O.J., Pensions, ERISA and Golf

The following little essay was originally published on this blog on August 14th, 2005 and attempts to explain why O.J. Simpson continues to live a rather lavish lifestyle and appears not to work while the families of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman have never received any of the judgement against Simpson. With the announcement today of his new book, If I did it, and accompanying television appearance, it seems like a good time to re-run this post.

Eight years after the families of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman won $33.5 million judgments against O. J. Simpson, many are still scratching their heads that Simpson is living lavishly while much of the award remains unpaid. How can this be?

The answer is that O. J. had some pretty smart financial advisors. During his years as an NFL star and advertising pitchman, Simpson built up hefty sums in his NFL pension and personal pensions set up through various companies he established. Then he left the money inside the defined benefit plans rather than rolling it into an IRA where he may have had more flexibility with investments. Today he draws $25,000 per month from the NFL pension alone.

The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) states that employer retirement plans including all types of defined benefit plans "may not be assigned or alienated." The Browns and the Goldmans can't touch O. J.'s pensions.

Despite the Simpson case, it is in society's best interest to protect retirement assets from judgments and other creditors. With an already dismal national savings rate, further discouraging participation in retirement plans wouldn't be in the country's best interest. But ERISA and the subsequent 1992 Supreme Court case, Patterson v. Shumate, extended protection only to ERISA plans. IRAs, Roth IRAs, SIMPLE IRAs, SEPs, etc. were not protected.

Finally, the courts and congress have moved to extend protection to nearly all forms of retirement accounts. On April 4th of this year the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Rousey v. Jacoway that IRAs are "similar plans" and deserved the same sort of protection afforded to ERISA plans.

Additionally, The Bankruptcy Abuse Protection and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 (BAPCPA), signed into law on April 20, 2005, and effective on October 17, 2005, has substantially increased and simplified bankruptcy creditor protection for retirement accounts. Virtually all retirement accounts will now be exempt assets in bankruptcy proceedings.

One last word about O.J.--Simpson chooses not to work since any earned income would only be seized by the court. So he is forced to play golf every day...something's just not right.

Cartoon Tuesday

John Trever, The Albuquerque Journal

The week in review

• DJIA gained 122.39 points this week, 1.02% to 12,108.43. The rally continues.
  

• Nasdaq Composite picked up a healthy 58.93, 2.53, and wrapped up at 2389.72.
  

• S & P 500 gained 16.60, 1.22% to close the week at 1,380.90.
  

• 10-year Treasury yield dropped 0.127 percentage points to 4.590%.
  

• Crude oil rose 45 cents this week, 0.76% and stood at $59.59 yesterday afternoon.

Results of this week's election had an entirely benign, if not negative, effect on the financial markets this week as stocks finished Friday lower than where they stood mid-day election day. While American liberals are giddy and gleeful about the new influence Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid will likely possess for the next two years, investors' reactions were a bit more realistic. The burden is now on Democrats, who have spent the last six years complaining, to actually present ideas and solutions.

Number one on democrats' to-do list appears to be a hike in the national minimum wage. Gee, what a compete waste of time. More than half of U.S. states already have minimum wages above the federal level and those states are discovering that employers are quick to automate, outsource, go underground and hire illegal workers or just quit business altogether rather than pay unskilled workers more than they are worth. Higher minimum wage policy creates more problems than it solves.

Democrats need to really step up to the pump and present some concrete solutions rather than a just a bunch of fluff designed to excite uninformed, unsophisticated voters. I'll be waiting.

Cartoon Tuesday

By Bob Englehart, The Hartford Courant

The week in review

• DJIA gained another 87.89 this week, 0.73% to 12,090.26. Nice little rally we've got goin'.
  

• Nasdaq Composite picked up 8.32, 0.36% to finish at 2,350.62.
  

• S & P 500 gained 8.74, 0.64% to close the week at 1,377.34.
  

• 10-year Treasury yield dropped 0.106 percentage points to 4.681%.
  

