Temma Ehrenfeld

With about 25% of U.S. company results posted for the second quarter, most have exceeded estimates and have improved sales. Industrial production and consumption are also rebounding, leading BlackRock's Bob Doll to project stronger economic growth in the second half of 2011.

The recent downgrading of Greek, Irish and Portuguese debt -- with Italy and Spain in the wings -- could hurt banking throughout Europe, according to BlackRock.

Barclays projects that consumers will continue to drive U.S. economy. S&P targets high-yielding dividend funds. BlackRock forecasts slower, but steady growth in China.

The Securities and Exchange Commission may ask certified financial planners to investigate any tips that come to the agency, according to a statement on page 92 of the new rule implementing the Whistleblower Program authorized by the Dodd-Frank Act.

Home sales and housing starts began turning up in early 2009, according to the State of the Nation’s Housing report from the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University. First-time buyers and government help drove an increase in existing home sales, while record foreclosures continued.

A survey of more than a 1,000 Americans 55 and older found that three out of five still remain hopeful about the future and almost two-thirds say they would ideally like to remain productive and include some work in retirement.

Securities America hopes to make it easier for its advisors to convert to fees by allowing them to combine separately managed accounts (SMAs) and mutual fund wraps into one Unified Management Account.

Gold prices rallied in U.S. dollars and hit an all-time high in Euros -- a response to Moody’s downgrade of Portuguese government debt to junk last week -- amid concern that troubles in Italy and Greece will drive Euro down.

BlackRock reviews its accuracy for the year so far. Barclays advises on building a muni porfolio. Raymond James sees reasons to buy.

REITs continue to beat the S&P 500, according to NAREIT, the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts. In the first half of 2011, U.S. REITs were up almost 10%, compared to 6% for the S&P 500.

As a group, Japanese tech companies are growing by only 1% a year, compared to 5% to 10% growth in developing nations and 2% to 3% in other developed nations, according to management consultant McKinsey.

BlackRock favors U.S. growth stocks and quality U.S. bonds. GMO recommends cash rather than other forms of “tail-risk” protection. In Russell survey, bullish sentiment for U.S. large cap growth stocks dropped but still a majority view. Barclays expects that central banks will ignore recommendation by Bank of International Settlements to act against inflation.

Last year was a good one for registered investment advisors, according to the 2011 RIA Benchmarking Study from Charles Schwab, the largest focused solely on RIAs.

A new study to be published in an upcoming issue of Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, has found that when people are reminded of money, they respond differently and mimicking can backfire and make establishing a relationship and a sense of trust even more difficult for financial advisors.

In a new report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO), experts recommended that middle-income retirees convert a portion of their savings into an inflation-adjusted annuity or opt for an annuity instead of a lump sum from an employer sponsored defined benefit (DB) plan. They also recommended that Americans delay taking Social Security benefits until at least full retirement age.

Home prices, including distressed sales, increased by 0.8% in May from April, although prices were down 7.4% from May last year, according to business and data analytics firm CoreLogic. Excluding distressed sales, year-over-year prices declined by 0.4% in May. Distressed sales include short sales and real estate owned (REO) transactions.

In a thorough overview, management consultant McKinsey describes how businesses can promote creativity among employees. The authors, Marla Capozzi, a senior expert in McKinsey’s Boston office; Renée Dye, in Atlanta; and Amy Howe in Los Angeles, provide some dramatic examples that could spark ideas for your financial planning practice.

The Spectrem Affluent Investor Confidence Index (SAICISM) fell 11 points in June to –9, its biggest drop in more than three years.

If your clients have money in retirement accounts they won’t need to live on, they can put that money into a Roth IRA and avoid paying taxes on any gains. Now, grandkids can inherit up to $5 million tax free.

The new tool ranks the safety of 44 countries' bonds, with Norway topping the list thanks to its low debt and comparatively fewer risks from abroad while the U.S. checked in at No. 15.