Season 12

UNSUSTAINABLE HOUSEHOLD DEBT?

As it’s the final week of the spring fund-raising season on Public Television, on-air we are revisiting a show about the challenges women face in retirement, and the best strategies for women to overcome them. Evercore Wealth Management’s Jewelle Bickford explains how she empowers women clients to take charge of their financial futures. Watch this episode again. Are consumers dangerously close to their debt level tipping point? That’s what the latest study by CardHub implies. In its quarterly assessment of household credit card debt, the credit card comparison service found that although consumers paid down nearly $27 billion in the first-quarter, it was the smallest first-quarter pay down since 2008 and covers only a third of the $71 billion in card debt added last year.

According to CardHub these levels are unsustainable and puts us on a track to have a record $1 trillion in outstanding balances by year end.

If your debt levels are getting you down, CardHub has some excellent tips for debt reduction as well. Continue Reading »

DIVIDEND AND BUYBACK MISCONCEPTIONS

It’s currently pledge season on public television, so WEALTHTRACK might not be airing on your local channel. Consequently we are revisiting some interviews that are of ongoing interest to investors. This week, we are discussing China.You can watch this episode again here.

“Dividends have contributed at least 40% of stock returns historically” is an accepted fact among investors. However Michael Mauboussin, head of Global Financial Strategies at Credit Suisse says the actual investor experience with total return, dividends plus stock appreciation, is quite different. In Thoughts on Dividends and Buybacks Mauboussin and two colleagues discuss what they view as the “common misperceptions” about dividends and stock buybacks. For the many dividend oriented investors among us they provide food for thought…

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