President Obama is set to give his third State of the Union address Tuesday night before a captive Congress and nation.

In an election year, this is his chance to “dominate the entire political discourse for an entire moment,” says Yahoo!’s Washington Bureau Chief David Chalian. “Remember the State of the Union of the re-election year for a president is always sort of the big campaign speech of the year for them…. [Obama] has a chance to use this speech to sort of crowd out all the other noise that has been out there about him coming from the Republicans.”

For a President with average approval ratings below 50% for the majority of his term, this speech is a very big moment for him. Obama’s approval ratings for his third year in office averaged 44%, down from 47% his second year and much lower than his first year which averaged a 57% average approval rating, according to Gallup.

Obama on Saturday gave the country a glimpse of what he is likely to focus his speech on Tuesday night and in turn set the message for his bid to recapture his chief executive position. “We can go in two directions,” he said in a video on his re-election campaign’s website. “One is towards less opportunity and less fairness, or we can fight for where I think we need to go: building and economy that works for everyone, not just a wealthy few.”

Obama’s populist tone is not something new. At a speech last month in Osawatomie, Kan., Obama highlighted the damaging effects of growing inequality in this country and vowed to fight for America’s disappearing middle class. Chalian commented then that this would be “Obama’s re-election campaign message.” (See: Down in the Polls, Obama Seeks to Ride Occupy Movement’s “Populist Wave”)

“I don’t think he’ll get up there [tonight] and do ‘we are the 99% versus the 1%,’” Chalian tells The Daily Ticker’s Aaron Task in the accompanying clip. “But I do think you are going to hear a lot about fairness that has seemed to have gone away for the great swath of middle class America.”

Obama’s message to rebuild the middle class will be juxtaposed with the other big headline from the Republican campaign trail on Tuesday: Mitt Romney has finally released his tax returns. As expected, Romney is very wealthy (like many politicians typically are). The tax statements released by his campaign show the presidential candidate paid $6.2 million to Uncle Sam on $46.6 million of income earned in 2010 and 2011.

Obama on the Issues

As is typical for presidents, in his SOTU speech Obama will lay out a laundry list of issues he hopes Congress can take up from now until November.

To tackle the “the negative impact of inequality in this country” Chalian predicts Obama will call for Congress to extend the payroll tax cut and raise taxes on the rich. (See: Steve Forbes Hates Obama’s “Millionaire’s Tax”—And Not Just Because It Hammers Millionaires)

“We will also hear about foreign policy,” says Chalian. “He wants to hammer home what he sees as one of his greatest calling cards as commander in chief: the killing of Osama Bin Laden and al Qaeda on the run.”

When capital appreciation over the long term takes precedence over dividend payouts, growth funds become a natural choice for investors. These funds focus on realizing an appreciable amount of capital growth by investing in stocks of firms whose value is projected to rise over the long term. However, a relatively higher tolerance to risk and the willingness to park funds for the longer term are necessary when investing in these securities. This is because they may experience relatively more fluctuations than other fund classes.

Below we will share with you the 5 best performing growth mutual funds year to date. To view the Zacks Rank and past performance of all growth funds, then click here.

Delaware Pooled Select 20 (NASDAQ:DPCEX – News) focuses on acquiring common stocks of firms with the ability to deliver superior growth at a pace exceeding that of the U.S. economy. The fund holds a portfolio of 15 to 25 equity securities. The growth mutual fund returned 14.57% over the last one year period.

Jeffrey S. Van Harte is the fund manager has managed this growth mutual fund since 2005.

GMO US Growth III (NASDAQ:GMGWX – News) seeks capital appreciation over the long term. The fund primarily invests in equity securities which are expected to provide returns exceeding that of the Russell 1000 Growth Index. The fund may utilize underlying funds and derivatives to invest in such equity securities. It allocates a large portion of its assets to investments with economic linkages to the U.S. The growth mutual fund returned 12.82% over the last one year period.

The growth mutual fund has an expense ratio of 0.46% compared to a category average of 1.28%.

