World Business News Dollar’s Ride Is About To End

World Business News Dollar’s Ride Is About To End, the nation of Japan has become a global leader in debt, currency devaluation and inflation.  Unfortunately for the Japanese, Abenomics is also leading Japan into a hyper inflationary depression, as the first of his three arrows has shot right through the yen and put a gaping hole in the wallets of every Japanese citizen. 

The Bank of Japan (BOJ) has placed all its chips on the bet that inflation will cure all the nation’s economic problems. Making deflation public enemy number one is rather convenient when your country's public debt to GDP is the highest in the world. In order to end deflation, the central bank has purchased 70% of all newly-issued Japanese Government Bonds. All this money printing is intended to get prices rising, and it has been very successful. Japan's consumer prices rose 3.1 percent in August from a year earlier.  Prices for fuel, light and water rose 6.4 percent on the year.  But as real wages continue to fall, the bull’s eye appears to be directed on destroying the Japanese middle class.

In the nonsensical world of Abenomics--where inflation is viewed to be the progenitor of growth--the 3.1% CPI reading is deemed to be insufficient. This is because the core rate of 1.1 percent was far shy of the 2% read they are aiming for. So, as expected, there are calls coming from the lobotomized economic experts in Japan for yet more money printing from the BOJ.   

Japan’s “experiment” with Abenomics would be much more interesting if we didn’t already know how it all ends.  This so called experiment of massive debt monetization has already been tried in countries such as Weimar Germany and, more recently, in Zimbabwe; with disastrous results.  The misguided policy of using inflation to create growth is predictably causing asset bubbles in JGBs and stocks. The BOJ is tirelessly printing money to monetize nearly all of the Japanese government’s enormous debt load and also to buy stocks. This has ballooned its equity portfolio alone to be an estimated 7 trillion yen ($63.6 billion).  However, all this has done nothing to boost real GDP, balance trade or boost real wages.  In fact, Industrial production shrank 1.5 percent month-on-month in August and spending among Japanese households fell a steeper-than-expected 4.7 percent. 

Upbeat Earnings News on Markets in the Green

U.S. stocks advanced on Friday, as earnings from Microsoft (MSFT) and Procter & Gamble (PG) and easing concerns over the possible spread of Ebola in the United States helped put the S&P on track to snap a four-week losing skid.

Microsoft was up 2 percent at $45.91, after it reported higher-than-expected quarterly revenue while keeping its profit margins largely intact.

Fellow Dow component Procter & Gamble gained 2.7 percent to $85.51 and was also one of the biggest boosts to the S&P 500, after the world's largest household products maker posted quarterly results and said it would split its Duracell battery business into a separate company.

But Amazon (AMZN) plunged 7.5 percent to $289.69 as the biggest drag on both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 after the online retailer's sales projections for the crucial holiday quarter disappointed Wall Street and third-quarter results missed forecasts.

According to Thomson Reuters data through Friday morning, of 205 companies in the S&P 500 that have reported earnings, 69.8 percent have topped analyst's expectations, above the 63 percent rate since 1994 and the 67 percent rate for the past four quarters. On the revenue side, 59.8 percent have beaten expectations, slightly below the 61 percent rate since 2002 but above the 58 percent rate for the past four quarters.

The S&P 500 is up 3.9 percent for the week, putting the index on track for its best week since the start of 2013, boosted largely by solid corporate earnings reports. The benchmark index is down 2.5 percent from its record high set on Sept. 18 after slumping more than 7 percent as volatility has spiked.

Investors continued to monitor developments on the Ebola virus. A doctor who worked in West Africa with Ebola patients was in an isolation unit in New York City after testing positive for the virus, while the World Health Organization set out plans for speeding up development and deployment of experimental Ebola vaccines.

"The management of the Ebola virus has given the market some confidence that they can move forward and focus on what pricing is really predicated upon - earnings and data - and in both cases they have been very constructive," said Peter Kenny, chief market strategist at Clearpool Group in New York.

At 12:18 p.m. Eastern time the Dow Jones industrial average rose 107.6 points, or 0.65 percent, to 16,785.5, the S&P 500 gained 11.73 points, or 0.6 percent, to 1,962.55 and the Nasdaq Composite added 21.88 points, or 0.49 percent, to 4,474.67.

Sales of new U.S. single-family homes rose to a six-year high in September, up 0.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 467,000 units.

The largest percentage gainer on the S&P 500 was Edwards Lifesciences (EW), which rose 12.0 percent, while the largest decliner was Amazon.

On the Nasdaq 100 the largest gainer was KLA-Tencor (KLAC), which rose 7.3 percent, while the largest decliner was Amazon.

Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by 1,782 to 1,164, for a 1.53-to-1 ratio on the upside; on the Nasdaq, 1,353 issues rose and 1,195 fell for a 1.13-to-1 ratio favoring advancers.

The benchmark S&P 500 index was posting 32 new 52-week highs and 2 new lows; the Nasdaq Composite was recording 40 new highs and 30 new lows. 

