Area money managers talk about the market.
Joyce Smith: Restaurant & retail news.
Steve Rosen: Teaching your children the value of a dollar.
Mark Davis: Money and how it makes people behave.
Smart spending and saving solutions from columnist Humberto Cruz and others.
It’s not exactly a gift they’ll remember you by: A general-purpose gift card that can be used in many stores but can cost $6.95 above face value and start charging fees as high as $4.95 a month after six months.
On top of that, some stores won’t accept the card for part of a purchase if the price is higher than the card’s remaining value. I’m not surprised that by the time these cards expire -- some do in a year or less -- about 10 percent of their value is never used.
I have long had a thing for a perfectly sacked grocery bag.
Four corners neat and square, cans on the bottom, bread on top. Light as a feather.
It’s been that way since my high school days when I worked summers and holidays as a sacker and stock boy.
My employer drilled a “red carpet service” mindset into my brain from day one, and even required me to attend sacker’s school before turning me loose on customers.
This week's review by Mark Phelan of the Detroit Free Press.
Buick's big betThe 2010 LaCrosse is Super-Buick, but will buyers see past Clark Kent's glasses?
Check out this D&S special:
An NHL swine flu power play
A power play?I wrote a post Thursday about Wall Street employees getting the jump on swine flu shots. Wouldn't it interesting, I mused, if professional athletes were also getting preferential treatment ahead of kids and at-risk pregnant moms?
A break this weekendYou might save yourself a buck this weekend when you fill up the tank.
Prices for unleaded self-service are five to six cents lower compared to last weekend, according to AAA. So, with a 20-gallon fill-up, presto, buy yourself a can of Diet Coke.
Upticks, downticksThe following stocks were among those that moved substantially or traded heavily Friday on the Big Board and the Naz. Data from the Associated Press.
Shares in Kansas City Southern moved this week with all the subtlety of a railroad locomotive: Fast and straight.
The stock added another 10 cents of gains Friday to close the week at $27.93. That marked four consecutive daily gains following news that Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway planned to spend $34 billion to buy rail competitor Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp.
Kansas City Southern stock is up about 16 percent for the week.
Regnier: Bank is well capitalizedThe parent company of the Bank of Blue Valley lost $4.2 million for the third quarter, an improvement of nearly 33 percent from the net loss for the same period in 2008.
After 10 years on the Country Club Plaza, Bang & Olufsen plans to relocate in early 2010.
The retailer of luxury televisions and music systems will move to the Crossroads Arts District, 1901 Main St.
As layoffs mount, Dollars & Sense is pulling together some resources to help you through these rough times.
Dollars & Sense is offering a free forum for job seekers through a partnership with the Kansas City Metro Networking Job Club. Check out job openings, tout your talents and post your resumes. Just register on the networking site and check out the resources.
Tracy DawsonThe job: Shift supervisor
The employer: For over a century, Kansas City ’s Fairbanks Morse manufacturing plant has been making a wide range of pumps for applications in public works and industrial installations throughout the world. Fairbanks Morse several years ago was purchased by Pentair Inc., based in Minneapolis, and, since it today sells brands other than its flagship Fairbanks Morse brand, is now known as Pentair Water Kansas City Operations.
BRB asks
Who do I talk to for financial advice that does not involve them trying to sell me something? We are 60 and 59, have a 200,000 annuity, are 60-70,000 credit card debt, have a house that is half paid for,own a condo in fl that is not paying for itself, have a good credit rating, not behind on anything, not facing foreclosure, wife on disability, husband still working, Want to pay off credit cards, but don't know how. Should we use part of annuity? I just want to know who to ask for help. Thanks
It looks like you would be well served by a comprehensive financial plan which would address your concerns and give you a clear picture of where you are at financially. Financial advisors are paid in two different ways. Some receive commissions for the products they sell you. There are also fee only financial planners who work for you for a set fee and sell no products. In their case you know exactly how much it will cost you up front. It would also be preferable to use a financial planner who is a Certified Financial Planner.
Best Regards,
G. Douglas Dunham
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