Well with Super Bowl Sunday upon us, it's time to revisit Super Bowl market theory.
First proposed in 1978 by sports writer Leonard Koppett of the New York Times, the theory says that if the Super Bowl is won by one of the original AFL teams the market would close down for the year, but if the Super Bowl was won by one of the old original NFL teams, then the stock market would finish up for the year. The AFL and NLF merged in 1966.
This year presents a dilemma. Seattle was not an original AFL or NFL team... it was an expansion team that first was in the AFC-- the old AFL clubs-- and then moved to the NFC-- the old NFL clubs.
Getting past that mindbender consider this: adjusting for the fact that the market is generally up, the indicator is right about 75% of the time.
True...but here's the thing...it's not the times you are right in the market, it's the times you are wrong that get you.
Your taxes are going up and the cost of doing your taxes is going up too.
TurboTax one of the leading software tax providers for the second year in a row has raised prices.
Kind of.
What they really did was move certain features, like the ability to calculate taxes for stock or mutual fund sales, into a higher cost product, leaving those who used a less expensive product in previous years with a little choice but to pay for the upgrade. In response H&R Block has offered free software to those people affected by the change.
It's all part of an ongoing tax software war according to Investment News, as software makers battle for market share.
Now if somebody could just offer an alternative tax code for those people affected by the changes.
Wouldn't it be great if countries battled for market share?
They’re supposed to.
Junk bonds are kind of doing junky.
According to Investment News investors pulled $523 million from global high-yield bond funds in the Jan 21, and another $868 million from US junk bond funds.
Some experts believe that it's a sign that easy money policies from central banks around the world just aren't effective.
Investment News says that high-yield bonds should be a primary beneficiary of the quantitative easing policies that are coming from Europe.
But with smaller yields, investors just don't have an appetite for less credit worthy bonds. Yields have shrunk from the peak of 23% to 7%. With energy prices and consumer prices in general coming down, it makes less sense for investors to chase yield, especially when there are attractive income-producing alternative investments.
We've all heard that charity begins at home, but really it also has its roots in the stock market. Two large firms report that charitable giving is up this year, 10 percent and 43 percent respectively.
And positive stock market returns along with uncertain tax policy is driving charity. At least something is driving it.
The general belief that tax policy will get worse makes people more inclined to give money now because of tax mitigation.
And when stocks are roaring, taxes are roaring too, and so more charity is the result.
So here, here Washington: Thanks for screwing things up so badly that our best option is giving money away.