(Editing by James Dalgleish, Bernadette Baum and Chris Reese)

http://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/2014/10/24/markets-in-green-on-upbeat-earnings-news/

Why some companies won't mail you privacy policies

You know those privacy statements that come in the mail from financial institutions? The ones that you should read but probably never do? Well, some banks and other financial institutions are liklely to stop sending them to you through the mail soon. Instead, they will make them available online under revised regulations just adopted by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Until now, financial institutions have been required to provide written copies of privacy notices in separate mailings, on an annual basis. Now, under the new regulations, institutions will be allowed to notify you that a privacy statement is available through other ways, including a notification that could be on your billing statement or in a coupon book.

Under the new rules, institutions can shift to online privacy notices only if the policy hasn’t changed and under certain conditions. The main one is that the institution must not share customers’ nonpublic personal information with unaffiliated third parties. Institutions that do such sharing, initiating a federally mandated opt-out provision, must continue providing printed privacy policies annually. Also, any privacy policy provided online instead of through the mail must use a model disclosure form designed by federal regulators. Finally, the privacy policy must remain posted on the financial institution’s website and be available without requiring customers to log in.

Institutions that do not meet the requirements must continue providing printed copies annually. For customers without Internet access, institutions would be required to mail the annual printed copy within 10 days of receiving a request by phone. Institutions will still be required to notify customers of any changes to their privacy policies as they have before.

The CFPB estimates that the change could save the industry $17 million annually. It hopes those savings will encourage institutions to limit their customer data sharing and adopt the model disclosure, which is designed to make the policies easily understandable.

“Posting privacy notices online will make it easier for consumers to access these important policies, while also making it cheaper for financial institutions to provide disclosures,” the CFPB's director, Richard Cordray, said in a statement.

What to do

Don’t assume your bank or any other financial institution will continue sending a written copy of its privacy policy. Check your billing statement and other communications for notices about how to access the policy online. It’s always a good idea to peruse privacy policies to find how exactly what the institution is doing with your information, although the fact that the policy has been moved online should mean that your data is not being shared with unaffiliated third parties. That’s probably a good thing.

—Anthony Giorgianni

Copyright © 2005-2014 Consumers Union of U.S., Inc. No reproduction, in whole or in part, without written permission. Consumer Reports has no relationship with any advertisers on this site.

Insurance Mistakes : Five Costly Home owners

Your home is where your heart is, but it can also cost you unnecessarily if you are making bad moves when it comes to your homeowner’s insurance.

While not having enough coverage is a costly mistake, particularly if your house burned to the ground, there are things you may be doing that make your premiums higher than your neighbor down the block.

With that in mind, here’s a look at five mistakes insurance experts say will cost you more each month.

Accepting the status quo:

We shop around when buying an appliance, purchasing a car or even spending for a new dress but when it comes to homeowner’s insurance people often stick with the coverage they have each year. “One of the things people don’t do is true comparison shopping,” says Keith Moore, Chief Executive of CoverHound, the insurance Website. “If you never shop the rate I guarantee you are paying more than you should.” According to Moore homeowners should shop their policy on an annual basis.

Making upgrades and forgetting about it:

Upgrading your kitchen, installing high-end fixtures and otherwise improving your house will undoubtedly make you happy but it can cost you if you forget to upgrade your insurance along with it. “Often major upgrades like gourmet kitchens or glamour baths not only improve the aesthetics and livability of your home, but they increase the value,” says Richard Hutchinson, general manager of Progressive Home Advantage. “Consequently, the cost to replace these items also increases if you’re faced with a total loss.”  What’s more, Progressive says features such as pools, hot tubs or trampolines could leave you more vulnerable to lawsuits, thus increasing the amount you pay each month to protect your home.

Having a low credit score:

You may not think a low credit score matters when it comes to homeowner’s insurance, but it does and in some cases it matters a lot. According to Moore, in every state except California your credit score can drive up the price of your homeowner’s insurance. “There’s a direct correlation between someone with a low credit score and the frequency of claims,” says Moore. “Someone with a credit score of 500 not only lets bills slip but also the general maintenance of the home, which leads to claims.”

Setting too low of a deductible:

Nobody wants to be hit with a high deductible when something goes wrong, but setting the amount you have to meet before the insurance kicks in at too low of an amount could end up costing you more. According to Laura Adams, senior analyst for insuranceQuotes.com, if you set your deductible too low it almost encourages you to make more claims than if you had a high deductible to meet. “One claim on your policy can cause your rate to rise on average 9%,” says Adams. “In some states we’ve seen a 32% rate in increase just from making one homeowner’s claim.” If you set the deductible high it forces you to avoid making any frivolous claims and seeing your premiums go up long after the repair is made.

Letting discounts expire:

One of the good things about homeowner’s insurance is that the carriers give you a lot of discounts. For instance you can get a discount for having your auto insurance with the same carrier, for not smoking or for being a retiree. Even living in a gated community will get you a break on your insurance. While most people are trained to ask about all the discounts upfront, they fail to follow through once their discount expires to get a new ones. According to Moore some discounts can last as long as five years, like the new homeowner discount, while others are only in effect for two years. Staying on top of when the discounts expire and getting new ones can go a long way in saving you money each month.  “You should ask when they expire and rates go up and shop around again,” he says.