Delaware Pooled Large-Cap Growth Equity (NASDAQ:DPLGX – News) invests the majority of its assets in common stocks of large cap companies. These firms must have market capitalizations identical to those included in the Russell 1000 Growth Index. The growth mutual fund returned 8.04% over the last one year period.

Jeffrey S. Van Harte is the fund manager has managed this growth mutual fund since 2005.

Delaware US Growth A (DUGAX) seeks capital growth over the long term. The fund focuses on investing in growth oriented companies that will grow at a rate faster than the U.S. economy. Not more than 20% of its assets may be invested in debt securities. The growth mutual fund returned 7.73% over the last one year period.

As of September 2011, this growth mutual fund held 30 issues, with 7.88% of its total assets invested in Apple, Inc.

Pioneer Fundamental Growth A (NASDAQ:PIGFX – News) invests the majority of its assets in large companies. These firms must be identical to those included in the Russell 1000 Growth Index. However, it may also invest in securities not included in the index. The growth mutual fund returned 6.32% over the last one year period.

The growth mutual fund has a minimum initial investment of $1,000 and an expense ratio of 1.25% compared to a category average of 1.28%.

To view the Zacks Rank and past performance of all growth mutual funds, then click here.

About Zacks Mutual Fund Rank

By applying the Zacks Rank to mutual funds, investors can find funds that not only outpaced the market in the past but are also expected to outperform going forward. Learn more about the Zacks Mutual Fund Rank at http://www.zacks.com/funds.

Zacks Investment Research

Micro-cap stocks are a favorite place to look for attractive investment ideas, because they get little attention. The vast majority of investment capital is conditioned, and often regulated, to look at stocks with minimum market capitalizations and most micro caps fail to make the cut.

Investopedia Markets: Explore the best one-stop source for financial news, quotes and insights.

Advantage: YOU
Individual investors are often at a disadvantage in the marketplace going up against the big players. When it comes to micro-cap stocks, investors get to hunt in areas where the market is paying little attention. The result is often a very attractive investment opportunity. Lack of attention is why an opportunity like Homeowners Choice (Nasdaq:HCII) exists. HCII is a high quality insurance company operating in Florida. The business has an excellent balance sheet and management that is very disciplined. The company recently announced a dividend increase creating a yield of over 6%; shares trade at about $9.50 for a P/E of close to 10.

WPCS International (Nasdaq:WPCS) is a micro-cap company that offers design and engineering services for construction, power and wireless communication markets. Last year was a tough year for WPCS, as cost overruns hurt margins, but the company continues to book new business and EBITDA is growing. Shares trade for about $1.68, or a market cap of $12 million, against book value of over $20 million or $3.39 a share. (For related reading on EBITDA, see EBITDA: Challenging The Calculation.)

Risks to Know
In investing, there can be safety in size. A large, well-established business with a strong balance is better equipped to withstand economic and market shocks. Market caps have no such insulation and can often be volatile investments to hold. Many such micro caps went bust during the recession when the economy started to contract. One such name that managed to resurrect itself is US Concrete (Nasdaq:USCR). After emerging from bankruptcy and restructuring its debt, US Concrete has given itself plenty of time to benefit from an increase in infrastructure construction. The company has a market cap of $44 million.

While it may not be necessarily accurate to compare USCR to larger names like Cemex (NYSE:CX) or Martin Marietta (NYSE:MLM), shares in USCR look cheap in comparison. US Concrete’s smaller size may certainly warrant a discount, but its worth noting that USCR shares trade for about six times EV/EBITDA compared to a little over 11 for Cemex and about 13 for Martin. All of these companies will benefit from a recovery in construction, but few eyes are on USCR. (For related reading, see Relative Valuation Of Stocks Can Be A Trap.)

The Bottom Line
Diligent investors will find many fertile ideas when looking for micro caps. After all, many of today’s great businesses were much smaller many years ago. With no analyst coverage, micro caps can offer some of greatest price to value discrepancies in the stock market.

Use the Investopedia Stock Simulator to trade the stocks mentioned in this stock analysis, risk free!

