(Article originally appeared at LinkedIn here) Our two political parties in Washington could not look out the window, check the sky, and then agree with each other about whether it’s raining or bright sunshine! That fact is particularly true for the four in the photo at the top of the page. And yet, Pelosi, Schumer, […]
Yesterday, May 2, the Puerto Rico Government Development Bank defaulted on approximately $422 million in debt payments! Long in fiscal disarray, this missed payment by Puerto Rico was merely the opening salvo in the Island’s debt crisis as over the summer approximately $2 billion more is going to be coming due. Consider for a moment why […]
Summary: Congress is enacting permanent extensions of certain tax benefits for individual Americans that to this point have been temporary. The bill, expected to pass next week, is known as ‘The Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act of 2015‘, or PATH! One of the most popular provision allows IRA charitable transfers that helps charities while at […]
When employees are hanging around the proverbial water cooler this morning, what topics do you think that they are they most likely going to be discussing? Of course if they are following standard business protocol they will not be discussing religion or politics. But, as dedicated employees, perhaps they will be debating the best way for […]
New mortgage disclosure rules or TRID (TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosures), scheduled to take effect on August 1, 2015, will now be implemented two months later on October 1st! The delay in the implementation of TRID, designed to replace Truth-in-Lending and the Real Estate Settlement Procedures, was mandated because the CFPB (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau) missed a filing […]
Reaching across the aisle is a common term used to describe when antagonists from opposing political parties decide in certain circumstances to work together on a piece of legislation! For example, from the article cited below… “There will be some stew that everyone can put something into.” “I’m not saying that anything is attached . . […]
Back on December 19th we wrote about the impact that an expiration of TRIA on December 31 could have on the availability of certain types of insurance coverage! ‘If TRIA expires, commercial insurers will no longer be required to offer terrorism coverage beginning January 1. Without a federal backstop, insurers may seek to limit underwriting […]
Or will their prognostications for 2015 be spot-on? As we enter 2015 stock market analysts are generally predicting a positive year although not in the double digit range that has been forecast in prior years! Economists also see US economic growth in 2015 moving higher with some actually predicting above 3% for the first time […]
This chart offers a look at the 2012 (and things have only gone up from there) net worth of the 25 richest members of the US House of Representatives! These are the very people who were sent to Washington to represent the interests of the hard working American businesspeople, workers and entrepreneurs everywhere! When they […]
Follow @Hallmark Abstract Service What happens if the debt forgiveness in a short sale becomes ordinary income? If the difference between the short sale price and the amount that is owed on the mortgage ever became ordinary income for the already strapped homeowner, short sale activity will grind to a halt. This is a scenario that could potentially […]
