I want to make a gift to Morning Star Development, an evangelical missionary organization that sends laypeople, doctors, nurses and teachers to Afghanistan to provide schooling, irrigation projects, medical care and nursing care to the poor people who live in the mountain villages. I have three stocks, each worth about $6,000, and want to contribute one of these three for the organization to sell and use the proceeds for its good work.
Dear Mr. Berko: I have a $14,000 certificate of deposit that just came due. Now I’d like to make at least 4 percent income with safety and some growth. So I’m looking at a utility called Vectren Corp. My broker says it’s a good stock and recommends a long-term purchase. I’d like to invest this [...]
Dear Mr. Berko: I'm a 35-year-old physician, and I'm finally getting married. A jeweler in Chicago has shown me a nearly flawless, $58,000, 5-carat diamond for my fiance’. It's a wonder to look at and seems like it could be a good investment. When I asked the jeweler how much this stone could be worth in 10 years, he couldn't answer me. So I'm putting this question to you. – WS, Chicago
Dear Mr. Berko: I have $90,000 from a CD that just came due, and the 1 percent that my bank offers me may be OK for the 1 percent of the public that doesn't need the interest income. But I do.
Dear Mr. Berko: My grandfather died in 2001 with eight different stocks in his footlocker, and I can’t find one of them in the paper. A broker told me he could send them to his home office, and for $150 each they’d tell me if the certificates had any value. The certificates themselves are beautiful, [...]
