Among the provisions of last year’s Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was a provision requiring small businesses to issue 1099 forms to every business to which it paid $600 or more in a single calendar year. Today, the House of Representatives passed a bill repealing the provision. Read the full article

Today I’m reviewing a book that’s rather outside my normal realm of interest: the second edition of “The Compleat Day Trader.” Read the full article

Last Fall, G. Jeffrey MacDonald, who writes for the Christian Science Monitor, published a piece following up on news that ownership of life insurance in the U.S. has reached a 50-year low. If people aren't buying life insurance, how are they providing for the financial needs of their survivors? Read the full article

I’ve been slow to mention this, but the FFS Blog recently received a compliment by being included in a list of the “40 Best Blogs for Your Retirement Planning” over at bschool.com. Although the site mostly gives advice about MBA programs, they also think it’s important for people to plan early for retirement. The article includes a number of other blogs worth perusing. Read the full article

Investment advisers have long been required to act as fiduciaries, placing the best interests of their clients above their own. In a significant report released today, the staff of the SEC has issued a recommendation that a “uniform fiduciary standard of conduct for broker-dealers and investment advisers -- no less stringent than currently applied to investment advisers under the Advisers Act – [be applied whenever] those financial professionals provide personalized investment advice about securities to retail investors.” This would be a major change from current regulatory policy. Read the full article

Last March, I predicted that Congress would close the door on the Social Security “interest-free loan” loophole strategy that has been discussed in various publications over the last couple of years. I was almost right: the Social Security Administration (SSA) itself has taken the initiative to clamp down on this practice by severely restricting the circumstances under which it can be done. Read the full article

Having recently finished Vitaliy Katsenelson's book, I was planning to review it, but I see that my friend David Merkel over at the Aleph Blog wrote an excellent review of "The Little Book of Sideways Markets" yesterday. Rather than rehash what he's already done, I'll just recommend his review. I'll only add that the book will appeal not only to readers who know something about stocks and want to learn more, but also to those looking for a well-written introduction to the stock market. Read the full article

One of the provisions of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 was a requirement for the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) to study whether the financial planning profession needs to be regulated differently. While the GAO’s report, issued today, did identify some concerns about the delivery of financial planning services, it concluded that no additional regulation is needed. Read the full article

With so many provisions in the The Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010, not much has been said about the extension of the IRA charitable rolloever. This rule has been extended through Dec. 31, 2011, and in an unusual twist, charitable distributions for the 2010 tax year can be made through the end of January 2011. Read the full article

Meir Statman has had a distinguished career studying the way that real people make economic decisions. His new book walks the reader through a litany of the reasons that many investment and financial decisions go awry. Read the full article

Toward the end of this year, the IRS began warning Congress that last-minute changes to the tax laws could result in delays for taxpayers. Since the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 did not come into being until Dec. 17, the IRS has announced that many taxpayers will have to wait until mid-to-late February 2011 before they can their 2010 Federal returns. Anyone who needs to file Schedule A will have to wait, as will taxpayers claiming various other deductions and credits. Read the full article

The Case-Shiller Index, the leading benchmark for housing prices, today reported new data updated through October and the news is less than cheerful. Boston housing prices showed a slight year-over-year decline, and several major housing markets slipped to price levels last experienced in spring of 2009. Read the full article

Now that Congress has extended lower tax rates through 2012, taxpayers should have an easier job deciding which taxation option to take for the conversion. Read the full article

Both the House and Senate have passed the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010, and the bill is expected to pass into law soon. What goodies does it hold for taxpayers? Read the full article

Today we're honored to participate in the Fall 2010 Blog Tour for Meir Statman's new book, What Investors Really Want, with a post written exclusively for the FFS Blog by Professor Statman. Read the full article

Kay Bell, over at Don't Mess With Taxes, notes that Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus has announced his intention to file legislation repealing the portion of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that requires small businesses to file Forms 1099 for most purchases totalling $600 or more. According to the Senate Finance Committee website, Baucus has gotten an earful from small business owners: "“Small businesses are the backbone of our economy in my home state of Montana and across the country, and they need to focus their efforts on creating good-paying jobs – not filing paperwork." While it would have been nicer if Congress had considered the effects of the provision on its constituents prior to making it law, it will still be a great help to small businesses if Baucus' efforts are successful. Read the full article

In September, H.R.5297, the Small Business Jobs Act, was signed into law. At 266 pages, the bill covers a lot of territory, but one provision will be of particular interest to small landlords. Read the full article

Each year, Congress usually makes a last-minute adjustment to keep the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) from hitting a large number of taxpayers. Although action has not yet been taken for 2010, a letter to the Internal Revenue Service Commissioner from key members of the House and Senate indicates that there’s hope for the enactment of a 2010 AMT “patch.” Read the full article

Generally, I’ve written all the posts for this blog myself. I’m making an exception to that practice this month, because I’ve had a rare opportunity to feature a post from an expert in the field of behavioral finance.

Which states are likely to have the worst pension liability problems in the future? A couple of studies, one from the Pew Center on the States and the other from the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, indicate that while a few are in decent shape, some are much worse than others. Read the full article

At this point, tax rates are scheduled to rise in 2011; no moves to reinstate tax cuts are going to take place prior to the election. Taxpayers with unrealized capital gains or losses need to start planning now for possible asset sales. Read the full article

The persistence of super-low Treasury bond interest rates has led to a new oddity in the Treasury bond market. Monday’s Treasury auction of Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS) resulted in investors paying a price that results in a negative yield for the bonds. Read the full article

One of the provisions of the health care bill was a change in the rules that apply to flexible savings accounts (FSAs), health savings accounts (HSAs) and other health savings plans. After December 31st of this year, the cost of over-the-counter drug purchases will no longer qualify for reimbursement from these plans. After the end of 2010, only insulin and prescription purchases will be reimbursable. There's a small exemption provided for plans that use debit cards; these purchases remain qualified through January 15, 2011. The IRS is providing further information on changes in the reimbursement rules for over-the-counter medicines and drugs at its web site. Read the full article

The Federal Reserve Bank of Boston reported that economic activity in the First District is generally on the upswing versus last year. Read the full article

Looking for cities leading the way in job creation and economic growth? The Milken Institutes's report "Best-Performing Cities 2010" identifies the leading areas in a ranking of 379 metros, divided into large (>200,000) and small (< 200,000) population metropolitan areas. Texas came out far ahead among the states this year, with Lone Star State cities filling 11 of the top 25 slots among large-population areas. Read the full article

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