Now that Standard and Poor’s has lowered the US debt rating to AA+, only sixteen nations have the highest rating from all three major ratings agencies (S&P, Moody’s and Fitch). Read the full article

Boston Restaurant Week, now in its 11th year, starts next week. For two weeks, August 14-19 and 21-26, fine restaurants in the Greater Boston area will offer discounted fixed-price menus to draw customers in during a traditionally slow month. Over 200 restaurants will offer 2-course lunches for $15.11, 3-course lunches for $20.11 and 3-course dinners for $33.11. Boston holds Restaurant Week twice a year, in August and March. Read the full article

Making good on its earlier warnings, S&P announced after the close of the markets today that it has lowered its long-term credit rating on US debt one notch, from AAA to AA+. Read the full article

Today is the 150th anniversary of the US income tax. Originally established to fund the Civil War, the Federal income tax underwent various changes, with the basic system we have today being established in 1913. It seems appropriate, on this anniversary, to note that we can expect to see some significant changes in the structure of the income tax code later this year. Read the full article

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts will have its sales tax holiday this year on August 13-14. Read the full article

Between the German Finance Minister announcing that the EU debt crisis isn't over and an ongoing debate over the likely market effects of a US credit downgrade, there’s a good deal of chafing at the bit on the question of what investors should do in the face of a troubling degree of market uncertainty. Read the full article

The 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) extended higher limits for so-called conforming mortgages, which helped keep mortgage rates lower for home buyers living in high-priced areas of the US, including New England. Barring a change in current law, the conforming mortgage limit extension will run out for loans originated at the end of September. Read the full article

The continuing impasse between Democrats and Republicans on raising the US debt limit before August 2nd prompted a major ratings agency to place the nation’s AAA rating on credit watch this week, suggesting that the rating might be lowered even without an outright default. Read the full article

One of the key risks that retirees face is the possibility of outliving their incomes. In a report released earlier this month, the US Government Accountability Office concluded that although almost 75% of retirees start taking Social Security benefits before age 65, many workers would have a significantly better chance of a successful retirement if they worked longer and waited to start collecting Social Security. Read the full article

The rules for benefiting from the home office deduction are complex, but this shouldn't discourage taxpayers entitled to the deduction from using it. Read the full article

iShares chief investment strategist Russ Koesterich has written an engaging, insightful book explaining the magnitude of the problem that the United States national debt presents for investors. The full title of the book is The $10 Trillion Gamble: The Coming Deficit Debacle and How To Invest Now. Read the full article

Bloomberg TV interviewed John Chambers, managing director of sovereign ratings at S&P, on the consequences of a US default. While he made it clear that the mere act of failing to raise the debt ceiling would not automatically cause a rating change, he made it clear that if any debt payment were not made on time, S&P would change the Treasury’s rating from AAA to D. Read the full article

As the Greek debt tragedy plays itself out, it’s become apparent that problems in Europe have the potential to nick some U.S. money market funds. Read the full article

Everyone understands, at some level, the need to save for long-term goals. Buying a house, preparing for retirement, or sending a child to college are goals that we know we have to save for. But how much difference does it make whether we start saving now versus saving later? Read the full article

The IRS announced yesterday that taxpayers who were victims of storms in parts of Vermont on April 23 and the June 1 tornadoes in certain counties in Massachusetts are granted additional time to make some tax payments. Read the full article

Joseph Quinlan, chief market strategist for US Trust, has written an insightful book on the shifts taking place in the world economy. The book's subtitle captures its scope: The retreat of globalization, the end of American dominance, and what we can do about it. Read the full article

The Washington Post reported this week that rules being drafted under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act will likely have the effect of making it tougher for borrowers to qualify for the lowest mortgage rates available. Read the full article

In testimony to the Senate Appropriations committee in March, the Social Security Administration announced that it will not send out annual benefit statements for the rest of this fiscal year. Read the full article

With money market accounts paying essentially 0%, what's a saver to do? Read the full article

The Massachusetts economy continues to strengthen faster than the nation as a whole, according to state economists. Read the full article

According to a recent survey of American workers conducted in February and March 2011, 39% of workers plan to work past age 70 or not to retire at all. Read the full article

The Boston Business Journal announced yesterday a new report on Massachusetts Housing “Leaders and Laggards” based on data from the first quarter of 2011. Our Fair City did not make it into the Top Ten, or even the Top Twenty. Read the full article

Late last week, the Board of Trustees of the trust fund that covers Social Security and Medicare issued its annual report for 2011. Read the full article

As Congress wrangles over whether to extend funding or let the Federal government “shutdown” over the coming weekend, the Commissioner of the IRS has indicated that refunds for tax returns filed on paper will probably be delayed if there is a shutdown. Read the full article

Today the Senate passed, by a wide margin, H.R. 4, the Small Business Paperwork Mandate Elimination Act of 2011. Read the full article

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