Mutual funds

A shocking lack of financial knowledge by our nation’s teenagers has caused a junior achievement organization and an association of retired teachers to band together to help bridge this gap.

As the tax debate begins between Senator Barack Obama and Senator John McCain, many investors and tax advisors say capital gains taxes will increase no matter what the outcome is this coming November, The Wall Street Journal reports. Senator Obama seeks to increase the current capital gains rate 5% or more for families making over $250,000.

Morgan Stanley, releasing its 2nd quarter earnings Wednesday, reported a 60% drop in profit from $2.57 billon, or $2.45 a share, in the second quarter of 2007, to $1.01 billion, or 95 cents a share. Net revenue also fell a substantial 38% from $10.52 billion to $6.51 billion.

Claymore Securities Inc., an exchange-traded fund provider, has launched the Claymore/BNY Mellon Frontier Markets Exchange Traded Fund.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi earned a government salary of $212,100 last year, which made her the highest paid official in Congress by $47,000, according to the Associated Press.Not too shabby for civic duty.However, when one also considers the combined incomes of spouses, other investments, and overall assets, things suddenly become financially astronomical.

In pursuit of new investments, developed countries are turning their focus towards the booming economies of frontier nations, The Wall Street Journal reports. Fast-developing countries throughout Africa, Central and Eastern Europe and the Middle East are averaging annual growth rates five times that of developed nations.

Approximately 78 million working Americans are currently working jobs that do not provide them with a retirement plan; however, Barack Obama is looking to change this predicament, according to a report by CNNMoney.com.

As JPMorgan Chase begins to remove the Bear Stearns name from its buildings, the firm is taking the opportunity to enhance its own brand identity, The New York Times writes.

Julius Baer Americas, a subsidiary of the Swiss wealth manager Julius Baer Holding Ltd., has changed its name to Artio Global Investors Inc.

NEW YORK-Timothy Geithner, president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, called for substantial reforms to the structure of the regulatory system of the U.S.

While Morningstar certainly has carved out its niche and made a name for itself arming individual investors with mutual fund data and insight, the company plans to increase its focus on financial advisers and institutions, or the "pros" eager to pay for quality research. That's according to an interview with Morningstar CEO Joe Mansueto in last week's issue of BusinessWeek.

FBI Investigating Suicide of Hedge Fund Criminal Israel

In a conference call Thursday morning, Boston-based Putnam Investments announced that Robert L. "Bob" Reynolds will succeed Charles E. "Ed" Haldeman to become the firm's president and chief executive officer. Haldeman plans to stay on board and will take on a new role as the chairman of Putnam Investment Management, LLC.

Peter Suhr Joins CFG As Enterprise EVP

Fidelity Investments is having one of its weakest first five months in recent history. Only 39% of Fidelity's equity funds are in the company of the top half of their peers, whereas 64% were a year ago, according to Morningstar.

Friends and family members of New York college-bound students can now make contributions to a student's 529 college savings plan, thanks to a change in New York State law that mirrors similar programs in other states.

Leading-edge technology has never been a hallmark of the Securities and Exchange Commission. While investment management has gone hand-in-hand with cutting-edge technology for the past quarter century, information technology typically accounted for just 8% of the Commission's annual budget in 2005, according to TowerGroup.

When News Corp. Chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch speaks, we in the financial publishing world listen, just as fund managers hang on words from Warren Buffett, Bill Gross or Peter Lynch.

The passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act dramatically increased the volume of materials corporate executives and boards have to review, and staying on top of this mountain of paperwork can be overwhelming.

Japan’s domestic asset management reports are not disclosing the way they vote on various resolutions brought up at annual shareholders meetings, according to the Nikkei Report. That disclosure could significantly improve corporate governance.