Jaguar Land Rover Expands Overseas

After opening a new manufacturing plant in China, Jaguar Land Rover may be looking to do the same in the U.S. amid a promising sales outlook.

The China factory, Jaguar Land Rover’s first outside of the U.K., marked the next step in its transformation. India-based Tata Motors (TTM), its parent company, has focused much of its attention on expanding Jaguar Land Rover since acquiring the British brands from Ford Motor Co. (F) in 2009.

Tata Motors plans to invest up to £3.7 billion, approximately $5.9 billion, in its U.K. subsidiary’s facilities and products during the current fiscal year, which ends March 2015.

The new plant in China is jointly owned with Tata’s regional partner, Chery Automobile. Annual production there can reach as high as 130,000 vehicles. Jaguar Land Rover is starting with the Range Rover Evoque compact sport-utility vehicle, and two more models will be added to assembly lines in China by 2016.

Construction on a second overseas factory in Brazil is scheduled to begin at the end of this year.

Jaguar Land Rover also could be close to bringing its international expansion to the U.S. According to London’s Sunday Times, the company is talking with several states in the South about a potential factory that would produce 200,000 vehicles a year.

Stuart Schorr, a spokesman for Jaguar Land Rover North America, called the Sunday Times article “highly speculative.”

In a statement, Jaguar Land Rover said it has “ambitions to expand its international manufacturing footprint,” although it hasn’t made any decision on future manufacturing locations.

“But we will continue to evaluate opportunities to increase our international manufacturing footprint, primarily in markets with significant growth potential and customer demand,” the company added.

Reaching More Customers

By manufacturing cars in other regions, Jaguar Land Rover avoids hefty import taxes and opens the door to more competitive price tags. That flexibility will come in handy as Jaguar Land Rover ramps up efforts to take on BMW, Daimler’s Mercedes-Benz and other premium brands in the U.S. and China.

Schorr noted that production in China frees up capacity in the U.K. as well, allowing the automaker to better serve other global markets.

“It makes sense to produce in China. The import tariffs are very high especially for large engines,” said Jessica Caldwell, a senior analyst at car-shopping site Edmunds.com.

Growth in China’s SUV segment bodes well for Land Rover, Caldwell added. “You’d think cars in Asia are small, but they’re not.”

Sales growth in China, Jaguar Land Rover’s fastest-growing market, is expected to slow down this year. The company expects a 20% increase in sales, roughly half of last year’s growth.

However, Jaguar Land Rover has seen China volume climb 39% through the first nine months of 2014. The rest of Asia Pacific is up 18%, and sales in North America have risen 7%. The group reported worldwide sales of 351,153 vehicles, up 12% versus the same period a year ago.

In the U.S., Land Rover growth has offset slower sales for Jaguar, whose brand new, sporty F-Type helped ignite significant gains in 2013.

Jaguar Land Rover sold a record 425,006 vehicles in 2013. Jaguar booked global sales of 76,668 vehicles, an increase of 42%. Land Rover, the larger of the two brands, saw growth of 15% at 348,338 vehicles.

Changing Perception

Both Jaguar and Land Rover have taken a big leap forward in recent years, thanks in large part to Tata’s infusion of cash and a renewed focus on product development.

Last month, Land Rover introduced a new SUV, the Discovery Sport, and Jaguar unveiled the XE compact sedan. Both new models will arrive in showrooms next year, although the XE won’t make it to North America until 2016.

“Jaguar is trying to catch up from years of not having a strong message and strong products. It seems like they’re redefining themselves,” Caldwell said. “There’s a perception in this country that Jaguars were not quality vehicles. It takes time to overcome that.”

Caldwell recalled how Volkswagen’s Audi was able to overcome quality issues to become a fast-growing premium brand. Jaguar only trailed Porsche in J.D. Power’s 2014 U.S. Initial Quality Study. Land Rover remained slightly below the industry average.

Still, Jaguar Land Rover is smaller than its German competitors. Its U.S. sales totaled 50,254 vehicles through September. Meanwhile, Mercedes and BMW are both over 230,000 units, and Audi has sold 130,983 vehicles so far this year, a 14% jump.

Vehicles like the XE may bring Jaguar into a similar price range compared to more attainable luxury cars, putting Jaguar in a better position to grab a bigger share of the market.

Caldwell said Jaguar Land Rover sits at the upper end of premium brands, and “it definitely seems like they have more money pumped into them” for new models and marketing efforts.

“The luxury space is probably the most competitive it’s been in a while. Mainstream brands are getting into luxury, and luxury brands themselves are introducing so many new products,” Caldwell explained.

http://www.foxbusiness.com/industries/2014/10/23/jaguar-land-rover-expands-overseas/

Paid Off $50K of Debt in Less Than 3 Years

Graduating from college debt-free feels really good. When Ja’Net Adams got her degree from South Carolina State in 2003, she was one of those fortunate students who started her adult life without debt, and things went along really well for her.

