2. OIL DOWN, STOCKS UP - A month ago, the price of a barrel of oil hit $147.27, its all-time intraday high and the S&P 500 closed at 1239. Since then, the price of oil has fallen 22% to close at $115.20 and the S&P 500 has gained almost +5% to close at 1296 (source: BTN Research).
3. DIFFERENT OPINION - By a 10-1 vote, the Federal Reserve decided to leave short-term interest rates unchanged at 2% following their last meeting. Richard Fisher, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, dissented from the recommendation of Fed Chairman Bernanke for the 5th consecutive meeting. Fisher believes the Fed should be raising interest rates at this time to combat rising inflation (source: Federal Reserve).
4. BY THE DECADE - The cost of living (as measured by the consumer price index) in the USA increased +24% in the decade of the 50s, +28% in the 60s, +103% in the 70s, +64% in the 80s and +33% in the 90s. For the first 8 years of the current decade (2000-07), the cost of living nationwide has increased +25%. The consumer price index is a measure of inflation compiled by the US Bureau of Labor Studies (source: Department of Labor).
5. A QUIET PERIOD - The next Fed meeting is scheduled for 9/16/08 or just 7 weeks prior to the 11/04/08 presidential election. The nation's central bank has raised or lowered interest rates during the period from mid-September through election day only 1 time in the last 20 years (source: Federal Reserve).
6. WHAT ALAN THINKS - Alan Greenspan, the 82-year old former Fed Chairman, believes the scope of the global credit crunch is significant enough to qualify it as an event that may occur only 1 or 2 times every 100 years. Greenspan said the fear of investors that major financial entities could go bankrupt is what makes this situation so unique (source: Financial Times).
7. BAD LOANS - At least 45% of subprime loans originated in the previous 2 calendar years (i.e., 2006 and 2007) are projected to end up in default (source: Wall Street Journal, UBS).
8. TOP DECILE - The top 10% of US taxpayers earn at least $108,904 in adjusted gross income, have 47% of the total income of all taxpayers, and pay 71% of all federal income tax (source: Tax Foundation, IRS).
9. WHAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT - More than 7 out of every 10 Americans (71%) would accept a job that pays less but provides health insurance and includes a defined benefit pension plan rather than take a job that pays more income but lacks both health insurance and a pension benefit (source: Time Magazine).
10. NO CHANGE - 69% of financial advisors have not changed the asset allocation of their clients' investment portfolios as a result of the stock market volatility of the last 10 months (source: Curian Capital, MarketWatch.com).
11. SOUNDS A LITTLE HIGH - 43% of working Americans believe they will be able to withdraw at least 10% per year from their accumulated assets during future retirement years (source: Met Life).
12. ONE WAY TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM - The age at which an American can receive full Social Security retirement benefits is a function of an individual's date of birth and can be no higher than 67 years old under current law. In response to the program's long-term projected financial problems, the American Academy of Actuaries has proposed increasing the maximum age to receive full retirement benefits to 70, an age that would be phased in over an 18-year period (source: American Academy of Actuaries).
13. THE DOCTOR WILL NOW SEE YOU - The average American aged 65 or older makes 7.4 visits per year to a doctor, a hospital and/or an emergency room (source: Center for Disease Control).
14. TAX-FREE - The homeowner who is renting his Denver residence to Oprah Winfrey for 1-week at a cost of $50,000 during the Democratic National Convention will legally be able to exclude the rental payment he receives due to a provision involving the limited rental of property that is an individual's primary residence (source: IRS).
15. FLOPPER - Dick Fosbury, US track and field athlete from Oregon State University who first introduced what became known as the "Fosbury Flop" to high jumping (i.e., jumping back-first over the bar), set an Olympic record of 7 feet, 4 1/4 inches when he won a gold medal in the Mexico City games 40 years ago (1968). Fosbury was later rejected for military duty during the Vietnam War as a result of a bad back (source: Wall Street Journal).
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