Yesterday in an underreported story, the US Treasury announced that they are changing the rules for USpension plans.  Treasury proposed two regulations to make it easier for those approaching retirement to buy an annuity through their company-funded pensions or 401(k) savings accounts according to Bloomberg.  (Annuities are insurance contracts that guarantee a lifetime stream of income in exchange for up-front payments.) 

Why is this important? 

First, there is a massive amount of money in pension plans with about $2.9 trillion in 401(k) accounts and a total $17 trillion in retirement savings (as of Sept. 30, according … …READ MORE

In speeches I do for clients and conferences, one of my favorite charts comes from the Kauffman Foundation’s study on where jobs are created in the United States. It shows that firms 5 years and younger accounted for over 90% of new jobs created in the US from 1992-2006……

Read Full BU… …READ MORE

Is it really a smart thing to do to give PSI kickers if GDP is better than expected or any upside?  Won’t this mean that Greece has to make higher payments on debt and then will be forced to pay more to debt rather than be allowed to grow?  In turn, won’t this limit the upside to growth?  The best debt restructuring plan for Greek growth is to have the largest haircut and set it in stone or the kickers will act as a drag on potential upside growth.… …READ MORE