Personal Finance Daily: The fiscal cliff is closer than you think

	Personal Finance Daily JUNE 19, 2012 Tuesday's Personal Finance Stories By MarketWatch Don't miss these top stories: Fiscal cliff is closer than you think It's peak travel season for investors What eclipsing 50-day average means You've probably heard about this "fiscal cliff," but do you know how close to it you're standing? The "cliff" is the term being used to describe the turning point — technically, six months from now — when the Bush-era tax cuts are due to expire, and about the same time that a round of automatic spending cuts takes place. The issue, according to economists, is that unless current law is changed, taxes will rise and spending will fall at the end of the year. Economist Irwin Kellner writes that taxes are set to jump by $500 billion, while federal spending is set to decline by more than $130 billion. Combined, this will equal 5% of our gross domestic product, he notes, and along with worries about European debt, this could turn weak growth into a new recession. Read Irwin's column about how this risk is already affecting the U.S. economy. Watch out for that first step; it's a doozy. — Anne Stanley , managing editor, Personal Finance It's peak travel season for investors Several travel companies are generating healthy profit growth, and a continued rise in hotel demand could send shares higher. But with the broad market looking inexpensive and the economy wobbly, it might not be the time to pay top dollar for a bet on travel. Read more: It's peak travel season for investors. How to find 'wide moat' stocks Companies able to defend their profits from marauding competitors are worth seeking out, Jack Hough writes. Read more: How to find 'wide moat' stocks. INVESTING What eclipsing 50-day average means The Dow industrials (DJIA) are back above the 50-day moving average, and the S&P 500 Index (SPX) is itself very close to doing likewise. But Mark Hulbert's analysis of the historical record shows little reason for excitement. Read more: What eclipsing 50-day average means. Major U.S. benchmarks return to the range The U.S. markets' technical backdrop has strengthened with this week's upturn. Most notably, all three major benchmarks have notched near-term highs, also clearing the 50-day moving average, Michael Ashbaugh writes in this free edition of The Technical Indicator. Read more: Major U.S. benchmarks return to the range. How to trade the Fed The central bank holds eight meetings in a year. The results provide not only trading opportunities, but also extremely valuable data points for investments, Nigam Arora writes on the Trading Deck. Read more: How to trade the Fed. ECONOMY AND POLITICS Fiscal cliff is closer than you think The fiscal cliff may be six months away, but it is already affecting the U.S. economy, writes Irwin Kellner. Read more: Fiscal cliff is closer than you think. What's your question for Bernanke? Ask your question to Fed chief Ben Bernanke in the comment section, and MarketWatch may pose it to the central bank head when he holds his quarterly news conference at 2:15 p.m. Eastern on Wednesday. Read more: What's your question for Bernanke? Day Two for J.P. Morgan's Dimon on the Hill With J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.'s (JPM) Chief Executive Jamie Dimon set to testify on Capitol Hill for the second time about the big bank's more than $2 trillion loss, Democrats and Republicans were split over the implications of the trades. Read more: Day Two for J.P. Morgan's Dimon on the Hill U.S. housing starts fall in May, but permits surge U.S. builders started work on new homes in May at a slightly slower pace compared with the prior month, government data show, but the number of permits issued for future construction jumped to the highest level in nearly four years. Read more: U.S. housing starts fall in May, but permits surge. Fed not cowed by elections A close examination of the Fed's past actions over the last several elections shows that the central bank is not as swayed by the fear of looking political, as some say. Read more: Fed not cowed by elections. 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