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Merlin Account talk
- Thread starter merlin
- Start date
EW_ret
Retired Tracker
You posted in your account an IFT to 100% G yesterday (4-03-07) at 12:06 pm, and the same allocation again (100% G) at 9:16 am this morning (4-04-07). There is no need for double posting, or that you remain at same allocation. Did you forget you already went 100% G yesterday? I will delete your post this morning since it shows no change in fund allocations from yesterday.
merlin
Member
http://biz.yahoo.com/rb/070520/column_stocks_outlook.html?.v=1
Reuters
Stocks may fly on M&A; oil clouds view
Sunday May 20, 10:06 am ET
By Kristina Cooke
NEW YORK (Reuters) - If bulls have their way, U.S. stocks will extend their streak of gains this week with another wave of takeovers expected and worries about a housing fallout diminishing. But rocketing crude oil prices along with disappointing outlooks from major retailers, could spoil the party.
Reuters
Stocks may fly on M&A; oil clouds view
Sunday May 20, 10:06 am ET
By Kristina Cooke
NEW YORK (Reuters) - If bulls have their way, U.S. stocks will extend their streak of gains this week with another wave of takeovers expected and worries about a housing fallout diminishing. But rocketing crude oil prices along with disappointing outlooks from major retailers, could spoil the party.
merlin
Member
China widens yuan's daily trading band
Hikes interest rate, tightens reserve requirement for banks
By Steve Goldstein & Wanfeng Zhou, MarketWatch
Last Update: 2:28 PM ET May 18, 2007
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- The People's Bank of China on Friday said it's widening the trading band for the yuan, hiking interest rates and increasing banks' reserve requirements, as authorities act to cool the red-hot stock market and lessen pressure from disgruntled trading partners such as the United States.
The Chinese central bank said it was widening the yuan's trading band to plus or minus 0.5% per day against the U.S. dollar, as opposed to plus or minus 0.3% per day previously. China's currency has traded in a limited band against the greenback since July 2005.
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/sto...x?guid={C73CF0A1-6002-4783-B883-06583C2A217D}
Hikes interest rate, tightens reserve requirement for banks
By Steve Goldstein & Wanfeng Zhou, MarketWatch
Last Update: 2:28 PM ET May 18, 2007
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- The People's Bank of China on Friday said it's widening the trading band for the yuan, hiking interest rates and increasing banks' reserve requirements, as authorities act to cool the red-hot stock market and lessen pressure from disgruntled trading partners such as the United States.
The Chinese central bank said it was widening the yuan's trading band to plus or minus 0.5% per day against the U.S. dollar, as opposed to plus or minus 0.3% per day previously. China's currency has traded in a limited band against the greenback since July 2005.
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/sto...x?guid={C73CF0A1-6002-4783-B883-06583C2A217D}
merlin
Member
http://usmarket.seekingalpha.com/article/36610?source=feed
Financials, Materials, Consumer Sectors Have Positive Price-P/E Divergence
Posted on May 27th, 2007 with stocks: IVV, IYC, IYF, IYK, IYM, SPY, VAW, VCR, VDC, VFH
Hickey and Walters (Bespoke) submit: Below we highlight the trading areas and historical p/e ratios of the ten major sectors of the S&P 500. The trading area is represented as two standard deviations above and below the sector's 50-day moving average.
Most sectors continue to trade near overbought levels, although Utilities have come in a little bit lately. Also noteworthy are the sectors whose p/e ratios have not risen along with price. Financials, Materials, and both Consumer sectors currently have positive divergences between price and p/e.
Have a great Memorial Day weekend!
click to enlarge
Financials, Materials, Consumer Sectors Have Positive Price-P/E Divergence
Posted on May 27th, 2007 with stocks: IVV, IYC, IYF, IYK, IYM, SPY, VAW, VCR, VDC, VFH
Hickey and Walters (Bespoke) submit: Below we highlight the trading areas and historical p/e ratios of the ten major sectors of the S&P 500. The trading area is represented as two standard deviations above and below the sector's 50-day moving average.
Most sectors continue to trade near overbought levels, although Utilities have come in a little bit lately. Also noteworthy are the sectors whose p/e ratios have not risen along with price. Financials, Materials, and both Consumer sectors currently have positive divergences between price and p/e.
