Personal Finance Daily: Apple investors: Beware tax changes

Personal Finance Daily MARCH 22, 2012 Thursday's Personal Finance Stories By MarketWatch Don't miss these top stories: Tax changes loom; it may be time to harvest gains Rates on 30-year mortgage leap above 4% Fannie, Freddie spent $600,000 on one convention 5 money moves a prudent speculator is making now Robert Powell asks in his Your Portfolio column, which is better: capital gains and dividend income, or just capital gains? Next year, some changes to the tax law could make that question urgent for many investors. It may be time to harvest your gains sooner rather than later. Also on MarketWatch, we report that interest on the average 30-year fixed mortgage jumped over the past week to above 4% for the first time since October. While rates are expected to remain near record lows, the rise is reflective of an improving assessment of the economy by the Federal Reserve, according to Freddie Mac's chief economist. Speaking of the government-seized mortgage giants, MarketWatch's Ron Orol reports that a federal watchdog is questioning why Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac spent more than $600,000 to participate in last year's Mortgage Bankers' Association convention in Chicago. The Federal Housing Finance Agency's Office of Inspector General thinks they could have done it for less money. Fannie and Freddie are defending the cost, saying, among other things, that the event provided Freddie executives with a "cost-effective" opportunity to "educate, inform and engage" mortgage-market executives on key issues affecting the housing industry. — Anne Stanley , managing editor, Personal Finance You're invited: MarketWatch ETF event If you're in the San Francisco Bay Area and you're interested in exchange-traded funds, we'd like to invited you to a free live event in April. Join us for an evening of cocktails and conversation about the risks and opportunities of trading ETFs. Our guest panelists will be Tom Lydon, president of Global Trends Investments and editor of ETFtrends.com; John Nyaradi, publisher of Wall Street Sector Selector; and Jim Wiandt, publisher and chief executive of IndexUniverse.com, Exchange-Traded Funds Report and Journal of Indexes. The event will be on the evening of Tuesday, April 17 in downtown San Francisco. To get more details and RSVP, send an email to MarketWatchevent@wsj.com by Tuesday, April 10. Tax changes loom; it may be time to harvest gains What's better, capital gains and dividend income, or just capital gains? Read more: Tax changes loom; it may be time to harvest gains. Rates on 30-year mortgage leap above 4% Interest rates on the 30-year fixed mortgage jumped above 4% this week for the first time since October, according to Freddie Mac's weekly survey of conforming mortgage rates. Read more: Rates on 30-year mortgage leap above 4%. ECONOMY AND POLITICS U.S. jobless claims fall 5,000 to 348,000 Applications for weekly unemployment benefits set a new four-year low, the government reports, in another sign that the U.S. labor market continues to gradually improve. Read more: U.S. jobless claims Leading indicators rise 0.7% in February Economic progress may continue through the summer and possibly beyond, the Conference Board said, as it reported increasing widespread strength among economic data. Read more: Leading indicators rise 0.7% in February. Weak PMIs underline euro-zone recession fears Purchasing managers indicate a contraction in private-sector activity across the euro zone accelerated in March, stoking worries that the region remains in recession. Read more: Weak PMIs underline euro-zone recession fears. China factories slumping amid low demand Chinese factory activity is slowing sharply, dragging on employment amid a deepening slowdown in global demand and aggravated by a stall in domestic consumption, according to new data. Read more: China factories slumping amid low demand. Fannie, Freddie spent $600,000 on one convention The government-controlled housing giants spent more than $600,000 to participate in the 2011 Mortgage Bankers Association convention, an amount that included expenses that were of "questionable" value, a government watchdog reports. Read more: Fannie, Freddie spent $600,000 on one convention Ben and the Muppets' European adventure Like the warnings of the notorious Greg Smith about Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS), Fed chief Ben Bernanke's concerns about Europe will go unheeded until it's too late Read more: Ben and the Muppets' European adventure. INVESTING 5 money moves a prudent speculator is making now The popularity of Apple Inc. (AAPL) is propelling growth-stock portfolios and grating on bargain-seeking investors who can't take a bite of the stock. But that doesn't rile John Buckingham, editor of the Prudent Speculator investment newsletter, who is focused on five attractive areas of the market. Read more: 5 money moves a prudent speculator is making now. To avoid rules, Deutsche goes risk-on The German bank is taking on risk by changing the legal structure of its subsidiary that plays in the securities markets. The upshot seems to be taxpayers won't be on the hook, but who will? Read more: To avoid rules, Deutsche goes risk-on. Contrary opinion on China A second China letter is showing signs of life, writes Peter Brimelow. Read more: Contrary opinion on China. Microsoft's tablet strategy could challenge Apple Windows 8 (MSFT) is a radically redesigned operating system that is intended to be dual-purpose, working equally well on portable touch-screen devices and on workhorse desktop PCs. Read more: Microsoft's tablet strategy could challenge Apple. Tech firms clamor for space in bubbly S.F. market Growing tech companies, both large and small, are fueling one of the hottest commercial real-estate markets since 2005, but it's starting to feel like 1999. Read more: Tech firms clamor for space in bubbly S.F. market. Get the latest news on our mobile site: http://www.marketwatch.com/m MarketWatch has sent you this newsletter because you signed up to receive it. To ensure you receive this newsletter in the future, please add marketwatchmail.com to your list of approved senders. Sent to: kumaresan.selva.blogger@gmail.com Unsubscribe | Subscribe Copyright 2012 MarketWatch, Inc. All rights reserved. MarketWatch, the MarketWatch logo, and BigCharts are registered trademarks of MarketWatch, Inc. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy (updated 6/26/07). MarketWatch - Attn: Customer Service, 201 California St., San Francisco, CA 94111