CCA e-Newsletter

February, 2009

Market Watch

The New Year is a wonderful time; we get to start with a clean slate, and the hopes of the future replace the misery of the past.

As we wind down the first month of 2009 it is important to recognize that we will not see a quick or dramatic recovery of the economy. It took this economy a while to get to this point, and it won’t bounce back overnight.

This is also a good time to review your credit report. You can check your credit reports for free at each of the three major credit bureaus once annually at www.annualcreditreport.com or by calling 877-322-8228.

We have included a selection of articles we think serve you well in this first quarter of 2009. The first article is regarding new legislation on pension and RMD relief. We are also including a 2009 economic commentary by John Mauldin regarding the TARP program. Mr. Mauldin is president of Millennium Wave investments and a recognized expert and leader on investment issues. He and his company are primarily involved in private money management, financial services, and investments. Finally we offer an article with some advice on how to pay a hefty tax bill.

As a reminder, we are continuously uploading new and informative articles to our website (http://www.CCAWealth.com). Please be sure to check them out from time to time.

On an administrative note, we want you to know that we are shifting the frequency of this eNewsletter from a monthly submission, to a quarterly submission. You will see the next enews in April.

We hope that this monthly e-Newsletter continues to provide you with a consistent reminder to stay vigilant in your retirement planning, and to search for the information you need to avoid mistakes that may affect your future.

As always, we will do our part to make sure we are passing along pertinent news and information.

Please don’t hesitate to call us for any questions or concerns you may have. We’re here for you!

See you again soon,

Keith & Debbie
Carpenter Claydon Advisors, Inc.

Latest News

Bush Signs RMD, Pension Relief into Law

An Associated Press news report quoted Bush spokesman Tony Fratto as saying that the White House had concerns with the Worker, Retiree and Employer Recovery Act (H.R. 7327), including that it might cause workers to actually lose benefits in the long term. However, Fratto told reporters, officials decided the bill's benefits outweighed its potential drawbacks given "this current economic environment" and Bush included it in a handful of bills (see here) approved Tuesday.
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TARP 3 and 4 are on the Way

There are a lot of complaints about the use of the first $350 billion in TARP money. How could (now) former Merrill Lynch Chief John Thain have been so tone deaf as to spend $1.2 million on decorating his office with the company clearly in financial trouble? And some of it apparently after the government was kicking in money? Large bonuses for select managers at the last minute before the merger and subsequent major losses? The list could go on and on. The Obama administration has plans to keep such abuses from happening. I wish them luck, because the next round of $350 billion is just a down payment.
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4 Ways to Pay for an Overly Pricey Tax Bill

A grim reality is about to set in for many taxpayers in the weeks ahead: They won't be able to pay Uncle Sam in full.

In fact, due to the rise in unemployment, declining wages and increases in personal bankruptcies and foreclosures that occurred in the past year, the number of Americans who will find themselves in this predicament is likely to be significantly higher than in years past. As a result, the Internal Revenue Service is preparing for the worst and making efforts to help ease the pain for many cash-strapped taxpayers.
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Wine of the Month

Wine

2004 Alpha Omega Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley)

Alpha Omega's winemaking team includes a wine world superstar, Michel Rolland. Universally considered one of the world's best palates, a man with enormous expertise, Michel Rolland works with Head Winemaker Jean Hoefliger, both in the vineyard and in the cellar, to insure that Alpha Omega's wines are world-class.

This wine contains color that is a beautiful black cherry with touches of ruby and mashed strawberry on the rim. On the nose, you will find beautiful interaction between the oak and the dark berries, black cherry and blackberry with touches of spices like pepper and lavender with hints of kirsch and marzipan.

Has a phenomenally long finish. On the palate, beautiful velvety start evolving on a nice acidity and raspberry jam with touches of blueberry lingering on ripe tannins, tarragon and thyme. Extraordinarily fine grained tannins. This is an extraordinary winery producing some of California’s best new cabernets.

Did You Know…

Inauguration Trivia

Between last year’s elections and the inaugural of a new President in January, we thought it might be fun to take a look at some interesting inauguration trivia…

John Adams was the first President to receive the oath of office from the Chief Justice of the United States.
In 1801 Thomas Jefferson was the first President to be inaugurated in Washington, D.C. and his inauguration was the first time a newspaper (the National Intelligencer) printed the inaugural address on the morning of the Inauguration (Jefferson also had the first inaugural parade during his re-election inauguration in 1805).
James Polk in 1845 was the first President to have his inauguration covered by telegraph
In 1855, Abraham Lincoln’s inauguration was the first to allow African Americans to participate in the Inaugural Parade
The first president to ride in a car at his inauguration was Warren Harding in 1921.
The first inauguration broadcast on radio was Calvin Coolidge's in 1925. That may have been the most interesting thing Coolidge ever did.
Harry Truman had the first televised inauguration in 1949.
President Dwight D. Eisenhower's first inauguration lasted the longest. He had 73 bands and floats and horses and what they called "pachyderms" - elephants. It lasted more than four hours.
John F. Kennedy was the last president, in 1961, to wear the traditional stovepipe hat to the inauguration, and his was the first ceremony to be televised in color.
In 1977, Jimmy Carter was the first President to walk the entire way from the Capitol to White House with his family after the ceremony
Ronald Reagan’s inauguration in 1980 was the coldest on record.
Barack Obama will be the 44th President of the United States and this will be the 56th formal inauguration. Fifteen presidents were elected to a second term, and in Roosevelt's case to a third and fourth term of course.

Source: NationalGeographic.com, 2009

Strange, Interesting & Important Facts

The word millionaire was first used by Benjamin Disraeli in his 1826 novel Vivian Grey.
If you stack one million US$1 bills, it would be 110m (361 ft) high and weight exactly 1 ton.
A million dollars' worth of $100 bills weighs only 10 kg (22 lb).
One million dollars' worth of once-cent coins (100 million coins) weigh 246 tons.
The average age of Forbes's 400 wealthiest individuals is 63.
In 1955 the richest woman in the world was Mrs. Hetty Green Wilks, who left an estate of $95 million in a will that was found in a tin box with four pieces of soap.
In 2001 the richest woman was Liliane Bettencourt, the daughter of L'Oreal's founder.
The NASDAQ stock exchange was totally disabled in on day in December 1987 when a squirrel burrowed through a telephone line.

Thoughts for the Quarter

We are all inventors, each sailing out on a voyage of discovery, guided each by a private chart, of which there is no duplicate. The world is all gates, all opportunities.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude.

Thomas Jefferson

The man of wisdom is never of two minds; the man of benevolence never worries; the man of courage is never afraid.

Confucius