Have a great Memorial Day weekend!
click to enlarge
merlin
Member
Taking some off the table. Thinking about waiting until the Great Bail Out for the financial sector. They did it for Chrysler. Take look at what happen last night with Buffet buying BOA and others. Then funneling of money into CountrySide. The next thing will be the Great Bail Out. The Feds are not going to allow BOA the leading bank fail. Just my thinking at this time.
merlin
Member
TSP officials eye limits on trades
September 4, 2007
by Mike Causey
Washington Times
Many financial analysts, including Vanguard founder John C. Bogle,
consider the federal Thrift Savings Plan to be the best 401(k) anywhere.
The huge TSP is worth more than $200 billion. Most working feds, many
retirees and active and retired military people count on the program for
a substantial chunk of their retirement income. The TSP is considered a
best buy for several reasons:
The administrative fees, or charges to manage your account, are the
lowest in the business by a wide margin.
Most TSP investors — everyone under the FERS retirement system —
are eligible for a matching contribution of up to 5 percent after
putting in 5 percent or more of their salary. Even FERS employees who
contribute nothing have accounts into which the government contributes
the equivalent of 1 percent of their salary. Those matching
contributions, whether 1 percent, 2 percent or 5 percent, are equivalent
to a tax-deferred pay raise.
The rate of super-safe Treasury securities G Fund is set and guaranteed
by the government. The fund is available only to civilian and military
investors in the TSP.
Numerous people — many of them former highly paid lawyers turned
federal judges — switched substantial money from their individual
retirement accounts, 401(k) plans and other tax-deferred programs into
the TSP. They realize the TSP is a better, safer, less-expensive
investment vehicle. Many of them now have million-dollar TSP accounts.
The program receives annual oversight from Congress to the Labor
Department and the General Accountability Office. Many members of
Congress and their staffers have their retirement nest eggs in the TSP,
along with generals, admirals, astronauts, federal law-enforcement
personnel and rank-and-file civil servants.
So, if the TSP is so great, why is it studying private-sector 401(k)
plans looking for improvement?
One reason is that the ups and downs of the stock market since February
have many TSP investors jumping in and out of their stock-indexed funds
— particularly the international- indexed I Fund — and into and
out of the safety of the Treasury securities G Fund. Because of the way
the TSP's interfund transfer system is set up, investors can't day
trade, making instant transfers. But they can participate in what
amounts to next-day trading, which can produce even more surprises in a
market that can lose or gain 200 points in a matter of hours.
As Bethesda-based financial planner Dennis Gurtz said, people who
attempt to time the market, or guess when it has peaked and tanked,
"have to be right twice: when they go out and when they return." He said
being out of the market on just 10 or 12 key days can reduce the overall
return for that year.
In March, roughly 35,000 TSP investors moved about $1.7 billion from the
stock index funds — mostly the I Fund — into the Treasury
securities or bond funds. TSP officials said they "discourage active
trading" because the TSP is a long-term investment.
At the same time that a small percentage of investors are into "active"
trading, nearly a half-million investors in the TSP's Lifecycle funds
are doing the opposite. Lifecycle funds base their constantly changing
mix of stocks, bonds and the G Fund based on target dates. Those dates,
like the year 2020 or 2040, are when investors anticipate they will
begin tapping their TSP accounts. Those target dates are often later, in
some cases much later, than the date of retirement. As the value of
stocks drops, the target L funds buy more shares to maintain the proper
target percentage value in their particular L fund. When stocks go up,
they sell shares to maintain the target balance. Those funds are
adjusted automatically every day.
Investors who make frequent trades do not have to pay any higher fees
than those who seldom, if ever, make changes. The question facing TSP
officials is whether to charge active trades, and if so, how much. They
are looking at successful private-sector 401(k) plans to see what they
do. Do they have limits on the number of interfund transfers that can be
made? Do they have an absolute limit on the number or timing of trades,
or do they charge extra when an investor goes over the company 401(k)
plan limit? If so, what is a reasonable limit, and a reasonable charge
that will apply to active traders, not the total TSP investor
population?
The answers won't be available for some time. But for investors both
active and passive, they need to be asked — and answered.
Mike Causey, senior editor at Federal News Radio AM 1050, can be reached
at 202/895-5132 or mcausey @federalnewsradio. com
Oh well i figured would sooner or later.
September 4, 2007
by Mike Causey
Washington Times
Many financial analysts, including Vanguard founder John C. Bogle,
consider the federal Thrift Savings Plan to be the best 401(k) anywhere.
The huge TSP is worth more than $200 billion. Most working feds, many
retirees and active and retired military people count on the program for
a substantial chunk of their retirement income. The TSP is considered a
best buy for several reasons:
The administrative fees, or charges to manage your account, are the
lowest in the business by a wide margin.
