Ouch. Feb. 27 was one of those days when a pinched nerve would have felt like a relief compared with the pain felt by millions of investors. In just a few hours of trading, hundreds of billions of dollars vanished. Stock market tantrums, like the one we recently experienced, are painful, but they feel even more excruciating because of the way we're hard-wired. We tend to dismiss our financial successes, while we let our setbacks ... [full story]

Dear Mr. Berko: In mid-2000 I bought 72 shares of Dow Chemical at about $40 a share for about $3,000 (was this company really started by a Mr. Dow?). And as you recommended, I reinvested all the dividends and now have 91.335 shares of Dow Chemical trading about $43. I am disappointed that the stock has not done better especially considering that the market has done so well in the past four or five years. ... [full story]

SALEM—Oregon's Working Family Child Care (WFC) tax credit may help low-income families recoup some of their childcare costs. "This credit is especially important to low-income families because it's refundable," said Keith Shribbs, Oregon Department of Revenue's WFC coordinator.  A refundable credit means that if the credit is more than the tax you owe, the state will pay you the difference. "A family could get some money back from the state even if they don't owe ... [full story]

Dear Mr. Berko: Now that Sirius Radio and XM Satellite Radio are going to merge, my broker wants me to buy 3,000 shares of XM Satellite radio at $17.10. He believes the merger will create a very large and extremely profitable company. He says the combined listeners of 13 million, the combined advertising the combined resources (plant and equipment) and the combined management will make this company billions of dollars over the next two to ... [full story]

Decided to file your own taxes and looking for software? Or are you an expert looking for the best? There's a lot to choose from out there. A number of experts say TurboTax is the best this year, yet there are options for the less experienced and those who want to hold down the cost. Professional accountants don't test software for consumers, although several certified public accountants in the Canton, Ohio, area said they use ... [full story]

Dear Mr. Berko: We are trying to help our daughter and her husband secure a $200,000 mortgage on a house they want to buy. I saw an advertisement by Lending Tree and after speaking with a man there he offered a $200,000 mortgage with payments of $896 a month, not including taxes and insurance. That seems to be a good deal especially since our kids have less than stellar credit. The mortgage man at Lending ... [full story]

Individual Retirement Accounts may be simple, but they continue to befuddle investors. My recent column on IRAs prompted lots of questions. In fact, I get almost as many e-mails from IRA columns as when I trash annuities. Here are some more IRA questions: Q: What are the tax consequences for moving cash from a nondeductible IRA to a Roth IRA? A: Before reading last week's column, I'm sure most readers had never spent even a ... [full story]

Dear Mr. Berko: I think I'd like to own 125 shares of Southwest Airlines. My nephew joined Southwest a year ago and after working at United, USAir and Delta between 1989 and 2005 he says that this is the most fantastic airline in the world. He has even met the founder and chief executive officer, who he says are "regular guys." My nephew owns some stock and he says I should own some stock, too. ... [full story]

U.S. Senate declares March 'Go Direct Month' to shed light on safety and security benefits of direct deposit for Social Security payments WASHINGTON - Financial crime is a widespread concern among Americans, with four in 10 saying in a new Treasury Department-commissioned survey that they have been victims of identity theft or know someone who has. But the survey also reveals that people often leave themselves open to financial crimes -- even in their own ... [full story]

What are you going to do with your part of $10 billion? If you are Joe or Jane Taxpayer and telephone customer, chances are that you are eligible to receive part of the broadest tax refund in U.S. history. The Internal Revenue Service estimates that up to 160 million returns will request a portion of the refund. PHONE-TAX CREDIT - Millions are expected to take advantage of the phone-tax credit. CNS Photo Illustration by Michael ... [full story]

Dear Mr. Berko: I bought 300 shares of Life Time Fitness centers at $54.20 recently and in a rising market this stock hasn't been doing too well. In fact, I have a loss. Please tell me what you think of this company. Should I continue owning the stock? And do you think I should buy another 200 shares or do you think I should sell the 200 shares I own? I'm a member of the ... [full story]

In so many ways, the Individual Retirement Account is exquisitely simple. If you can recite your ABC's without hesitating, or even if you can unfold a napkin, you have enough intellectual firepower to open an IRA. Despite their simplicity, however, IRAs intimidate many Americans. And that's one reason why IRA opportunities have been passed by more times than a dirty truck stop. To be sure, there is $3.7 trillion sitting in IRA accounts today, but ... [full story]

Most investors have the mindset that the only safe investment is a low yield investment. However, Integrity Investment Fund, LLC a national firm, aims to educate investors how they can receive high yields with very little risk using real estate secured Trust Deeds. Well over half of all investors today have a fear of high yield investments and instead place their money into low yield accounts such as CD’s, Money Markets, Mutual Funds, and savings ... [full story]