She got married. They bought a house. They bought a new car. They had their first child. Then, in 2008, she lost her job.

Adams and her husband sat down to assess their financial situation, and they had to face a harsh reality: They had just lost nearly 75% of their household income, and they were $50,000 in debt.

“I’m a warning sign to people of what can happen after graduation,” Adams said. She always considered herself a financially conscientious person, but their debt came down to some misunderstandings and a couple of bad decisions.

Rather than focusing on the past, Adams and her husband immediately changed their habits so they could work toward a financially stable future. This time, when they sat down to figure out their debt, they also made what Adams calls a “Dream Sheet,” a list of their short-, medium- and long-term goals, as motivation for sticking to tough changes they needed to make.

They tracked their spending for two weeks — everything, down to a pack of gum at a gas station — before reconvening and figuring out where to cut expenses.

It was easy to decide, even though it would be an extreme adjustment: No eating out. Get rid of cable. Reduce the minutes on the cellphone plan.

After about five months, she was working again, which was a serious improvement on their income of unemployment benefits and her husband’s starting salary as a teacher. They also started working side jobs: Both went to college on athletic scholarships (tennis for her, basketball for him), so they made money coaching kids.

It took only 2 1/2 years from the point Adams lost her job for them to pay off the student and auto loans.

What She Learned

Adams, now 33, attended college on a tennis scholarship, and she thought her husband (they’re high school sweethearts) was also free of student loan debt because of his basketball scholarship. It was only after they got married that she learned that he had $25,000 in federal student loan debt. They made the payments without issue, but looking back, Adams said they should have communicated and attacked the debt more aggressively.

Instead, they traded in one of their vehicles and got a new car for $25,000.

“We could have given that money to the student loan payment,” Adams said she realized later. “We could be further along financially if we hadn’t made those mistakes.”

The other mistake? Building a home with a no-money-down mortgage. They could have saved a lot of money by staying in their $800-a-month apartment (two bedrooms, two bathrooms, utilities and cable included), rather than taking on a home loan with private mortgage insurance (not to mention the student and auto loan debt they could have tackled with their savings).

Even though they never had trouble making their loan payments, Adams said they could have been smarter about their finances, and they could have more in savings by now. Still, she’s happy they turned things around when they did.

“I’m thankful for losing that job, because it set me on the path to where I am today,” Adams said. She now owns her own financial consulting business, and she speaks to college students all over the U.S. and Canada about money and debt. She just wrote a book — “Debt Sucks!” — geared toward young adults. She may be thankful she lost her job, but the experience was “hard and devastating,” she said. That’s why she wants to educate others.

Going Forward Without Debt

Adams considers her family debt-free, even though they still have mortgage payments. At the time of her pivotal unemployment, she had just gotten back from maternity leave, and she made a vow to herself that her next child wouldn’t be born into debt. She was able to reach that goal, as well as a few others.

They have revised their original Dream Sheet (which they laminated and keep on the refrigerator, as a reminder of what they’re trying to achieve through their sacrifices), and right now Adams and her husband are working to pay off their house in the next 10 years, as well as save so their children can go to college and graduate debt-free. One of their previous goals on the Dream Sheet was to build a savings account for their oldest son, and as he turns 7 this month, he’ll add some of his birthday money to the account. Keeping their goals in the forefront of their minds has helped them stay on track.

They also realized they had to share their goals with others. That made it easier for them to stay on track, because their friends and family knew about their goal of becoming debt-free.

“There were some people who laughed at the time, but now they’re asking me how to get of debt,” she said. “It’s taken the stigma off it — we have to talk more about money.”

Paying off debt not only frees you up financially, but can also help you build your way to good credit. Keeping credit balances low or paid off, and making all debt payments on time can help raise your score over time. To see how your debt is affecting your credit, you can see your credit scores for free.

Christine DiGangi covers personal finance for Credit.com. Previously, she managed communications for the Society of Professional Journalists, served as a copy editor of The New York Times News Service and worked as a reporter for the Oregonian and the News & Record. 

People Miscalculate Insurance Needs-How can understand of insurance?

After 30 years of teaching risk management, I have concluded that most people just don’t understand insurance. This repeatedly leads them to pay way too much to cover small known costs, while going without protection against the really big risks they face.

I call insurance for small predictable costs “haircut” insurance. That is, if you need to get your hair cut every six weeks like I do, you don’t need insurance–it’s not a risky expenditure. Nevertheless, people often do insure against low-cost predictable events.

In this category I put dental insurance that covers predictable annual cleaning visits: by self-financing your checkups, you can save enough to cover the cost yourself. But then the same people who buy checkup insurance also don’t read their policies to see whether expensive dental surgery is covered (and often it’s not!). Extended warranties on relatively low-cost consumer products are another example: why buy extra coverage for a kitchen microwave when the manufacturer’s warranty covers product defects anyhow, and most microwaves don’t break?