Most TSP investors — everyone under the FERS retirement system —
are eligible for a matching contribution of up to 5 percent after
putting in 5 percent or more of their salary. Even FERS employees who
contribute nothing have accounts into which the government contributes
the equivalent of 1 percent of their salary. Those matching
contributions, whether 1 percent, 2 percent or 5 percent, are equivalent
to a tax-deferred pay raise.
The rate of super-safe Treasury securities G Fund is set and guaranteed
by the government. The fund is available only to civilian and military
investors in the TSP.
Numerous people — many of them former highly paid lawyers turned
federal judges — switched substantial money from their individual
retirement accounts, 401(k) plans and other tax-deferred programs into
the TSP. They realize the TSP is a better, safer, less-expensive
investment vehicle. Many of them now have million-dollar TSP accounts.
The program receives annual oversight from Congress to the Labor
Department and the General Accountability Office. Many members of
Congress and their staffers have their retirement nest eggs in the TSP,
along with generals, admirals, astronauts, federal law-enforcement
personnel and rank-and-file civil servants.
So, if the TSP is so great, why is it studying private-sector 401(k)
plans looking for improvement?
One reason is that the ups and downs of the stock market since February
have many TSP investors jumping in and out of their stock-indexed funds
— particularly the international- indexed I Fund — and into and
out of the safety of the Treasury securities G Fund. Because of the way
the TSP's interfund transfer system is set up, investors can't day
trade, making instant transfers. But they can participate in what
amounts to next-day trading, which can produce even more surprises in a
market that can lose or gain 200 points in a matter of hours.
As Bethesda-based financial planner Dennis Gurtz said, people who
attempt to time the market, or guess when it has peaked and tanked,
"have to be right twice: when they go out and when they return." He said
being out of the market on just 10 or 12 key days can reduce the overall
return for that year.
In March, roughly 35,000 TSP investors moved about $1.7 billion from the
stock index funds — mostly the I Fund — into the Treasury
securities or bond funds. TSP officials said they "discourage active
trading" because the TSP is a long-term investment.
At the same time that a small percentage of investors are into "active"
trading, nearly a half-million investors in the TSP's Lifecycle funds
are doing the opposite. Lifecycle funds base their constantly changing
mix of stocks, bonds and the G Fund based on target dates. Those dates,
like the year 2020 or 2040, are when investors anticipate they will
begin tapping their TSP accounts. Those target dates are often later, in
some cases much later, than the date of retirement. As the value of
stocks drops, the target L funds buy more shares to maintain the proper
target percentage value in their particular L fund. When stocks go up,
they sell shares to maintain the target balance. Those funds are
adjusted automatically every day.
Investors who make frequent trades do not have to pay any higher fees
than those who seldom, if ever, make changes. The question facing TSP
officials is whether to charge active trades, and if so, how much. They
are looking at successful private-sector 401(k) plans to see what they
do. Do they have limits on the number of interfund transfers that can be
made? Do they have an absolute limit on the number or timing of trades,or do they charge extra when an investor goes over the company 401(k)
plan limit? If so, what is a reasonable limit, and a reasonable charge
that will apply to active traders, not the total TSP investor
population?
The answers won't be available for some time. But for investors both
active and passive, they need to be asked — and answered.
Mike Causey, senior editor at Federal News Radio AM 1050, can be reached
at 202/895-5132 or mcausey @federalnewsradio. com
Oh well i figured would sooner or later.
fedgolfer
Well-known member
if they limit trades, which is an awful idea, they should at least extend the IFT deadline till 4pm like Vanguard. Mike Causey really shows his close mindedness when he talks TSP. Why would he say anything to lessen the gain of knowledgable TSP participants? Completely harmful towards feds.
FogSailing
Well-known member
What a dissssssapointing article..I feel like disssssssssing Mike Causey...
FS
FS
Birchtree
Well-known member
Every private sector mutual fund has implemented constraints on number of trades allowed and restraints on the time intervals between the trades. The only way to actively trade is to go with individual stocks or ETFs. I would like to see the military be allowed to DCA twice per month like everyone else. I would also like to see the military offer a defined contribution plan for members to get a step up on retirement especially if a member doesn't do 20 years. This would be an excellent recruitment tool - it may be coming.
fedgolfer
Well-known member
In Vanguard you can jump/time the funds by going in and out of the funds without redemption fees and the money market fund w/ extremely low cost. if you do exchange funds you are restricted from buying back into that fund for 90 days -- except for the money market fund. But they have so many funds that you can pull off swing trades. The only reason I know this is out of necessity when I was reg-t'd for 90 days and couldn't buy stocks in my wife's SEP-IRA brokerage account.
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