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As a financial writer with 30 years of experience, Robert Barkin has appeared widely in marketing, corporate and general business publications.
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| Municipal bond lockdown |
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| While communities and agencies with top credit ratings again have access to the municipal bond market, lower-credit communities and smaller borrowers are effectively shut out. The near-demise of the municipal bond insurance industry is the culprit and there are no easy solutions.
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| A depleted nest egg portends trouble |
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| Facing the effects of a devastating loss to retirement funds, both local and state government and their employees are struggling to understand how the picture has changed and the impact eroded savings will have on what had seemed a secure future.
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| Target Funds Miss the Mark |
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| Target funds were supposed to be the one-size-fits-all solution to retirement investing. But the stock market implosion has disabused that notion. Now, public sector retirement plans are looking for new ways to improve the investment option.
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| (c) 2009 Association for Financial Professionals published with permission of AFP. |
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| With concerns about credit rising, Payments newsletter, published by the Association for Financial Professionals, asked Barkin to explore whether there is evidence of an increase in payment fraud. Experts told him that both organized gangs and "casual" criminals are looking to take advantage of the situation.
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| Municipal Bonds Under Water |
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| Most investors look for security and consistency in the staid world of
municipal bonds. But Barkin examines why unprecedented turmoil forced even the most highly rated
communities to pause before issuing new debt.
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| Hidden Fees |
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| In this article for American City & County magazine,
Barkin explores Congressional concern that retirement plan providers
are taking too large of a bite out of investment returns and not
disclosing their fees.
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| This article for the ICMA-RC Web site helps investors understand the characteristics of several different cash investment options and determine which one or combination will help them meet their objectives.
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| ICMA-RC 2006 Corporate Profile |
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| Working for Financial Communications Inc., Barkin helped plan, design and write copy for the corporate profile of the ICMA Retirement Corporation.
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