Along the same lines: most people pay too much for auto insurance when they elect low deductibles, towing, car rental, glass coverage and other features in their policies.  Yet they could save quite a lot in annual fees by upping the deductibles and dispensing with other frills–after all, the chance of needing these other services are low, and it’s probably more cost-effective to pay for it when needed. Same goes for homeowners insurance: You can invest the savings from a $10,000 deductible policy and make money on it, while retaining coverage for the big risk like a major fire, flood or earthquake.

Conversely, while paying for the small stuff, many students and colleagues forget about the big stuff. For instance, everyone starting a family after their baby was born–only to have her spouse perish in a motorcycle accident when she was in her 8^th month of pregnancy.

should buy life and disability insurance–before the family is launched! A woman I know told me she was planning on buying life insurance on her biker husband

Finally, one of the most critical risks you face is liability–the chance of being hit with a huge lawsuit from someone whose child slipped in your driveway and broke her neck. Despite the relatively low cost of a $1 million to $2 million policy, on the order of a few hundred dollars, few Americans understand how exposed they are to huge potential losses.

Insurance is best suited to help you finance catastrophes, not haircuts.

Olivia S. Mitchell is a professor of Business Economics and Public Policy at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania where she focuses on pensions, household finance and risk management.

Despite the Volatility, NFL Still a Strong Buy

 The National Football League’s stock -- its reputation -- may have seen more volatility than U.S. stock markets in recent weeks.

For their part, sports business executives are sounding like seasoned stock investors who remain bullish on the league and say the NFL’s underlying fundamentals remain strong.

“Everybody complains about the NFL, but until ratings are impacted and sponsors won’t sponsor the games, nothing will change in terms of asset value. It’s just not,” asserts a source close to the league, who didn’t want to be identified, adding, “NFL teams consistently make money, it’s great media content, and the Super Bowl’s a national holiday.”

The league suffered a huge public relations hit after a shocking sequence of events to start the season: the TMZ video that changed everything in the Ray Rice domestic violence case, the NFL Commissioner’s denial of seeing that clip and his admitted mishandling of the Rice investigation, a chorus of calls for the commissioner to resign or be fired, plus a growing rap sheet of domestic and/or child abuse charges against several players including 2012 MVP Adrian Peterson.

All of this comes just as the NFL’s popularity, like major stock averages, reached record territory ahead of this season’s September 4 kickoff.  The league posted near record ratings last season with sponsorship and TV revenue raking in more than $9 billion. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has ambitiously stated his goal of tripling that figure to $25 billion in revenue by 2027.

But just as chart watchers keep an eye on shifting sentiment for public company shares, football watchers monitor the pendulum of support for the nation’s most popular sport.

“There are some cracks showing,” notes Professor Robert Boland, a former sports agent who teaches sports management at New York University.  He asks the prudent questions an investor might when looking at a corporate balance sheet.  “Are the existential cracks to the core? Or can they be patched up?”

The evidence so far shows nothing more than a surface scratch.  Despite the off-the-field troubles, so far the league’s grip remains tight on two key constituencies: fans and sponsors.

Ratings for the first few weeks have remained near record levels and so far few high-profile advertisers have backed away from the league.

“The story really is that sponsors and fans are not backing off,” says Robert Tuchman, CEO of Goviva which sells high-end “bucket list” sports packages.  “It’s really incredible, but the NFL brand is literally bullet proof.”

Tuchman says there’s been no drop in demand for his corporate clients booking NFL games. And if companies did drop Super Bowl suites, Tuchman says there are plenty of buyers waiting in the wings to snap them up.

Marketers Long NFL Futures

The NFL is clearly still a buy for any company looking to sell almost anything to Americans.  As marketers told Fox Business, there’s nowhere else in this country to capture 100 million eyeballs watching TV at the same time.

“(The NFL) is the best platform for exposure. If you’re a beer company, an insurance company, or a soft drink maker you want to be on this platform.  In your heart of hearts, you know if you jump off the bus, one of your competitors is jumping on as an official sponsor, because they probably got locked out.”NYU’s Boland says bluntly, “Anyone who is an NFL sponsor is reluctant to jump off the bus. You didn’t choose it because you love football. After concussions and the (2011) lockout you know the risks.

It’s also a sign of the NFL’s power, prestige and long memory that half a dozen prominent sports business executives that work with the league or its partners either refused to comment or go on the record for this story; they don’t want to get locked out, either.

One source who didn’t want to be identified and is close to national NFL sponsors, says, “Brands are dealing with (the abuse cases) to their tolerance levels.  None are minimizing it, [but] no brand is going to walk away from (the vast NFL audience) unless they have to."

Leveraged Ad Buyout?

Sponsors including Anheuser-Busch InBev (BUD), Pepsi (PEP), and Visa (V) have voiced their concerns over the abuse cases, but no national sponsor has cut ties with the NFL. Radisson Hotels did suspend its sponsorship of the Vikings after the child abuse charges were filed against Minnesota’s Peterson.

