Hey, there. You’ve probably noticed that I haven’t been posting here very often (at all, really). That’s because Twitter has given me a much faster way of shooting off little tidbits.
However, I am still checking (and responding to) all the comments posted here … and I will still update this blog from time to time.
So with all that said, here are a couple things that caught my attention this morning:
First, retail sales jumped. And the market clearly likes that. But I’m not ready to put too much importance on the result because it was obviously juiced by auto sales via Cash for Clunkers and rising gas prices. Yes, it still showed a solid uptick excluding those items, but I’m not sure you’d call it a rip-roaring result during a back-to-school month.
Second, wholesale inflation also rose twice as much as expected. Again, energy prices played a big part in this … but you know that I remain concerned about a future inflation shock. So my ears perk up whenever I hear something like this.
Related posts:
- More on the retailers … As my Money & Markets article was getting sent to you, the total retail sales numbers for June were getting...
- Quick note on J&J’s earnings … JNJ isn’t in the Dividend Superstars portfolio, but it is an important bellwether for dividend stocks and the overall market....
- Aluminum or retail sales, which matters more? So Alcoa posted a loss as expected, and everyone seems pleased with that result overall. (Not sure why.) Overseas markets reacted...
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Nilus,
Good column on the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. deficit this morning via email.
But the pension problem that dwarfs that is the public employee pension unfunded obligations. That is affecting every municipality, county, and state in the union.
Try pensiontsunami.com for a daily overview of how it is bankrupting the counctry now that the markets have collapsed, leaving the unfunded liability a growing problem.
I agree with you. I see no one in the stores in Scottsdsale. I’m not buying the numbers for one second. The market is going to crash again, like all bubbles do. Irrational exuberance again. There are no fundamentals to support it, and eventually investors will realize it.
Nilus,
I’m an avid reader of your work, and appreciate your insights every Tuesday and in your DS publication. I have an unrelated question for you, a problem really. From what I can tell from your articles, you seem to be knowledgable in federal tax codes and obviously tax-sheltered retirement accounts like IRA’s, so I hope you can help me.
I am an American expatriate living overseas in Dubai, UAE, and I’ve been out of the country since July 2008. Therefore, as you can imagine special tax codes apply, namely a huge standard deduction ($87,300 roughly). The problem is in 2008 I opened a Roth IRA and funded it to the maximum, $5000. However, since my salary and benefis are less than the standard deduction, I have no taxable income and therefore am not paying taxes on my contribution to my Roth. The company preparing my taxes caught his mistake obviously, and are forcing me to me to rectify the problem. Can I switch my Roth account to a traditional IRA after it has already been opened? Do you know of any other options? I would appreciate any help or advice you may have.
Thanks!
Nilus Mattive Reply:
September 16th, 2009 at 3:39 PM
Hi, Joel. Thanks for the positive comments!
Unfortunately, I can’t give individual investment advice. But I can say that you must have qualifying income (roughly translated as “taxable income”) to contribute to either a Roth OR a regular IRA.
So even converting from one to the other wouldn’t solve your problem.
Regarding what the best way to undo the contribution is, I would suggest a quick call to the IRS helpline.
Don’t laugh! They really do give you answers, and the information is totally free. I’ve called them a number of times and always got fairly straightforward responses.
And since it’s not yet tax season, you should be able to get to a live operator pretty quickly.
Nilus; Please, a rundown on your impression of the ‘plunge protection team’, and the seriousness, or lack of same, on market activity. I emphatically believe that they tinker every day to keep the market ‘up’ if at all possible. Thx, JR
Nilus Mattive Reply:
September 29th, 2009 at 5:35 PM
You know, I wouldn’t rule out anything at this point … especially when it comes to The Treasury, the Fed, and their inner circle of Wall Street financiers (some of whom come and go between the private sector and the public to the point where it’s difficult to figure out where the line is drawn anymore).
But really, I worry less about behind-the-scenes manipulation of stock prices … and more about the overt manipulation of nearly all our other financial mechanisms and measure … from interest rates to the CPI.
No, I’m not suggesting someone just crosses off a number and replaces it … but rather that the methodologies and decisions aren’t always well-thought-out, transparent, or in line with free market principles.
You know what they say about a camel, right? It’s a horse designed by committee.