Rate Hike Pause is Good News for Leveraged Closed-End Funds The Federal Reserve held steady on interest rates last week, not long after Fed chief Janet Yellen indicated officials would "proceed cautiously."  This could benefit leveraged closed-end funds.  These funds tend to be more volatile than other financial products, Binyamin Appelbaum explains, but they may be a smart investment for people with a long ...

Why the Choice Between Prime and Treasury Rate Matters Many bankruptcy practitioners have focused on the recent decisions in Momentive[1] that forced secured creditors to refinance prepetition loans at below market interest rates.  Most of these practitioners’ publications focus on the courts’ findings and the potential implication on future matters.  However, three interesting questions are not addressed i ...

Economists Predict an Interest-Rate Hike in December Ninety-two percent of the private economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal believe the Federal Reserve will start raising interest rates at the policy meeting to be held on December 15-16.  In recent comments, Federal Reserve officials have suggested they were ready to act and have discussed the pace of future increases.  Binyamin Appelbaum, of The ...

Nothing simple about interest The takeaway from current research and practice within the forensic financial analyst profession is to stay current on methodology and to conduct your analysis in such a manner that can be explained and defended. ...

Plus: Bishop v. Commissioner Rules on When and Whether a Bad Debt Loss Can Be a Claimed Deduction In Schwab v. Commissioner, a case turns on when a variable universal life insurance policy is a taxable event.  In Boone Operations Co., LLC v. Commissioner, find out when contributing fill dirt to the city of Tucson is or isn’t a charitable or taxable event. ...