Biography
Award-winning personal finance columnist and author Gail MarksJarvis cuts through the stock market chatter, investing hype and the get-rich- ...
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Investors rely on large, stable companies as recovery pace lagged, lasting trends hard to identify
July 17, 2011
Investors shied away from taking chances in the second quarter and stuck with the tried and true — companies like Kraft Foods Inc. and McDonald's Corp.
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Consider effects of dipping into pension
July 15, 2011
Q: I'm 29 years old and have been with my current company for six years. I've accepted a new job, and I want to take money out of my old cash-balance (pension) plan and use it for a down payment on a home. We are renting. If I do this, my old employer will withhold 20 percent for federal taxes and 10 percent as a penalty for withdrawing money before retiring. How can I avoid those losses?
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Question of 'Who's next?' in European crisis grows louder
July 13, 2011
Typically this is the time of year when fortunate Americans spend tranquil summer vacations relaxing in carefree outdoor European cafes.
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Horrible jobs picture precedes earnings week
July 10, 2011
It's starting to sink in.
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Consider taking stock in a buy-and-hold strategy
July 8, 2011
You can labor over your investments or you can make investing easy on yourself.
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Unemployment key to fate of stocks
July 6, 2011
Like an unemployed person anxiously hoping for the phone to ring after submitting job applications, investors are on edge as they await Friday's unemployment numbers.
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S&P rally boosts spirits
July 3, 2011
It was hardly worth the fretting.
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Employee morale ebbs along with workforce
July 1, 2011
They are the walking wounded — the people who still have jobs but are growing weary after all the cuts and pressures at work as companies continue trying to do more with less.
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Most investors poised to bleed in 2nd quarter; outlook for 3rd doesn't staunch it
June 29, 2011
The second quarter has been filled with surprises, and not the type you like.
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Bear market sniffing around, but for now drop in stocks still a correction
June 26, 2011
The Standard & Poor's 500 is down 6 percent from late April, but the stress probably isn't over for investors.
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Dollar worries? Try bucking the gold trend
June 24, 2011
Have you noticed that the dollar has gotten stronger since late April?
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ETFs give investors greater control at lower cost
June 22, 2011
People hate the feeling that they lack control.
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'Trendless market' offers little traction to stock-picking pros, individual investors
June 19, 2011
There is a saying among long-time investment professionals that the stock market has a way of making fools out of the best of the pros.
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A call for regulations to protect the elderly
June 17, 2011
If you are approaching your late 40s, you probably are not going to like the view Harvard economics professor David Laibson provides of the future that's creeping up on you and your parents.
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Good market news renews interest in stocks, but choose carefully
June 15, 2011
Enough gloom.
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Be careful about getting lulled into structured mess
June 10, 2011
It's like taking candy from a baby, with sweet words like "guaranteed," "protected" and "secure."
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Sluggish economy feeling like 'the new normal'
June 8, 2011
Remember the "new normal"?
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Austan Goolsbee leaving Obama administration
June 6, 2011
Austan Goolsbee, President Barack Obama's chief economic adviser, is leaving the administration and returning to the University of Chicago Booth School of Business to teach.
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A deal on Groupon stock? That door may be shut
June 6, 2011
If you imagine yourself getting a deal on Groupon stock when the company goes public, you might want to turn your attention to a spa or restaurant coupon instead.
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Got a degree and a job? Now get a financial plan
May 27, 2011
If you are graduating from college and have a full-time job related to your degree, you are among the fortunate. Few are landing jobs in this tough environment.
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Bond-bound investors may face greater risk
May 25, 2011
Investors trying to duck a blow from the stock market by moving to bonds may be positioning themselves to take a left jab that they didn't see coming.
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Signs of slowing economy spooking investors
May 18, 2011
There's a growing sense that something isn't quite right.
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Elmo puts kids on right street to financial literacy
May 13, 2011
Do you want your child to end up being good with money?
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Sputtering economy pushing investors away from cyclical stocks
May 11, 2011
Investors are uncomfortable despite a recovery in the stock market since last week's sell-off.
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Follow market rules of thumb, not crystal balls
May 6, 2011
Slowly, people are tiptoeing back into the stock market, enticed by a three-year market high.
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Commodity prices could signal where stocks are headed
May 4, 2011
When the latest figures for U.S. economic growth came in at 1.8 percent instead of the 4 percent that had been expected earlier in the year, investors began to wonder if they were looking at a short-term problem or a sign of ongoing weakness.
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Uncertain times leaving bond investors guessing
April 29, 2011
This is torture for bond investors, and especially for those intent on keeping their money safe.
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Markets gains a perfect lead-in for Ben Bernanke's first news conference after Fed meeting
April 27, 2011
As Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke takes center stage Wednesday in the first-ever press conference following a closed-door Fed meeting, he couldn't ask for a better backdrop.
