January 8th – Education Corner – Beware of these 3 IRS Scams

Do you know how the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) contacts taxpayers to resolve a problem? The first step is almost always to send the taxpayer a letter through the U.S. Postal Service. It is very rare for the IRS to make their first contact attempt through a call or a personal visit. This happens in […]

Monday January 6th – This Week on Wall Street

The Week on Wall Street Stocks descended from record highs Friday, as traders reacted to a U.S. drone strike that killed Iran’s top military officer. Oil prices rose more than 3% following the breaking news. Wall Street benchmarks ended up having a sideways week, shortened by the New Year’s Day holiday. The Dow Jones Industrial […]

Avina Financial – LifeStyle Weekly

“New Year’s Day is the first blank page of a 365-page book. Write a good one.” – Brad Paisley Champagne Gummy Bears Nothing says “New Year’s Eve” like a beautiful flute of champagne. Get all the spritz and sparkle of champagne in gummy bear form with this DIY recipe. [100 gummy bears] Ingredients […]

Monday December 30th – This Week on Wall Street – What Drove the Markets?

What Drove the Markets? Four factors influenced investment performance in 2019: a shift in U.S. monetary policy, the ongoing trade dispute between the U.S. and China, earnings, and the economy. Stocks reached record highs in 2019. The S&P 500 climbed above 3,000 for the first time. The benchmark ended Friday’s trading session up 29.25% […]

Monday December 15th – This week on Wall Street

Emanuel Avina The Week on Wall Street The U.S. and China announced a limited trade agreement last week. That news lifted U.S. and foreign stocks, leading to weekly gains. Advancing 0.91% on the week, the Nasdaq Composite outperformed the S&P 500 (up 0.73%) and Dow Jones Industrial Average (up 0.43%). The MSCI EAFE index, measuring […]

December 18th – Education Corner – Family Legacy

Emanuel Avina A family legacy can have multiple aspects. It can include much more than heirlooms. It may also include guidance on what to do with the gifts that are given. What are your “legacy” assets? Financially speaking, a legacy asset is something that may outlast you, something that might produce income or wealth […]

December 11th -Education Corner – Beware of I.D. Theft

Emanuel Avina The cost of data breaches increases. The latest annual study from Javelin Strategy & Research, a leading financial analytics research firm, says that 14.4 million people were impacted by I.D. theft in 2018. Roughly 3.3 million of them had to shoulder a financial loss or an out-of-pocket cost due to these crimes. Those […]

Monday December 9th – This Week on Wall Street

The Week on Wall Street Key Wall Street benchmarks were up and down last week – or rather down and then up. A Tuesday retreat was offset by a Friday rally spurred by the Department of Labor’s November jobs report. While the S&P 500 managed to rise 0.16% for the week, the Dow Jones Industrial […]

December 4th – Education Corner – Want to Buy a car? Read this first.

Emanuel Avina Time to buy a car? Short of buying a house, this is one of the most important purchases you will make. It’s also one that you might be making several times throughout your life, comprising of thousands – sometimes tens of thousands – of dollars. If you think about it, you can probably […]

Monday December 2nd – This week on Wall Street

The Week on Wall Street As November wrapped up, U.S. equity benchmarks advanced. Stocks were again aided by a sense of optimism that a preliminary U.S.-China trade deal could be near. For the week, the Nasdaq Composite added 1.87%; the S&P 500, 1.21%; the Dow Jones Industrial Average, 1.03%. The MSCI EAFE index, which […]