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The new regulatory requirements stemming from the passage of Dodd-Frank will certainly be a costly addition to the reporting framework of the alternative investment industry. However, this new era of heightened regulatory and compliance procedures also brings the potential benefits of financial stability and investor protection.

An attorney/entrepreneur makes the case for investing in commercial claims. Investors in this specialty finance sector supply capital to companies to pursue their claims and hedge the risk of loss and, in return, receive a percentage of the claim proceeds.

Proposals to reduce federal debt have largely missed the mark. That is certainly the case when it comes to suggestions to replace tax-exempt municipal bonds with taxable alternatives or federally subsidized tax credit options. These alternatives not only produce much less in revenue for the US Treasury than most assume, they also result in a loss of local control, diminish access to jobs]producing capital, and put taxpayers on the hook with debt gguaranteesh reminiscent of the subprime mortgage era.

As the European debt crisis has evolved, shifts in sentiment have caused dramatic swings in capital markets; swings not easily characterized by underlying investment fundamentals. This uncertainty has driven Italian bond yields to dangerously elevated levels while the yield on German one-year notes turned negative – hardly signs of a healthy economic environment.

Global wealth has increased to $231 trillion from $195 trillion in 2010, led by growing wealth in South Africa, India, Australia, Chile, and Singapore. This study of world wealth analyzes trends across nations and over time, including the life cycle link between wealth and age, household wealth, and prospects for personal wealth.

Europe has entered a new stage of the debt crisis, as funding stress in the banking sector has risen to extremes. The bond spreads of Belgium, Austria and France have risen to 290, 150 and 155bps respectively, record highs and 5 to 6 standard deviations above norm. The current trends may be unsustainable if left unchecked for more than a few weeks.

The authors summarize the history of the IRS' voluntary disclosure programs to date and conclude that, indeed, it is still possible for a U.S. person to become U.S. tax compliant and avoid criminal prosecution by making a voluntary disclosure.

This paper offers a practical look at how an individual or family might plot a successful road map that aligns and grows with their unique abilities, needs, and personality. The authors detail the steps in a philanthropic asset allocation process involving fact-finding, planning, and continuing assessment as seen through the eyes of three hypothetical clients.

The ECB will eventually end up with a more open-ended commitment to buy peripheral European debt. However, it will probably take further turmoil to achieve this. Once the ECB acts as lender of last resort, its balance sheet expands and the quality of its balance sheet deteriorates, leading to a fall in the euro. The weaker euro, in turn, makes QE3 in the U.S. much more likely.

The lack of details behind the European Union's debt plan leads one to wonder if the pendulum swung from "not as bad" to "not as good" as it seems as if execution risk remains high. Given that the risk on dealer balance sheets is now down to levels not seen since 2003, volatility is likely to persist as very little volume is required to move markets.