on this cheap challenge and now I'm back to share the results.

But first a quick refresher on the rule: Buy nothing extra -- only the bare necessities. For my family, that meant we paid rent and other monthly bills and bought groceries, dog food and gas, but that's pretty much all the spending we did. Doesn't sound like much fun, does it?

Counterparties: Retiring the 401(k) - Felix Salmon - Reuters

salmon-felix The first generation of 401(k) holders is retiring. Duncan Black, in USA Today, reports just how bad things are looking:

According to the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, the median household retirement account balance in 2010 for workers between the ages of 55-64 was just $120,000. For people expecting to retire at around age 65, and to live for another 15 years or more, this will provide for only a trivial supplement to Social Security benefits… And that’s for people who actually have a retirement account of some kind. A third of households do not.

Buffett Questions Performance as S&P 500 Beats Berkshire - TheStreet

For the first time, Warren Buffett appears concerned he will underperform the S&P 500 when it comes to his favorite way to peg the performance of his investing conglomerate, Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A).

In Berkshire Hathaway's annual letter to shareholders, Buffett outlined why he is worried a rising stock market will put the firm's performance below that of the S&P 500 over a five-year stretch.

Are You Better Off Now Than at the Last Dow High? - Bloomberg

With the Dow Jones Industrial Average having breached its October 2007 pre-crisis record, a bit of perspective is in order by way of a then-versus-now comparison. Here are a few data points:

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