MONEY matters

In my neck of the woods, with the arrival of spring comes the amazing abundance of certified organic farmers markets. In the Bay Area, we are blessed with some of the finest artisan foods a region can offer.  As a society we are beginning to understand that the well-being of a region depends on our relationship to our soil and our local food producers. So when it comes to voting with your dollars, one way is to buy your food direct from the farmers that grow it.

Socially Responsible Investing (SRI)

Last week I’m having lunch with a few of my friends. And as usual, since I’m the investment guy of the group, everyone feels compelled to share their latest stock tip of the month with me as well as their latest score in the market.

When it comes to investing in Asia, China still gets most of the attention. China continues to attract more investors that any region in Asia, yet, there’s a hidden gem in Asia, namely South Korea, that I believe warrants your attention.

Economic growth remains strong. South Korea’s exports are expected to grow by 11.9%. This is also one of the most wired nations in the world - 95% of homes have broadband, compared with 58% in Germany. South Korea’s economic partnership with China is strong and growing stronger. China now accounts for about 25% of South Korea’s exports.

With the amazing rise in the value of gold, silver and other precious metals in the past few years many investors are looking to cash in on some of the spectacular profits they’re currently sitting on.

Have you just filed your 1040 tax return and later realized you had made a mistake on it?  First of all – don’t feel badly, people make mistakes all the time while filing their tax returns, after all, they are pretty complicated, especially if you do it yourself. And second, don’t panic and ignore the problem – there are ways to fix your errors and Certified Public Accountant, K.M. Pittman, in a short article written for Daily Worth, wrote how to handle tax filing problems with relative ease.

Pittman gives links to the IRS list of common mistakes, where you can read the top 9 common tax errors people make when filing taxes. There is also a link where you can file Form 1040X, the amended return and also the time limit in which to fix your error.

If all goes well, next month traders on the stock markets of Chile, Columbia and Peru (proposed as the Pacific Common Market) will be able to seamlessly buy and sell the shares of companies listed with each other. After two years of negotiation, the Integrated Latin American Market will instantly become Latin America’s second largest stock market, after Brazil’s.

Next on the list is talk of an impending ‘free-trade’ agreement between the U.S and South Korea, Panama and Columbia. There’s wide spread belief, but by no means certainty, that a deal will be struck in Congress approving these agreements before the August recess. With so much rancor in D.C these days, it’s hard to imagine any deal getting done, but the odds are high this one will go through.

For most people, a conversation about stocks, bonds, index funds, 529 plans, IRA’s, 401K’s, financial planning, etc, is the equivalent of a sleeping pill. For many it’s also a necessary task but not high up there in terms of joy and fulfillment.