• Crude oil was up $1.42 this week, 2.39% and was up above $60 Friday at $60.75.
  

The U.S. economy grew at a 1.6% annual rate last quarter, its weakest since 2003. Core inflation rose at only a 2.3% rate, down from 2.7% in the previous period. Our economy is cooling too quickly, inflation is not an issue. With housing prices falling, the wealth effect created as they were soaring will quickly disappear and erode consumer confidence. By spring of 2007 the Fed will be contemplating lowering interest rates once again.

Cartoon Tuesday

Republicans in Berkeley?

Friday's Wall Street Journal (paid subscription) included a front-page story about the rise in conservatism on one of the nation's most liberal college campuses.

The growth of the Berkeley College Republicans at one of the nation's most liberal campuses echoes some broader political trends. At Berkeley, while leftist students still dominate and outnumber conservatives, the liberal groups have splintered and are now spread across factions from the Cal Democrats to the International Socialist Organization to groups formed to oppose the war in Iraq. At the same time, several faculty members say, there are more conservative-leaning students than in the past, propelled by swells of patriotic feeling after events like Sept. 11 and an increase in the number of religious student groups.

While this is all very encouraging, should it really be front-page news that astute, rational thinking is taking place on a college campus?

Week in review

• DJIA rose a respectable 41.86 points, 0.35% and closed Friday at above 12,000 at 12,00237.
  

• Nasdaq Composite lost 14.99 or 0.64% to finish the week at 2342.30, down 0.64%.
  

• S & P 500 gained a mere 2.98 points, 0.22% and closed yesterday at 1368.60
  

• 10-year Treasury yield fell 0.018 percentage points to finish at 4.788%.
  

• Crude oil dropped $1.75 to $56.82/barrel. I paid $2.44/gallon for regular yesterday, the lowest in quite a while and pretty darn good for California.
  

For the first time in its history the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed above 12,000 this week. So, is there something magical about 12,000. Probably not. But what makes it significant is that it took so darn long to do it.

When I started my career as a stock broker with Morgan Stanley in January of 1995, the DJIA stood around 4,000. Over the course of the next few years the "thousands" fell pretty quickly. Five thousand came just before my first anniversary, 6,000, 7,000, 8000 and the rest all came pretty regularly. When the Dow reached 11,000 in the fall of 1999, there was no reason to think that 12,000 wouldn't be right around the corner. No one suspected that it would take seven years.

What's next? Well, that's anybody's guess and I doubt we'll ever experience anything like the late 90's again. But as we celebrate 12,000, I'm reminded of those days. They sure were fun.

The week in review

• DJIA rose a respectable 110.30 points, 0.93% and closed Friday at 11,960.51. Flirtin' with 12,000.
  

• Nasdaq Composite 57.30 points, a really healthy 2.49% and finished off the week at 2357.29..
  

• S & P 500 was up 16.04 for the week, a 1.19% gain, and closed at 1365.62 Friday.
  

• 10-year Treasury yield increased 0.106 percentage points to 4.806%. It was a pretty lousy week for treasuries but if you're looking to refinance that ARM, 10-year Treasury yields will be under 4.50% by spring.
  

• Crude oil fell another $1.19 in spite of a rally Friday. Down 1.99% to $58.57.

European stocks hit 5-year highs on Friday and Japanese stocks rallied as well. Markets in India and Singapore also rose to records. Gee, a bit of a global bull, isn't it?

Cartoon Tuesday

Cameron Cardow, The Ottawa Citizen

The week in review

• DJIA rose a health 171.14 points, 1.47% and closed Friday at 11,850.21. New records.
  

• Nasdaq Composite gained 41.56 points, 1.84% and finished off the week at 2299.99.
  

• S & P 500 was up 13.73 for the week, a 1.03% gain, and closed at 1349.58 Friday.
  

• 10-year Treasury yield increased 0.063 percentage points to 4.700%.
  

• Crude oil fell $3.15, 5.01% to $59.76.

