It’s time for all the financial experts to make their predictions for 2007. Some will say the stock market will keep rising over the next year, while others will claim the market will fall. How about interest rates, inflation, oil prices and any number of other factors? You can find conflicting opinions on all these subjects. How can you base your investment strategies on such an uncertain forecast?

You can’t — and you shouldn’t. read more »

Even before Hurricane Katrina caused its almost incomprehensible damage to the Gulf Coast, most of us shuddered when we had to fill our cars’ gas tanks. With prices at $3 a gallon in some parts of the country, and crude oil hitting $70 per barrel, we were already in uncharted territory. Then, Katrina temporarily knocked out about 12 percent of U.S. refining capacity, along with a significant part of the Gulf’s natural gas and oil production. read more »

When you own a small business, you’re absorbed in the “here and now.” But you still must think about life after your working years — so you’ll need to put a good retirement plan in place. read more »