RIA News

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INVESTING FIXED INCOME APR 29, 2009
Treasury will auction long bonds monthly

The monthly auctions of 30-year bonds follows Treasury's decision just three months ago to double the frequency of the auctions from four times annually to eight.

By Bloomberg
RIAS RIA NEWS APR 29, 2009
Economy shrinks at 6.1% pace in 1Q

The economy shrank at a worse-than-expected 6.1 percent pace at the start of this year as sharp cutbacks by businesses and the biggest drop in U.S. exports in 40 years overwhelmed a rebound in consumer spending.

By Bloomberg
INVESTING LIFE INSURANCE AND ANNUITIES APR 29, 2009
Variable annuity market needs help to grow, report says

In order to keep the individual annuity market alive amid economic turmoil, insurance companies will need to readjust their product risk, distribution and cost structures for the product, according to a report from Conning Research & Consulting.

By Darla Mercado
RIAS RIA NEWS APR 29, 2009
What to do if you’ve filed taxes, but haven't paid

Your client filed her federal tax return by April 15 but did not include a check for the amount due, because she did not have funds available. She has come to you for advice as to how to proceed.

By Bloomberg
INVESTING LIFE INSURANCE AND ANNUITIES APR 29, 2009
Impaired intangible assets stress insurance earnings, Moody's says

Impaired intangible assets will continue to pressure insurance companies as earnings continue to erode, according to a report from Moody’s Investors Service in New York.

By Darla Mercado
INVESTING LIFE INSURANCE AND ANNUITIES APR 29, 2009
Aetna reports slight 1Q profit increase

Managed-care company Aetna Inc. said today its first-quarter profit rose slightly due to membership gains and premium increases, even though the company saw higher-than-expected medical costs.

By D Hampton
INVESTING LIFE INSURANCE AND ANNUITIES APR 28, 2009
Federal insurance regulation is coming, warns a House leader

Delivering a message that his audience probably didn’t want to hear, Paul Kanjorski, D-Penn, chairman of the House Capital Markets Subcommittee, said that federal insurance regulation is inevitable.

By Sara Hansard
RIAS RIA NEWS APR 28, 2009
Estate tax proposal would maintain current exemptions

What’s the future of the estate tax after 2009? This is a question that your clients have probably been asking a lot lately because the estate tax is scheduled to sunset in 2010 and then rise again like a phoenix in 2011 at higher tax rates and with a substantially lower unified exemption credit equivalent, or estate tax exemption, of $1 million.

By Joseph W. Walloch
RIAS RIA NEWS APR 28, 2009
Swine flu could stall economy's 'nascent recovery'

World stock markets fell today but relatively strong U.S. consumer confidence and housing data helped limit swine flu-related losses.

By Associated Press
RIAS RIA NEWS APR 28, 2009
U.S. consumer confidence soars in April

Hopeful signs that the worst may be over for the economy boosted Americans' moods in April, sending a closely watched barometer of sentiment to the highest level since November.

By Bloomberg
RIAS RIA NEWS APR 28, 2009
Lazard dips into red in first quarter

Lazard Ltd., a financial advisory and asset management firm, said today it posted a first-quarter loss as revenue declined and it recorded a previously announced restructuring charge.

By Associated Press
INVESTING LIFE INSURANCE AND ANNUITIES APR 27, 2009
Aviva sales increased 5% during first quarter

Worldwide sales for Aviva PLC rose to 10.3 billion British pounds ($15.1 billion) in the first quarter, up 5% from a year earlier, buoyed by sales of life insurance and pensions.

By Bloomberg
RIAS RIA NEWS APR 27, 2009
SEC considers strengthening custody rules to thwart Madoff-like schemes

The SEC will consider two proposals on custody rules as part of a package of initiatives aimed at ensuring the safekeeping of investor assets in the wake of the massive Ponzi scheme perpetrated by Bernard L. Madoff Securities LLC of New York, Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Mary Schapiro said today.

By Sara Hansard
INVESTING LIFE INSURANCE AND ANNUITIES APR 27, 2009
Ex-Allianz executive: Only a buyout can save Hartford

Only a buyout — preferably one by Allianz SE of Munich, Germany — will rescue The Hartford (Conn.) Financial Services Group Inc., wrote Bob MacDonald, former chief executive of Allianz Life of North America and Allianz Income Management Services, both in Minneapolis.

By Darla Mercado
RIAS RIA NEWS APR 27, 2009
Treasury needs $361B April-June borrowing

The Treasury Department said Monday it will need to borrow $361 billion in the current April-June quarter, a record amount for that period.

By Bloomberg
RIAS RIA NEWS APR 27, 2009
GM to cut 21,000 US factory jobs, shed Pontiac

General Motors Corp. said it will cut 21,000 U.S. factory jobs by next year, phase out its storied Pontiac brand and ask the government to take more than half its stock in exchange for half of GM's government debt as part of a major restructuring that would leave current shareholders holding just 1 percent of the company.

By Bloomberg
RIAS RIA NEWS APR 27, 2009
PrivateBancorp back in black for 1Q

PrivateBancorp Inc., which provides financial services to commercial firms, business owners, executives and individuals, said Monday it returned to profitability during the first quarter and easily topped analysts' expectations.

By D Hampton
RIAS RIA NEWS APR 26, 2009
Indie B-Ds gain clients at expense of wirehouses

The stock market's downturn is reshaping the retail-brokerage industry, with disgruntled clients replacing wirehouse brokers with independent representatives and financial advisers.

By Bruce Kelly
ADVISOR NEWS INDEPENDENT BROKER DEALERS APR 26, 2009
Small firms expand into institutional side

Some smaller broker-dealers are weathering tough times by diversifying into the institutional side of the business.

By Dan Jamieson
RIAS RIA NEWS APR 26, 2009
Fund fees face legal scrutiny

Two legal cases that will be decided by courts this year may significantly affect the mutual fund and investment advisory industries.

By MFXFeeder