Financial news 08/08/2012

• Daily Finance: Child tax credit to half in 2013 after Bush tax cuts expire
• FRB: Total consumer credit outstanding rose to $2.58 trillion in June
• AP: Government paid $194.99 billion on Q1-Q2 debt interest payments 
• Reuters: U.S. economic recovery still in progress per Fed Chief
• Bloomberg: Financial management services for dynastic clans rising
• BLS: Non-farm business labor costs rose 1.7% in Q2, productivity up 1.6% 
• Investor Place: Dividend cut & suspension trend in effect for early Q3
• PIMCO: "Cult of equity is dying"due to generational differences
• NYT: Income, age, marital status & career key drivers for home owners
• MW: Premium paid for quality growth shares as corporate earnings slow
• BBC: The Italian economy shrank .7% between April-June 2012

Financial news 08/07/2012

• Fox Business: NYSE seeking settlement over unfair competition probe
• Daily Finance: Food to cost $875 more in 2013 due to drought
• Bloomberg: Fiscal Cliff "nothing to do with reality" due to tax cut costs
• DOL: Net new jobs created in June 3.8 million, up from 3.7 million
• CNNMoney: Small business loans now require higher credit standards
• CNBC: Stock market rally is irrational based on economic data
• Reuters: Knight capital shares down 24.2% on dilution
• NYT: 401(k)s, bonds and real estate are investments for the "fed up"
• Reuters: In 2011, 7,000 financial advisers left industry; trend to continue
• MarketWatch: Oil prices recently rose to $92/barrel on upward momentum
• Telegraph: European political tensions mount over Monti warning
• Zero Hedge: Spanish Stock exchange halted trading for 5 hrs Monday

Financial news 08/06/2012

• Daily Finance: IRS gains $8,750 for each U.S. gold medal at 35% rate
• CNN Money: New jobs to wane on earnings, Fiscal Cliff, and no QE3
• AP: Approval rating of Congress only 12% per CBS & NYTs poll
• Option Queen: Knight Capital computers insufficiently monitored
• BI: Late stage in corporate earnings cycle waxes uncertainty
• CNBC: Gold to potentially reach $1,900 by yr end per HSBC analysts
• MarketWatch: Stock markets indicating "whipsaw" action
• ZH: ECB to intervene in markets, with inflation & illegitimacy to follow
• BBC: European resentments a risk to the Eurozone per Italy's Monti
• Bloomberg: Dollar and Yen weaken against the Euro

Guest post: A personal review of Barron's Magazine - Reasons to unsubscribe from Forbes

By: James Geddens

I have recently cancelled by subscription to Forbes Magazine and have instead started subscribing to Barron’s Magazine, simply due to the fact that I found it hard to keep up with some of the analysis.  The editorial articles inside Barron’s are extremely well authored and offer a superb perspective on what happened during the prior week’s financial world.  It also includes sections which tell you what is going to be happening during the following week’s stock market trading.

Get the Latest Stock Market Prices & Tables

The Market Laboratory pull out section is essential too because this includes all the latest stock and bond prices for the next 7 days, although it can be a little bit too in-depth and you can tend to get this detail off the web anyway.  However, it’s still handy to have all the stock tables in front of you as one easy read.  Since making the switch from Forbes I have found that I have actually been able to read every single weekly edition of Barron’s.  It makes a change to having magazine piled up on my desk that I never get around to reading! 

Get Invaluable Investment Leads Like the Professionals Do

One of the other reasons that I subscribe to Barron’s Magazine is that I like to know what the business leaders are reading.  According to research, the average worth a Barron’s reader is $3 Million US Dollars.  Whilst I don’t have that much money, it’s still pretty cool to know that I can benefit from the same investment leads that those guys get each week.  Over the course of my subscription to Barron’s I have seen my own stock portfolio’s value rise by 21% as I owe a lot of that down to the advice that I get inside the different pages by the expert columnists.  A lot of the commentary in the magazine is also quite humorous and makes a change from the rather staid and stuffy reporting seen in rival publications. 

