__________________________________________________ InvestorMap.com Newsletter - 2/16/1999 brought to you by: http://www.investormap.com - THE guide to investing on the web! __________________________________________________ In this edition: + Intro + Year 2000 Update + Investing News + Online Investing News + Tax Related Info and Links + InvestorMap Featured Site + Updated Free Offers + Feedback + Subscribe/Unsubscribe Instructions __________________________________________________ -- Intro -- Welcome to the latest issue of the InvestorMap.com ezine. We thought that this would be a good time to provide you with some tax related information and links. After all, April 15 is now less than two months away. If you have a web site and want to let the world know about it, drop us a line. We have newsletter sponsorships and web site banner packages available. ----------- A message from our sponsor ----------- David Fried Takes Profits in AFLAC The AFLAC sale with its 314% gain is the 14th position that Fried has closed out since he started The Buyback Letter. Of his 14 recommended trades, 13 were winners with an average profit of 128.8%. The one losing trade was off 33% when sold. To find out what his Stock Pickers Portfolio is recommending now get your FREE 30-day trial subscription to The Buyback Letter online at: http://www.investools.com/cgi-bin/offer1/BACK/MAP-backtipB -------------------------------------------------- -- Y2K Update -- It is likely that there will be a surge in traditional mail being sent as the new millennium approaches due to the normal seasonal increase and as people become concerned that electronic mail may not operate correctly. Unfortunately the U.S. Postal Service faces a "major challenge" in upgrading its computer systems to avoid the Year 2000 problem, according to a report released last month by the General Accounting Office. http://www.fcw.com/pubs/fcw/1999/0208/web-uspsrisk-2-8-99.html If you are an electric utility user (who isn't?) and are concerned about how the industry is progressing on issues related to the Year 2000, check out Electric Utilities and the Year 2000. http://www.euy2k.com/newsroom.htm __________________________________________________ -- Investing News While the majority of mutual fund money is still going into the S&P 500 Index funds, investors may want to consider looking into Total Market Index funds like the Wilshire 5000 that represent a broader combination of large, mid-cap and small-cap companies. http://www.msnbc.com/news/235725.asp OpenIPO is a new, auction-based IPO method designed to put every bidder on equal footing, whether they are an individual or an institution. Taking a cue from the US Treasury, this method of initial public offerings lets the market set the optimal share price. http://www.openipo.com/OpenIPO/base/Home/IPOHome.htm __________________________________________________ -- Online Investing News -- New York Attorney General Elliot Spitzer will launch an investigation of the online brokerage industry because of customer complaints about crashes and other problems. http://www.zdnet.com/intweek/stories/news/0,4164,2204227,00.html Trading Edge announced that they plan to launch BondLink, a new service that will allow institutions to trade high-yield, or "junk" bonds amongst themselves without going through a Wall Street dealer. http://www.zdnet.com/intweek/stories/prtarchivestory/0,4356,388145,00.html It had to happen sooner or later. Merrill Lynch and Pine Webber Group each announced they will make an initial foray into the world of online trading. http://biz.yahoo.com/rf/990212/bed.html __________________________________________________ -- Tax Related Info and Links -- With "D-day" just around the corner - that's April 15th-the IRS has launched a program to encourage electronic filing (e-filing). They say "e-file is faster and more accurate than filing a paper return and you're less likely to receive an error notice". Those selected to participate in the program are said to get refunds back in half the time of those filing the traditional way and if you're one of us who owes Uncle Sam, they'll even take your credit card for payments. http://cnnfn.com/quickenonfn/taxes/9812/14/etaxes/ When you're armed with the correct instructions, the right forms and all the pertinent publications, your filing problems will be a lot less taxing. The IRS has set up a site that allows you to browse online and select tax publications for download. http://www.irs.ustreas.gov/prod/forms_pubs/index.html CBS MarketWatch has compiled an extensive list of 35 tax-related articles with short descriptions for each. http://cbs.marketwatch.com/archive/19990212/news/current/tax_guide.htx If you end up paying taxes this year you may want to look at some tax saving investments, since capital gains garner strong interest from the IRS and the most successful investor can be taxed at a rate of up to 39%. This article gives the pros and cons on investing in these type of funds. http://cnnfn.com/quickenonfn/investing/mutualfunds/9901/08/q_tax_funds/ Check out this tax rate calculator for help with deciding which is the better deal -- municipal bonds or taxable bonds. http://207.87.27.10/tool/toolbox/calc/taxcalc.asp __________________________________________________ -- InvestorMap.com Featured Site -- FundAlarm - http://www.fundalarm.com/ We like FundAlarm because it is a free, no-hype site where you can get current information and analysis on 2,400 mutual funds. Their information helps you identify when it may be time to unload a particular mutual fund. And don't forget to review their list of "3 alarm funds" that have under performed their benchmark for the past 12 months, three years and five years. __________________________________________________ -- Free Offers -- You can take advantage of the following: -Two week free subscription to Investor's Business Daily -One free issue of Stocks and Commodities magazine -Four free issues of U.S. News and World Report -One free issue of Money magazine -One free issue of Fast Company magazine -30 day free trial of TurboTax You can stop by and get all of these at: http://investormap.com/offers.htm __________________________________________________ -- Feedback -- Please send any ideas and suggestions to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]. Good investing, Jon Walker [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------------------------------- To subscribe: send mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word "subscribe" in the body of the message. To unsubscribe: send mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word "unsubscribe" in the body of the message. -------------------------------------------------- Disclaimer: The financial markets are risky. Investing is risky. The foregoing has been prepared solely for informational purposes and is not a solicitation, or an offer to buy or sell any security. Published by InvestorMap.com. Copyright © 1999 InvestorMap.com. All rights reserved.