Still it seems unlikely that brands will finally have leverage to get better terms sponsoring the NFL, especially since most are locked into long-term deals.

People close to NFL sponsors say the NFL has been slightly more flexible with partners in recent weeks, which may seem like a “give” compared to the league’s normal rigidity, but by no means is there total flexibility.

Earlier this week, NFL Senior VP of Sponsorships & Partnership Marketing Renie Anderson told a panel at the CSE Sports Marketing Symposium that there has been “no measurable impact”  on league sponsorships from the abuse cases, according to a report in SportsBusiness Daily.

Procter & Gamble’s (PG) Crest toothpaste is the only national sponsor to back away from the NFL, pulling out of an on-field promotion tied to the league’s long-standing Breast Cancer Awareness campaign this month.

Observers say they are keeping a close eye on other female-friendly brands. These companies may be more apt to drop the NFL if the league’s move to hire four women as advisers to help on domestic violence policies doesn’t improve the situation.

Likewise, the NFL is loath to lose the female fans it has worked hard to cultivate.  “Long-term, will this (domestic abuse issue) erode the fanbase? Forty-three percent of (NFL) fans are women.  They can’t ignore that,” says one sports business executive, adding, “At a point, sponsors may become reluctant to be associated with the league.”"Brands are prepared to walk away if these initiatives don’t pan out or there’s more to the story,” says an NFL marketing source. “Brands are even more sensitive to issues that matter to a great number of their consumers given the age of social media and the ability for the consumers' voice to be heard so easily and directly."

It’s too early to call whether the spate of abuse cases has hurt the marketability of most NFL stars. “Now isn’t the time to evaluate brands, sponsorship and athletes. It’s next year when planning for next season,” notes one talent representative, who also spoke under the condition of anonymity. 

The exec added that Tiger Woods’ fall from grace basically ended the era of buy and hold athlete endorsers.  “The number of deals didn’t go down, but it was a changing of the guard where brands still did deals, but terms were shorter.  The brands didn’t want to risk a long-term investment.”

In other words, brands became more risk averse. But David Meltzer, CEO of Sports 1 Marketing says, "Unlike our stock market, which will probably continue to fall as it’s overvalued, there is this undeniable emotional attachment to football which will carry over to its technological advantage—it’s the last reality TV that can’t be recorded.”

So unless fans suddenly lose their appetite for the game, Meltzer, who recently wrote a book, “Connected to Goodness”, about the morality of business and life, sees clearer player punishment policies in place soon and new highs ahead for the league.

“If you could imagine, the NFL is like Apple, but the difference is there are no competitors and there will be no competitors,” posits Meltzer, adding, “The market may go down but you just have no competition.  Their stronghold is unique.  It’s like being Apple, but there’s no Samsung, no competition.” 

http://www.foxbusiness.com/industries/2014/10/16/despite-volatility-nfl-still-strong-buy/

mortgage rates this week raised Financial market turmoil creates a tempting opportunity for mortgage refinancers

A sudden plunge in mortgage rates this week raised an urgent question for millions of Americans: Should I refinance my mortgage?

Across the country, homeowners and would-be homeowners eager for a bargain rate fired off inquiries to lenders. The opportunity emerged from the tumult that seized financial markets and sent stock prices and bond yields tumbling. Rates on long-term mortgages tend to track the 10-year Treasury yield, which fell below 2 percent for the first time since May 2013.

Accordingly, the average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage, mortgage giant Freddie Mac reported, dipped below 4 percent to 3.97 percent — a tantalizing figure. As recently as January, the average was 4.53 percent. Ultra-low rates do carry risks as well as opportunities. Charges and fees can shortchange refinancers who are focused only on the potential savings. And falling rates are often associated with the broader risk of an economic slowdown that could eventually reduce the income that some people have to pay their mortgages.

Yet the tempting possibility of locking in a sub-4 percent rate has a way of motivating people. "It gets people excited," said Michelle Meyer, an economist at Bank of America. "It gets mortgage bankers excited. It gets prospective buyers excited." The drop in rates could finally give homeowners like Issi and Amy Romem of Mountain View, California, the chance to refinance. Amy Romem bought the condo at the peak of the housing boom for $400,000, using an adjustable-rate loan with an initial 5.875 percent rate that would reset after 10 years. The reset would amount to an extra $400 a month on the condo, which the couple now rents, Issi Romem said. "Seeing rates go down even more is something I wasn't expecting," he said. "It reminds me that I need to do this now, before interest rates do go up."

Before this week, many bankers, lenders and borrowers had assumed that home loan rates would soon start rising closer to a two-decade average of 6 percent. That was based on expectations that the Federal Reserve would start raising its key short-term rate next year — a move that would likely lead to higher mortgage rates, too. But that assumption fell suddenly into doubt as stocks plunged on Monday and Wednesday amid fears about global economic weaknesses, the spread of Ebola and the threat of the Islamic State militia group in the Middle East. Seeking safety, investors poured money into U.S. Treasurys. Higher demand drives up prices for those government bonds and causes their yields to drop.