Value for Money with Up to Date Finance News

Barron’s Magazine might be quite expensive but it does come weekly which make the annual $99 Dollars subscription fee offer value for money in my view.  If you are an investor like me then you will already be aware of the importance of getting the most timely financial information – and Barron’s certainly seems to offer that.  Whether you want to know the latest oil prices, details on the latest corporate takeover, or what’s hot or not in finance, then it should tick all the boxes for you. 

No Over the Top Advertising Space

Another plus point to Barron’s is the fact that it does not have large and over the top advertising space on any of the pages.  There are a few ads, but these are always placed contextually and don’t interfere with your reading.  The ads usually blend quite well into the articles so you almost tend not to notice them. 

It’s Like Forbes Magazine but Without the “Fluff”

How I like to describe Barron’s Magazine, is that it is like the Wall Street Journal or Forbes… but without all the fluff.  You can either subscribe to it via post in traditional magazine format, or get it via email with a login to the Barrons.com website.  In the most simple terms possible I would say that Barron’s Magazine is a must read for people who love stock market numbers.  If you want to keep ahead of the competition and make better investment choices and picks then it could work for you.  Personally I love it and could not do without it nowadays. 

Author Bio: James Geddens is a 32 year old investment trader based in New York who reads Barron’s Magazine each week.  If you want to know more about Barron’s then you should click here for more info on this independent subscriptions website that hosts information about most financial magazines.

Financial news 08/03/2012

• CNBC: New normal jobless rate to range between 6-7%
• NPR: USPS has defaulted on a $5.5 billion debt payment
• CNN: Facebook shares falls below $20;  June IPO $38/share
• BI: Houston among U.S.'s most economically segregated cities
• The Street: Friends cost more than $500/yr for 19% of surveyed
• MarketWatch: Keynesian economics is deluded by false reality
• WSJ: Stock prices can't rise at historical rate with current economy
• Daily Finance: High gas prices booted Harley Davidson sales
• Reuters: IRS Commissioner expected to resign before trying year
• Bloomberg: Spanish 10-yr bonds surpassed 7% yield again

Financial news 08/02/2012

• CNNMoney: Income segregation rising per Pew Research Center
• BI: Jobs paying $37K+/yr w/health & rtmnt benefits only 24.6% of total
• Fox Business: House of Reps. to extend Bush era tax cuts, "symbolically"
• Reuters: White House cuts 2012 GDP forecast .4% to 2.3%
• DOL: Jobless claims 07/28/12 365K; average 365K from 368.25K
• FRB: Economy "decelerated" Q -Q2. Fed Funds rate unchanged
• AOL: BoFa to never recover from lawsuits, bad loans & poor investments
• CNBC: Market making glitch casts doubt on high-frequency trading
• ADP: Jobs created in July, 163K; June jobs revised down to 172K
• S&P: British AAA sovereign credit rating remains stable
• Bloomberg: German AAA credit rating also maintained by S&P
• BBC: Eurozone manufacturing contracted further in June per PMI

Financial news 08/01/2012

• IBD: Rise in home price must continue through fall to confirm trend
• Fox Business: Federal spending cuts of $109 bln to begin Jan. 2, '13
• NYT: SEC proposes muni-bond market reform to protect investors
• GMO: Grantham warns of worsening global food crisis
• ISM:  Purchasing Manager's Index rose to 49.8 in July, from 49.7
• CNBC: Fed expected to do little to increase monetary stimulus
• CNNMoney: Poker sites to pay $731 million in DoJ fraud settlement
• Business Insider: Global PMI reports indicate economic slowdown
• Reuters: Eurozone jobless rate up to record 11.2% since Euro began
• BBC: China's PMI slowed to 50.1 in June from 50.2; 8-month low
• ZH: Chinese stimulus won't happen in 2012 due to credit mkt concerns
• Bloomberg: Chinese government pledges more economic "measures"