Your Business and Your Life
Three experts debunk investing myths about funds
BOSTON — Whether you follow Wall Street or not, odds are you’re a mutual fund investor. Mutual funds are the foundation of 401(k) plans and individual retirement accounts.
Yet many investors lack the patience to learn the finer points of funds, or give up trying. They’re intimidated by jargon such as “expense ratios” and “basis points.” Such fear can lead to poor choices that lock in years of high fees and subpar returns.
Still others think they know their stuff and mistakenly move in and out of pricey funds that are hot performers, however fleeting. Over the decades, seemingly trivial differences between the returns funds deliver and the expenses they charge can have a huge impact on retirement security.
The stakes are big. More than 87 million individuals own mutual funds, and fund companies manage more than one-fifth of household financial assets, according to industry data.
A good starting point to a successful long-term strategy is recognizing misperceptions that trip up many fund investors. Below are
Tags: Funds
Jobless rate dips in S.A. area, Texas in February
San Antonio’s unemployment rate edged down to 7.3 percent in February, the lowest it’s been in five months, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.
The number of people employed in the San Antonio metropolitan area, calculated with different data than that used for the unemployment rate, actually fell by a seasonally adjusted 1,100 in February. But January’s job count rose by 400, up from a previously reported gain of 300 jobs, according to the Fed.
The unemployment rate was 7.4 percent in January.
The combination of the lower unemployment rate and job loss could be a reflection of fewer people looking for work, which would reduce the size of the labor force, said Keith Phillips, senior economist with the Fed’s San Antonio.
“The job growth numbers being negative, after seasonal adjustment, is a surprise,” Phillips said. “These numbers are much weaker than it (the labor market) seems, anecdotally, to be.”
Texas’ unemployment rate also dipped — to 8.2 percent in February — after adding 22,700 jobs during the month. That was do
Tags: February, Texas February
Get Ready for Canadian Elections in May
For me, it’s easy to tell the difference between Americans and English-speaking Canadians. The clues that tip me off that I’m speaking to a Canadian are when the person:
- is extremely polite and says sorry repeatedly even if I am at fault
- is more interested in the Boston Bruins than the Boston Red Sox
- asks for poutine at fast food restaurants (French fries covered with cheese curds and gravy)
- calls someone who sits in front of the TV all day a
- pronounces the word “about” as “a-boot”
- can’t go through a full day without asking where the nearest Tim Horton’s (NYSE: THI) is located
- thinks nothing of calling whole milk “homo milk”
- spontaneously starts singing “God Save the Queen.”
- stares at you if you don’t know who Bob and Doug McKenzie are
- finishes every sentence with “eh”
Another obvious difference between the two countries is the form of democratic government. The
Tags: Canadian, Canadian Elections
Market Report: Amec surges as nuclear potential highlighted
Amec surged up the top-tier index yesterday after investors were told that nuclear energy still “remains an area of significant potential” for the engineer, despite the ongoing events in Japan.
Rising as high as 1,151p during the session, the group – whose nuclear services division contributed nearly 10 per cent of sales last year – eventually closed 17p ahead at 1,128p, halting a seven-day losing streak in which it shed nearly 10 per cent of its share price. Helping it upwards was Investec’s decision to initiate coverage with a “buy” rating, describing Amec as “undervalued and well positioned for growth”.
“Our focus is on the strong balance sheet,” said the broker’s analysts. “Th
Tags: Potential, Potential Highlighted
Gas pricing 101: Why are we paying so much?
U.S. gasoline prices averaged $3.47 a gallon Friday, the highest level since Oct. 6, 2008.
Gasoline prices have jumped by 6 percent in Texas this week alone, to an average $3.36 a gallon, at a time when fuel prices historically have yet to begin their run-up before the summer driving season, AAA said.
And with unrest in the Middle East and North Africa continuing — it’s already pushed the price of crude oil above $104, a 29-month high — analysts say pump prices likely are headed even higher.
What’s behind higher gas prices? The San Antonio Express-News talked to experts about what’s happening.
Question: The price of gasoline in San Antonio has jumped almost 21 cents a gallon in a week. On Friday, San Antonians were paying an average $3.34 a gallon for regular unleaded, AAA said. Why?
Answer: Consider this: The wholesale price of gasoline was $3.05 Friday. That price doesn’t include the taxes we pay on each gallon, or what the transportation company gets to deliver to the retail station, or what the owner of the station is adding on to stay in business. And
Tags: Gas, Gas Pricing
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