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I bought some SVXY (ProShares short VIX futures ETF) in my Rollover IRA. Yesterday I received a K-1 for this holding. It showed appreciation in the value of the shares but there was no Unrelated Business Income shown in Box 20. Can I just ignore this for my Federal income tax filing since it...

This may be a serious flaw in the design of the ACA. Evidently those with catastrophic coverage, whether purchased on or off the exchange, are in a separate risk pool from those in the bronze, silver, gold, and platinum plans. The existence of two distinct risk pools effectively introduces...

We all know that the rolling 30-year periods used in FireCalc are not statistically independent due to data overlap. I'm not a statistician, but I've become increasingly concerned that the SWR success rates from FireCalc may be significantly overestimated, due to this overlap which introduces...

Although it's an advertisement, I think this is a nice "quick-read" summary by USAA of Health Care Reform starting in 2013.

Interesting op-ed in today's WSJ by Peter Wallison. Basically, he argues that the capital requirements set by the Basel rules, encouraged banks to unwittingly hold what proved to be more risky assets during our mortgage meltdown in 2007-2008 and today are responsible for European banks holding...

A man in New York is suing his ex-wife to have their divorce agreement revised due to money lost in the Madoff Ponzi scheme. If he wins, this could potentially have far-reaching effects on other contracts.

I was short (fully covered) some JPM 40-strike calls which expire Saturday (Jan 22). I was assigned this morning. JPM closed at 44.75 yesterday. For the life of me, I can't understand why anyone would have exercised these options early. No dividend was involved, as the ex-date was Jan 4.

I think this is a pretty good article for those considering purchasing TIPS (especially TIPS ETF's) as a hedge against inflation. Basically, it emphasizes that shorter-term TIPS reduce one's exposure to rising real interest rates, which is likely as the economy recovers and demand for borrowing...

We need to replace a 600 sq ft deck on the rear of our house. The current deck is made of pressure treated wood. We are considering Ipe, which we would not stain but leave to grey naturally. We are told it is low maintenance, but it would cost nearly twice as much as a pressure treated wood...

Here is the Forbes list of the top 500 ZIP codes ranked by median home price. You can click on a location for more info.

I read something interesting in the WSJ this morning. As many of you know (at least those on SS), the COLA adjustment is figured by comparing the average CPI-W in the third quarter to that of the previous year's average, and calculating the percentage increase. Based upon numbers reported...

The pain to retirees relying on dividends continues, as another "safe" bank cuts it's quarterly dividend to 0.05 from 0.425.

This is something I sure didn't expect. JPM has reduced it's quarterly dividend to 0.05 from 0.38.

I found this to be an interesting article:

Check out this 6-year old's golf swing

If I sell Treasury bonds on Dec 31, they will settle in 2009. Can I take the capital gain in 2008 and the accrued interest in 2009?

I noticed Dr. Rich has an animated GIF for an avatar. When I tried to upload one for myself, the software wouldn't allow me to. Is this a perk only for Moderator Emeriti? :confused:

We've talked about this before, but I thought this piece by Jason Zweig in yesterday's WSJ was a nice summary: The Intelligent Investor

Tinks weighs 22 lb and is going on a diet and fitness program

Has anyone noticed that 10-year TIPS are yielding nearly 3% real? According to Bloomberg, 10-year TIPS are yielding 2.96%, while 10-year Treasuries are yielding 3.87%, a break-even inflation rate of only 0.9%. Frankly, I don't understand why the implied inflation rate is so low. The only thing...

The real rate on 5-year TIPS turned negative today. Bloomberg Rates So, in effect, the market is willing to pay a premium for a zero-coupon 5-year TIPS. I haven't seen this before. Comparing to nominal TIPS, it look likes an embedded inflation forecast of about 2.5%. Any thoughts on what...

Investor Jim Rogers is selling his Manhattan home for 15.75 million and moving to Singapore. He purchased the home in 1976 for 107K. Works out to a 17.5% compound annual return. Jim Rogers' Interview

Today, Congress passed an AMT patch for tax year 2007. The patch is an increase in the exemption amount to $66,250 ($44,350) for joint (single) filers. In 2006 the exemption amount was $62,550 ($42,250) for joint (single) filers. Without the patch the exemption amount would have reverted to...

There was an interesting article in Sunday's Washington Post Business Section, which talked about a new product - the Advanced Life Deferred Annuity. Basically, one makes a payment today, and the annuity kicks in at age 85. It's an insurance policy against living "too long". I haven't done a...

OSM is trading below 18 which is a real YTM of nearly 6%. This is a very attractive return for a fixed income instrument. The risk to a buy and hold investor, of course, is that SLM defaults on its debt. Here's what I'm thinking. SLM shareholders vote on the proposed deal August 15. IMO, they...