Right on the Money

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Back in January, when Jacob “Jack” Lew was a mere nominee for the position of Secretary of the Treasury, the New York Magazine described his signature as a “slinky that has lost its spring.” Now, as the official Treasury secretary, his signature has changed. Questions: 1. Why were people worrying about Lew’s signature in the… Read more »

The Goldilocks Number

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Why does Wall Street like a “Goldilocks number” when it comes to job growth? Job growth in May kept up with the year’s monthly average, with 175,000 new jobs added. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate increased slightly to 7.6 percent. Questions: 1. What is the role of the Federal Reserve regarding the risk Wall Street sees?… Read more »

Read the fine print

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It is likely that when you get your first job or when you move to a new job that you will be asked about enrolling in a long-term care insurance benefits program. According to Ms. Siegel, one of the most important reasons for people buy long-term care insurance is to avoid burdening a spouse or… Read more »

Massive Estate Planning Mistakes of Celebrities

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[Marilyn Monroe]Consider the mistakes of these five celebrities when you make decisions about your estate or advise others about theirs. As Sheyna Steiner reports, problems in life may compound after death as creditors, heirs and the Internal Revenue Service come calling for their share of an estate. Questions: 1. After reading about these five celebrities,… Read more »

Pension Predators – A New York Investigation

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Gov. Andrew Cuomo is ordering New York’s top banking regulator to investigate “pension advance” firms. The payments by these firms are advertised as advances. However, they are really cleverly disguised high interest rate loans that target older citizens’ assets. Questions: 1. What are the benefits for the firms on insisting that they are advances rather… Read more »

Why is the IMF chief in court?

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Recently, Christine Lagarde was grilled by a French court in regards to a business settlement with disgraced tycoon Bernard Tapie in 2007. Questions: 1. What is the IMF? Why was the IMF in the news in 2011? 2. What is the controversy about? Is anyone alleged to have profited from the incident? 3. What does… Read more »

The Tragedy of “Fast Fashion”

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A garment factory, manufacturing products for international clothing companies, collapsed outside of Dhaka, Bangladesh, last month. The collapse killed more than 400 workers and injured many others. This tragedy came on the heels of a factory fire in November 2012, which killed 112 workers. Questions: 1. Who are some of the chains that supply “cheap… Read more »

Access to Material Confidential Government Information?

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According to The Washington Post, the Securities and Exchange Commission has issued subpoenas to Height Securities, a Washington-based stock brokerage firm, and individuals in connection with the leak last month about a federal funding decision that appeared to cause a surge in stock trading of several major health companies. Questions: 1. What healthcare stock surged… Read more »

JPMorgan Chase: Transition from Model Citizen to Problem Child in the Eyes of the Government

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According to The New York Times, government investigators have found that JPMorgan Chase devised “manipulative schemes” that transformed “money-losing power plants into powerful profit centers.” In addition, they allege that one of its most senior executives gave “false and misleading statements” under oath. Questions: 1. Who is Jamie Dimon; who is Blythe Masters? 2. At… Read more »

Austerity Brings about Desperate Times and Desperate Acts

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Two penniless Spanish men chopped off their own hands and tried to claim the insurance payout as accidents. Unfortunately for them, both have been exposed as fraudsters because they performed the amputations too well to be accidents. Both cases come amid a steep rise in the number of false insurance claims that have been revealed… Read more »