The rise in oil prices a week ago was no more pause as oil prices continue to fall. Where are the guys now who were calling for $100/bbl just a couple of months ago? OPEC's economies are weak making the threat of reduced output unlikely and prices should continue to decline. Two bucks for gas again?

The September jobs report was weak on the surface as new job creation was half the forecast. But the report also contained healthy upward revisions for the previous two months. The bond market paid more attention to the revisions and prices fell on Friday. It took the steam out of a nice rally in stocks as well.

No graffiti?

I've lived in the Bay Area for over six years now and I ride on BART regularly but I never noticed this sign in BART stations until today. It just strikes me as a bit odd. Are there places where graffiti is okay?

Cartoon Tuesday

By Dana Summers, The Orlando Sentinel

The week in review

• DJIA shot up 170.97 points, 1.49% and closed Friday at 11,679.07. Smokin'!
  

• Nasdaq Composite gained 39.50 points, 1.78% and finished off the week at 2258.43.
  

• S & P 500 was up 21.07 for the week, a 1.60% gain, and closed at 1335.85 Friday.
  

• 10-year Treasury yield increased 0.037 percentage points to 4.637%.
  

• Crude oil rose $2.36, 3.90% to $62.91. A dead cat bounce?

While the Dow Jones Industrial Average is bumping up against an all time high, many portfolios are still nowhere near records posted in early 2000. The DJIA is a scant 44 points below its peak of 11722.98 that it reached in January of 2000 but it's interesting to note that the S&P 500 is 12% below its record and the Nasdaq is a whopping 55% short of the peak it reached in March of 2000.

Cartoon Tuesday

By Steve Nease, Oakville, Ontario

The week in review

• DJIA dropped 0.46% or 52.67 points to close out the week at 11,508.10.
  

• Nasdaq Composite shed 16.66 points, 0.75% and finished at 2218.93.
  

• S & P 500 lost just 5.09 points, 0.39% and closed Friday at 1314.78.
  

• 10-year Treasury yield dropped 0.198 percentage points and stands at 4.601
  

• Crude oil fell another $3.47, 5.42% and was trading yesterday afternoon at just $60.55/bbl.

The Fed's Board of Governors met this week and, for the second consecutive meeting, left the discount rate alone. And while the multitude of economic measures are almost always a mixed bag, there seems to be mounting evidence that the U.S. economy is slowing too quickly. So, if you're worried about that adjustable-rate mortgage that you got a few years ago, there's still hope. Mortgage rates have dropped significantly in the last couple of months and if, six months from now the Fed reverses course, it could be an ideal opportunity to lock in a long-term fixed rate.

Cartoon Tuesday

Daryl Cagle, MSNBC

Cartoon Tuesday

By Larry Wright, The Detroit News

The week in review

• DJIA lost 72.04 this week, 0.63% and closed Friday at 11,392.11. A mild pullback.
  

• Nasdaq Composite shed 27.37 points, 1.25% to finish at 2165.79.
  

• S and P 500 was down 12.09, 0.92% and wrapped up the week at 1298.92.
  

• 10-year Treasury yield increased just a tad, 0.051 percentage points to 4.781%. 4.50% is till in our future. Don't refinance that ARM just yet.
  

• Crude oil fell another $2.94, 4.25% and stood Friday at $66.25/barrel. Wasn't it only a few weeks ago that pundits were projecting $100?
  

The week in review

• DJIA gained 180.10 this week, 1.60% and closed Friday at 11,464.15. Not bad.
  

• Nasdaq Composite added 52.87 points, 2.47% to finish at 2133.16. Tasty.
  

• S and P 500 was up 15.92, 1.23% and wrapped up the week at 1311.01.
  

• 10-year Treasury yield dropped 0.062 percentage points to 4.728%. Is 4.50% in our future?
  

• Crude oil fell another $3.32, 4.58% and stood Friday at $69.19/barrel. Gee, gas will be back under 2 bucks before you know it.
  

Lots of good news all around!