The yield on the 10-year note traded as low as 1.91 percent Wednesday before ending the day at 2.14 percent. A stock market rally on Friday helped lift the yield to 2.20 percent. That suggested that the moment to refinance might be fleeting. "It's likely to be the last time we see these rates for a generation, if ever again," said Jonathan Smoke, chief economist at Realtor.com.

Even a slight drop in mortgage rates can translate into significant savings over the long run. For a median-priced home worth $221,000, a 0.5 percentage point decline in a mortgage rate would produce savings of $50 a month, according to a Bank of America analysis. Still, it takes time for the savings to offset the costs of refinancing. "There's no free lunch in this," noted Gary Kalman, executive vice president at the Center for Responsible Lending.

Lenders typically charge fees for paperwork on the loan and to pay for a home appraisal and title insurance, among other costs. "You want to make sure the interest rate you're getting is dropping enough that it more than offsets whatever fees you may be paying," Kalman said.

Refinancing from a 5.5 percent rate — which some borrowers still have — to 4 percent would save $180 a month on a $200,000 mortgage. But the fees — averaging around $2,500 — mean it would take about 14 months to break even. Research done this year by economists at the University of Chicago and Brigham Young University found that 20 percent of eligible households failed to refinance when rates first made doing so profitable in late 2010. They essentially cost themselves $11,500 in potential savings. Those who missed those late rates last year now have a second chance.

"When you get these little boomlets like we see now, most of that is what drives refinancing activity," said Bob Walters, chief economist at Quicken Loans. While applications for refinancing have been rising this week at Quicken, Walters added, it's unlikely that many would-be home buyers will be able to benefit. It can take buyers months to mobilize, because they need to first find a suitable house in the right neighborhood. That makes it hard for them to immediately snap into action when rates drop, though it might coax them into looking.

"It's a bonus if rates are lower," Walters said, "but it doesn't dictate the decision."

http://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/2014/10/18/financial-market-turmoil-creates-tempting-opportunity-for-mortgage-refinancers/

Study annual survey : Financial Advice for the Youngest Baby Boomers

According to a Transamerica Center for Retirement Study annual survey, forty-two percent of baby boomers, the youngest of whom turn 50 this year, have less than $100,000 in retirement accounts.  

Those boomers celebrating their 50th birthdays this year are realizing their golden years are not too far away and it is time to get serious about retirement planning.

Craig Brimhall, Vice President of Retirement Wealth Strategies at Ameriprise offered the following tips on what boomers turning 50 need to start doing this year to ensure they have a financially secure retirement.

Boomer:  At age 50 what catch up contribution rules apply to my IRA and 401K savings?

Brimhall:  You may make additional contributions to a retirement plan if you are 50 or older. IRAs (and Roth IRAs) have a regular limit of an annual contribution of $5,500 and the catch up contribution is $1,000, so the annual limit for those over 50 is $6,500. All retirement plans have “catch up” provisions and those numbers vary by plan type. But it’s important to remember that if you are eligible to contribute to an IRA (and your contribution may or may not be deductible, depending on your income), you can contribute that $6,500 to a regular IRA, a Roth IRA, or some combination of each type. However you may not contribute more than the total limit when you add them all up.

Boomer:  How important is it for me to pay down my debt and in what ways can I speed up the process?

Brimhall:  Whether or not you are comfortable carrying debt into retirement is a personal decision – some people are determined to retire debt-free while others may plan to have a cash flow and budget that accounts for debt after they leave the workforce.

For those who want to eliminate a mortgage or a large loan, a simple way to accelerate your debt-free day is to pre-pay a little extra to the principal amount whenever possible. Though they’re quite rare, first, check to see if you are subject to pre-payment penalties. If you will not receive a penalty for pre-paying, consider simply following your amortization schedule and make an extra payment to the principal each period with your regular payment. This technique may significantly reduce the life of the loan, though if you wait until later in the life of the loan, you will notice that most of the payment goes to reducing principal and this idea may be less appealing.

Boomer:  If I do not have a life insurance policy when I turn 50, what type of life coverage should I be looking at?  If I do have life insurance should I be making any changes to the policy?

Brimhall:  Life insurance, even at age 50, can have very legitimate purposes like debt elimination for your family and funding of future expenses they may have (such as college). It’s common knowledge that the older a person gets, the more expensive life insurance can become. However, as average lifespans continue to grow longer, you may be surprised at the affordability of life insurance even at 50 and beyond.

There are different kinds of life insurance. A term life insurance policy may be suitable if you only want the coverage for a certain amount of time (a term of years) until certain expenses or obligations disappear. There are several types of term life options, but in short, a level term policy generally means level coverage but possibly increasing premiums as you age. Decreasing term generally means a fixed premium and reducing coverage, which may be a good fit if debts or obligations are decreasing as well.

While they can be more costly, a universal (or whole) life plan may be beneficial if you also want to put a significant amount of money away into the cash value as a form of tax-deferred savings.  In this way, the policy can do double duty by providing a tax-free death benefit for heirs and also provide a tax-deferred savings or investment vehicle from which you may be able to withdraw tax-free amounts later during retirement.

