Stocks Profile

The amount of credit card debt racked up by Aussies has reached a record high of more than $50 billion, according to statistics released by the Reserve Bank of Australia today (January 12th).

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WASHINGTON – The U. S. Department of Health and Human Services announced Thursday that an independent review of proposed health insurance rate increases by Trustmark Life Insurance Company affecting members in five states are “unreasonable.”

According to HHS, the rate increases proposed would affect nearly 10,000 members residing in Alabama, Arizona, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wyoming. In these states, Trustmark has raised rates by 13 percent.

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A recent report from Gallup highlighted declining satisfaction among Americans, led by concerns about the economy and personal finance.

According to Gallup, an average of 17 percent of Americans (polls conducted throughout 2011) said they were satisfied with the way things are going in the United States.

This is a slight increase from the 15 percent mark seen in 2008 but is far below the 60 percent approval recorded in the year 2000.

The 17 percent average mark includes lows of 11 percent satisfaction observed in in August and September polls all the up to the 26 percent mark seen in May.

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Is it time for investors to bail big time on western Europe?

With the right combination of funds, it’s possible to build a portfolio that sidesteps most of that part of the world. In the process, you’ll gain valuable pieces of the emerging stock and bond markets and small companies in the U.S.

It doesn’t look like there will be major relief any time soon from the debt migraines from Greece, Italy, Spain and Portugal. The contagion now has spread to push borrowing costs higher for France and Spain.

To sidestep the problems, or diversify your portfolio away from the chaos, you can build an “Anything But Europe” investment strategy.

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