In a recent survey, 94% of marketers reported that they are using social media to market their businesses, and many small-business owners were willing to tout its potential benefits. About half (51%) of small businesses (2 to 100 employees) reported that social media helped to improve sales.1 Although established networks such as Facebook, Twitter, and […]

There’s an old saying that some things get better with age, and apparently one of those things is the ability to manage personal credit. A consumer reporting agency study indicated that people aged 66 and older had the highest average credit scores, followed by those aged 47 to 65.1 Your credit score can affect your […]

  Bonds are usually less volatile than stocks and are often used as a way to help diversify a portfolio and potentially mitigate risk. Bonds also tend to offer lower total returns than stocks over the long term, although corporate bonds outpaced stocks by an average of 4% per year during the 10-year period from […]

  If you’re like most investors, you probably pay at least some attention to the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA). For more than a century, the Dow has been a symbol of the U.S. stock market. It’s so ingrained in American financial thinking that you may not have stopped to consider what it represents and […]

  The end of the year is fast approaching, so now may be a good time to start thinking about steps that could help reduce your 2012 income tax liability. Of course, before you take any specific action, be sure to consult with your tax professional. Consider income timing. Some tax experts recommend deferring income to […]

In February, Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke coined the phrase “fiscal cliff” to warn Congress about the potentially harmful combination of nearly $600 billion in federal tax increases and spending cuts that are scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2013, unless lawmakers address the deficit, taxes, and government spending. Economists and government officials […]