Money Matters

A couple of weeks ago, financial commentator Greg Heberlein said it was time for a stock market correction. Sure enough, we've seen the market drop, spurred on by events in the Middle East and the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis in Japan.

Is it time to buy back in? One never knows for sure, but on this week's Money Matters, Greg tells me what to watch for.

Are you losing sleep over your pension fund?

Public and private pension funds are under a lot of stress due to the Great Recession. The Washington Post's Peter Whoriskey recently reported state and local pensions may be underfunded by $1.5 trillion more than previously thought. NPR has reported the states are facing a $3 trillion pension shortfall.

But financial commentator Greg Heberlein tells KPLU's Dave Meyer the situation may not be as bad as it looks.Greg says there's cause for concern, but he's optimistic. 

The market has had a phenomenal run up in the past two years, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average gaining nearly 6,000 points. Recent volatility indicates the market may be ready to fall.

But financial commentator Greg Heberlein tells KPLU's Dave Meyer there's no reason to panic. It's all part of the natural market cycle.

The revolution in Egypt serves as a reminder of the risk of investing in foreign stocks. On this week's Money Matters, financial commentator Greg Heberlein tell's KPLU's Dave Meyer that events in Egypt don't just make him wary of investing in foreign stocks, he's "horribly fearful"!

How risky are Egyptian investments?

On this week's Money Matters, financial commentator Greg Heberlein and KPLU's Dave Meyer look at a couple of oddball stock market indicators: the Super Bowl and the Hindenburg Omen. These indicators (especially the Super Bowl) have received a lot of attention over the years, but both Greg and Dave say they should be for novelty use only.

The Super Bowl indicator

If you and your spouse can correctly answer three simple math questions, a recent study suggests you'll have plenty of money in retirement. Financial commentator Greg Heberlein gave the quiz to KPLU's Dave Meyer, and you can take it, too. Patricia Sabatini of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette obtained the questions from the RAND Corporation.  They are:

1. If the chance of getting a disease is 10%, how many people out of 1,000 would be expected to get the disease?

2. If five people all have winning numbers in the lottery, and the prize is $2 million, how much will each of them get?

3. Let's say you have $200 in a savings account. The account earns 10% interest per year. How much would you have in the account at the end of two years?

You'll find the answers at the end of this post.

All signs point to 2011 being a good year for the stock market. On this week's Money Matters, financial commentator Greg Heberlein tells KPLU's Dave Meyer this is a good time to invest.

Want to know the secret to building wealth? It's pretty simple, and it's financial commentator Greg Heberlein's Christmas gift to you.  He shares it with KPLU's Dave Meyer in this encore edition of Money Matters.

Ever wonder why the stock market rises to a certain level and then pulls back?  That’s called a resistance point.  Financial commentator Greg Heberlein explains it to KPLU’s Dave Meyer on this week’s Money Matters.

You may be noticing more ads tempting investors to enter into limited partnerships. The scheme is looking pretty attractive in the down economy. But KPLU's Money Matters commentator Greg Heberlein says they come with risks.