If you already have an insurance policy, you may want to see what options you have as you age. Depending on what type of plan you have, you may need to replace it or you may be able to make changes to it without replacing it. As an example, a universal policy may offer you the option of reducing the death benefit (assuming your needs for the coverage have decreased over the years) and pump up the cash values with additional contributions to use as income later.

Boomer:  What other insurance coverages would you recommend I look into?

Brimhall:  While you are in your working years, your risk of having a disability lasting 90 days or longer is actually quite high. According to the Social Security Administration, 1 out of 4 people will experience a long-term disability during their working years. The chance of disability is actually higher than death at all ages during working years and for a 50 year old, the risk of disability is 1.8 times higher than death*.

So, a long-term disability plan may be as important as life insurance. And, as you age, the concept of disability evolves into the chance of needing long-term medical care. The chance of needing long-term care assistance before the end of life is about 70% for those who are now age 65.** So if you haven’t already, you may also want to consider long-term care insurance.

(*the Society of Actuaries)

(**US Dept of Health and Human Services )

Boomer:  Is turning 50 a good time to diversify my portfolio?

Brimhall:  Any time is a good time to diversify, depending on your risk tolerance. Remember that diversification is a technique to try to reduce volatility, not enhance returns. It may give you a better return, but diversification should be primarily thought of as a risk management tool, especially as you age. As you near retirement, you may want to try to reduce volatility and go for “good returns over time” versus trying to “hit the ball out of the park.”

http://www.foxbusiness.com/personal-finance/2014/10/16/financial-advice-for-youngest-baby-boomers/?intcmp=obnetwork

on busines :How to Invest Your 401k Savings

How to Invest Your 401k Savings

These days, we all have to be investment experts. If you want to retire in style and enjoy the same kind of golden years as earlier generations did, you have to take control of your own financial destiny. The amount of money you will have to live on depends on you – namely, your ability to make the right choices for investing your 401k savings and other retirement savings.

Unfortunately, you’re probably not getting much guidance from your plan sponsor for your 401k. You may just have a sheet of investment choices. How do you go about making sense of those 401k savings choices and decide what is best for you?

Manage Your Savings as a Single Portfolio

If you are like most people, you have your retirement savings spread across more than one account. To make the most out of your retirement savings, you need to make sure you have the appropriate asset allocation across your entire retirement portfolio, including your 401k savings. Include the assets that you have in other locations as you consider how to invest your 401k savings.

Organize the 401k Savings Investment Choices

A little organization can go a long way. Your fund sheet should at least provide categories for the different funds like “stock,” “bond,” “balanced,” and probably “target date.” The first thing you want to do is to separate out the target date funds from the rest, as deciding if target date funds are good for you is a separate decision (we’ll come back to this below).

Next, look for the word “index,” which is evidence of a passively-managed index fund. Index funds aim to replicate a market index like the S&P 500 or the Russell 1000 Value. Active funds, in contrast, try to outperform their benchmark indexes—but they come with higher fees. The fees for passive funds tend to be significantly lower than that for active funds.

You want to further separate the choices into “asset class buckets.” These include distinctions like growth versus value, large or small capitalization, international developed or emerging markets and so on.

401k Target Date Funds – Yes or No?

Now we come back to the target date fund question. First, let’s define what they are. Target date funds are a mixture of investments, such as stocks and bonds, that are allocated for you based on the amount of time that you have left before retirement. As you get older, the target-date fund will automatically shift your portfolio into less risky investments.

Because the target date fund’s asset allocation is being managed separately from the rest of your holdings, you should only consider target date funds if you do not have any other holdings. If you hold other investment assets, your portfolio will not have the optimal asset allocation.

If you do not have any other savings and are considering target date funds, you need to be aware of some additional shortcomings. Target date funds don’t know anything about your retirement goals, your risk profile and how much you are saving. Two people with entirely different risk profiles and financial situations will get exactly the same allocations just because they have a similar age. Plus target date funds don’t allocate assets in a tax-efficient manner. Because target date funds hold a large number of asset classes in a single account, it makes optimizing your portfolio for tax efficiency more difficult.

Investing Your 401k Savings

Now that you’ve organized your portfolio and your choices and made a decision – yea or nay – about target date funds, the next step is to figure out how you want to allocate your assets, and then pick a fund from each “asset class bucket.” Research has shown that the way you slice up your investments among asset classes is the most important determinant of successful long-term portfolio performance. So treat this decision seriously, and seek assistance from experts to help you get this right.

Jemstep’s Portfolio Manager can give you customized asset allocation advice based on your risk tolerance, goals and investing preferences. It can also analyze the options within your 401k plan, and offer you specific buy/sell recommendations based on what’s offered within your plans and make sure you stay on track with alerts when it’s time to make a change or rebalance.

https://www.jemstep.com/article/How-to-Invest-Your-401k-Savings?utm_source=outbrain&utm_medium=outbrain&utm_campaign=Owned