Month: July 2010

2024 versus 2023 Health Savings Accounts (HSA) Contribution Limits, Deductibles and Out-of-Pocket Maximums For High Deductible Health Plans (HDHP)

Based on the latest IRS guidance, here are the latest Health Savings Account (HSA) limits. Following the trend in recent years, the inflation-adjusted amount individuals and families can contribute to these tax advantaged health savings account continues to rise. Latest HSA Contribution and Out-of-Pocket limits You can see the latest …

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Battle of the Banks: Local Versus National

There’s a lot to consider when choosing your bank. After all, the fate of your hard-earned money lays in the decision. The institution charged with keeping your funds secure and fostering their growth into a sizable sum has a lot of expectations to meet. Usually, consumers look for banks that …

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Cash Rewards on Visa (V) and Mastercard (MA) Earnings With No Credit Card Needed

Going into the earnings season, credit card transaction processing companies like Visa (V) and MasterCard (MA) have been hit pretty hard due to adverse impacts of the recently approved financial reform regulation which limits the interchange fees they can charge banks and merchants for card transactions.  However the actual regulation in the financial reform bill was scaled back to only cover debit card network fees, which impacts the banks more than it would Visa (V) or it’s card processing competitor MasterCard (MA). Following the public release of the financial reform bill, Visa and MasterCard stock prices dropped nearly 20% from recent highs within just a couple of weeks. While they have recovered somewhat along with the broader market in improving and more certain market conditions I think the stocks have much more upside going into earnings. In fact a fairly risk free trade, albeit with a bit of initial up-front capital, is to buy the stock before earnings (see dates below) and buy put options to cover any short-term down side risk.

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Chelsea Clinton’s $2 Million Wedding – Extravagant or Expected? Plus Other Good Reads

Chelsea Clinton Wedding Pictures
I promise to spend as much as Chelsea wants!

I remember getting married many years ago and was stunned by how much one night of dinner, drinks and dancing with 100 of your closest friends and family could cost. Fortunately my parents helped with paying for the wedding, and even thought it was a relatively modest affair it would still cover many a college education. However my wedding costs would be chump change compared to those being reported for Chelsea Clinton’s upcoming nuptials. I realize off course she is the daughter of arguably the most powerful and influential couple in the world, but still $2 million for a small wedding by celebrity standards is pretty astounding. Here’s how the costs breakdown according to ABC news:

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A $630,000 Luxury Car and 2000 Buyers – The Rich are Back and Spending

Porsche 918 Spyder Concept

Demand for luxury cars is returning around the world and especially in Wall Street as firms add jobs for the first time in two years and offer guaranteed payouts to attract top bankers. The return of big pay checks and even bigger bonuses (up 17 percent to $123,000 last year) has fueled demand for a raft of new, very fast, very cool and very expensive cars which are ordered off manufacturer lots before they have been made. For example the new Porsche 918 Spyder hybrid, which soars to 100 miles in less than 5 seconds, starts at $630,000. The car has a seven-speed transmission and electric power flows from a liquid-cooled lithium-ion battery (that just sounds cool!) At least 2,000 individuals have put in non-binding expressions of interest for the car, which is still in the pre-production phase. That is a whopping $ 1.3 billion of projected sales for cars that cost more than most people’s homes.  Lamborghini SpA another luxury car maker introduced the Reventon Roadster supercar (pictured below) which goes for a cool  $1 million. Ferrari’s  599 GTO is cheap by comparison at $300,000.

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