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12/11
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — Hedge funds reached a milestone in the first quarter, amassing over $2 trillion in capital for the first time ever, an industry tracker said Tuesday.
The global hedge fund industry now controls total assets worth $2.02 trillion, according to Hedge Fund Research. That’s up $102 billion from the first quarter of 2010 and is more than the industry had in the second quarter of 2008, when assets peaked at $1.93 trillion. (more…)
13
12/11
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — Time is almost up for one of the Federal Reserve’s most candid inflation hawks. Kansas City Fed President Thomas Hoenig is retiring October 1.
While retirement was imminent because of Hoenig’s age, the Fed officially announced his departure Friday morning. Fed presidents are subject to mandatory retirement once they reach 65 years old. (more…)
13
12/11
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — Labor unions around the nation can thank Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker for re-energizing the workers movement.
The Republican governor was savoring his success Thursday in limiting collective bargaining for public employees in Wisconsin after a contentious and drawn-out battle. (more…)
18
09/11
FORTUNE — The management churn at General Motors Co. (GM) proceeds unabated with the resignation Thursday of Chris Liddell as chief financial officer after 14 months on the job.
Dan Akerson, GM chief executive officer, has been stirring his pot of executives since taking over last fall — and he is the fourth GM CEO in less than two years. Last month GM got a new chief of product development, Mary Barra. Last week, GM’s head of engine and transmission development, Jamie Hresko, resigned. (more…)
18
09/11
(Money Magazine) — Q: A variable annuity that I’ve owned for many years has risen a great deal in value. Can I gift it to my kids? — Anthony Cupo, Fayetteville, Ind.
A: You can, and you won’t owe gift taxes as long as the annuity’s current market value doesn’t put you over your lifetime gift-tax exclusion (currently $5 million). (more…)
18
09/11
FORTUNE — Feeling a little disillusioned lately? That’s not a bad thing if you’re an entrepreneur. There’s nothing like humbling economic times to force chief executives to let go of the sacred-cow ideas and grandiose illusions they’ve been harboring and start building on reality. Some of the smartest business owners I know have fallen for these five myths. Ditch them. It will make your business that much stronger. (more…)
18
09/11
FORTUNE — Fired up about your company’s strategic plan? Great, but before you commit the rest of the year to executing it, make sure you pass these five litmus tests. If not, head back to the drawing board with your management team. (more…)
18
09/11
SIMI VALLEY, Calif. (CNNMoney) — During the Iraq war it was combat medic Patrick Padilla’s job to go out and retrieve the dead and wounded.
After returning to the States in 2006, Padilla says his wartime experiences were part of the reason he put solar panels on his house. (more…)
18
09/11
(Money Magazine) — How do I know if my financial planner is making me the most money possible? – Jorge, Billerica, Mass.
Well, I suppose you could look at how your investments have performed over the past year and compare that to what others investments have returned. (more…)
18
09/11
(Money Magazine) — Q: My husband is retired, and I work part-time. Can we contribute to a Roth IRA for him this year? — Martha Chamberlain, Lanesville, Ind.
A: Even if just one spouse has a paycheck, you can both put $5,000 ($6,000 if you’re 50 or older) in Roth IRAs every year as long as your modified adjusted gross income (for joint filers) is below $169,000. (more…)
18
09/11
(Money Magazine) — I’m 45 and own a target-date fund for retirement. Are these funds "invest and forget"? — Joseph Dipasquale, Phoenix
Since gaining traction in the early 2000s, target-date funds have been touted as a convenient route to a diversified retirement portfolio. Convenient they are. (more…)
17
09/11
(MONEY Magazine) — How can the average employee get a better handle on the expenses in company 401(k) plans to be able to make more informed choices? — Chad Tuttle, Hudsonville, Mich.
Holding the line on expenses is the single most important way to maximize your 401(k), after contributing as much as you can. (more…)
17
09/11
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — The year-long wait is over: Google announced Wednesday that it has chosen to deploy its ultra-fast broadband network in Kansas City, Kansas.
Google (GOOG, Fortune 500) will provide broadband Internet access to the city with speeds of about 1 gigabit per second. That’s around 100 times faster than what most Americans have available to them today. Google said that the network’s speed would be fast enough to download a high-definition, full-length feature film in less than five minutes. (more…)
17
09/11
HOUSTON (CNNMoney) — Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger delivered a sobering analysis on the unrest sweeping across the Middle East Thursday, telling leading energy industry experts that the recent protests may not pan out as smoothly as some hope. (more…)
17
09/11
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — President Obama seems to be trying to rebuild his ties with corporate America, with the latest move being his plan to name prominent business leader William Daley as chief of staff.
Daley, a JPMorgan Chase (JPM, Fortune 500) executive and former Commerce Secretary, will be named Thursday to serve as the new White House chief of staff, two senior officials told CNN. (more…)
17
09/11
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — The head of one of the nation’s top business organizations said Tuesday that the U.S. economy is "improving," but "regulatory roadblocks" stand in the way of job creation.
"When it comes to the nation’s economy, we begin 2011 in better shape than we found last year," said Tom Donohue, chief executive of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. "Yet we still face a number of risks that could send us in the wrong direction." (more…)
17
09/11
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — Hey, millionaires! In case you haven’t noticed, some members of Congress think you should pay more taxes.
And now a group of Democratic lawmakers has introduced legislation that would make you big-earners do just that — resulting in a tax hike of up to 40% for the wealthiest Americans. (more…)
17
09/11
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — Rep. Barney Frank took on Wall Street as one of the writers of the sweeping Dodd-Frank financial reform bill last year. Now he is taking on the Federal Reserve.
The Massachusetts Democrat announced Tuesday morning that he’s introducing a bill that would dramatically downsize the Federal Reserve’s policymaking committee, eliminating five regional Fed presidents from having a say in the central bank’s decisions. (more…)
17
09/11
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — Lawmakers pushed through a last-minute spending bill Friday night to avert a shutdown and keep the federal government open for business.
The short-term spending measure — the seventh in the past six months — cut $2 billion and allows agencies to spend money through next Friday. The White House said Saturday afternoon that President Barack Obama signed the short- term measure into law. (more…)
17
09/11
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the central bank’s latest effort to pump money into the economy is partly responsible for the rise in the stock market, but not for the reason critics think.
The stock market rally that began last summer was fueled by the Fed’s efforts which improved U.S. economic activity, he said. But critics claim the Fed’s policy created a new asset bubble. (more…)