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Turn college cost panic into sound strategies
April 22, 2011
Do you dare say "yes" to that college waiting to hear if you, or your child, will join the freshman class this fall?
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Despite downgrade threat, investors not running from Treasurys
April 20, 2011
To the casual observer, the reaction in stock and bond markets to Monday's slap in the face by Standard & Poor's might have seemed surprising.
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A time to save
March 25, 2011
Are you worried that you won't ever be able to retire, or have enough money to put food on the table and enjoy life if you do?
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Watching withdrawals key to retirement spending
March 18, 2011
People feel fragile after watching, during the financial crisis, a vicious bear market destroy half the money they had in the stock market.
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For parents, the ABCs of college finance
February 4, 2011
Look at your child, and think of college.
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Looking for a job? Go get some coffee or hit the gym
January 23, 2011
Matthew Krzus and his friends graduated from college in May, and most of them are struggling to get jobs.
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Coming weeks to test reality of optimistic profit outlooks
January 19, 2011
As concern about the economy eases, investors are increasingly optimistic about stocks and have pushed the market up more than 100 percent from early 2009 lows.
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Small, midsize companies lead Chicago-area gainers in 2010
January 16, 2011
At first blush, the best and worst stocks of the year in the Tribune 2010 Stock Report might seem perplexing.
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College aid: Think like a shopper when seeking financial help
April 12, 2009
Can you afford college?
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Stock market responds to toxic-asset plan with broad rally
March 24, 2009
The stock market, at last, liked what it heard from the government.
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How to save for college during a recession
January 9, 2009
5 tips on saving for education
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Tune out hysteria to build your wealth
January 7, 2009
5 tips on recession investing
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What now? Resist urge to flee or freeze
January 22, 2008
Are you OK?
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Housing tilting economy down
January 7, 2008
It's not a pretty picture, and it didn't have to come to this.
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Long-short funds flopped during slump
October 14, 2007
Maybe plain-vanilla stock and bond mutual funds will do the job after all.
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Racial divide in savings
October 12, 2007
If middle- and upper-income African-Americans continue to save and invest the way they tend to do, they stand to struggle financially through retirement in greater proportions than whites at similar income levels.
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Investors find boring often can be fruitful
October 7, 2007
Q. I am 24 and have been saving in my 401(k) for about a year, but I find mutual funds boring. So I started paying attention to stocks. I discovered that I was good at spotting those that would do well. For a while, I just made a mental note of stocks I liked, but when I saw them go up I decided to buy my first stock. It was Garmin, which makes navigation devices for cars. I bought it for $70 and I made money immediately. Now I'm wondering how to decide when it's time to sell. Are there some rules of thumb?
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Make up lost time with swift, smart action
September 30, 2007
Q. I have only $20,000 saved for retirement and am 50 years old. I know I have to get going, but my head is swimming with things I have heard about a deferred compensation plan and a 403(b) variable annuity at work. I'm a teacher, and can use either of the plans. But some people at work say the annuity isn't good and the deferred compensation plan is better. I tried to get help from a person in benefits, but they sounded like they were talking in code. So I haven't been doing anything, although I did pay off my house. What should I do?
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Act early to prevent foreclosure
September 16, 2007
Keep the wolf away from the door.
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Look at jobs, confidence for investing hints
September 9, 2007
According to Wall Street folklore, investors can expect results for September to turn out like the first trading day of the month.
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Saving money for college? Study aid rules
July 15, 2007
Q You recently warned a parent not to let his son open a Roth IRA because it could keep him from getting financial aid for college. We opened a UTMA account for our niece some time ago and wonder if that would reduce the amount of financial aid she could receive when she goes to college.
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Fears crawl into minds of investors
July 9, 2007
Call it the "cockroach theory."
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Fears crawl into minds of investors
July 9, 2007
Call it the "cockroach theory."
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Roth can be expensive gift for 16-year-old
July 8, 2007
Q. My wife and I are thinking about opening a Roth IRA [individual retirement account] for our 16-year-old son. I've paid attention, as you have suggested that small savings early in life can turn into million-dollar nest eggs. Is there any reason why we shouldn't open a Roth IRA for our son?
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Emerging markets ready to step back
July 1, 2007
Your emerging-market fund might have climbed 50 percent during the last 12 months, but that doesn't mean it will be immune from the interest rate worries, housing woes and subprime mortgage angst that have tainted U.S. stocks recently.
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Treasury yield's rise above 5% unnerves market
June 8, 2007
Investors ran for the exits Thursday, second-guessing the enthusiasm that has powered the stock market to one record-breaking high after another the last few weeks.