At the time of writing, Sham Gad did not own shares in any of the companies mentioned in this article.

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — When Apple Inc. reports its December quarter results on Tuesday, the company’s main challenge may be hitting a target of investor expectations that seem in a constant state of flux.

Reuters Phil Schiller, Apple‘s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing, announces the iPhone 4S on Oct. 4, 2011.

Not that anyone expects a bad period. Apple’s (XNAS:AAPL – News)  own forecasts — known for being highly conservative — imply an expected revenue gain of 38% for the first fiscal quarter compared to the same period the previous year.

It will be the first reporting period to include the new iPhone 4S, which went on sale in October, as well as the first time the company has made one of its iPhone models available free of charge to consumers who sign a two-year wireless contract.

And the iPhone is expected to rule the quarter — and serve as a key metric watched by analysts, many of whom expect unit shipments of the device to come in between 30 million and 32 million for the period. The iPad will be another closely watched area, as the tablet device was likely a popular Christmas gift during the holiday shopping season, offset somewhat by the launch of the Kindle Fire from Amazon.com (XNAS:AMZN – News).

“The critical number is going to be the iPhone number,” said Gene Munster of Piper Jaffray, who recently lifted his own iPhone unit forecast from 26 million to 30 million.

The stock has been on a roller coaster over the last three months since Apple’s last earnings report. The stock fell by 14% in the month following the results, which included a rare earnings miss for the company. The stock has since re-gained that ground — topping out at an all-time high of $431.37 late last week.

Apple shares were up 1.5% to $426.66 early Monday afternoon.

Noting that the iPhone 4S is essentially the same device as the iPhone 4 with a faster chip, Munster believes that Apple hitting or surpassing the 30 million unit mark for the quarter would support his thesis that more than 90% of iPhone customers plan to upgrade to newer models, as opposed to other brands of smartphones.

This would mean that the iPhone 5, which is expected to come this summer in a new form factor, could be a “monster upgrade,” Munster said.

But Apple has to get through the next couple periods first and meet high expectations from investors and Wall Street. That was a problem for the company on its last earnings report in October, which included lower-than-expected sales of the iPhone, as customers held off on purchases while awaiting the launch of the 4S, after the quarter had closed. Read about Apple’s last earnings report.

Expectations for the December quarter are still generous, though Apple has beat Wall Street’s earnings consensus by an average of 19% over the last eight quarters, according to data from FactSet Research.

Analysts are expecting earnings of $10.06 per share on revenue of $39 billion, according to FactSet estimates. The company earned $6.43 per share on revenue of $26.74 billion for the same period last year.

On average, analysts are expecting a little more than 30 million iPhones to ship in the quarter, with iPad shipments between 13 million and 14 million, on average. Mac unit shipments are expected to come in a little over 5 million for the period.

“We are expecting a very strong quarter from iPhone with upside to our 30 million unit estimate,” wrote Maynard Um of UBS in a note to clients on Friday.

The iPad is a little more of a question mark. While the device has ruled the market for tablets since its first launch in 2010, it faced its first serious competitive threat in the December quarter from the Kindle Fire, a 7-inch tablet from Amazon that was priced at $200 — about 60% below the cheapest iPad.

Amazon does not report its results for the quarter until Jan. 31, and the company typically does not break out sales data for its Kindle devices. Apple is widely expected to unveil an iPad 3 sometime in the next few weeks, and most analysts believe the device held up well under increasing competition.

“Twelve million units would reflect just an 8% unit growth for iPad [quarter-over-quarter] in the holiday quarter, which we believe is a relatively low hurdle for the company,” Um wrote.

Toni Sacconaghi of Bernstein Research said the iPad may also have an effect on the company’s forecast for the March period, depending on when the company launches the next version. The iPad 2 came out last year in early March, though Apple has announced no plans regarding the new device.

“We model iPad sales to be down 25% quarter-over-quarter on account of a potential iPad refresh in March; however, Apple could guide conservatively, particularly if — like the iPhone4S — the refresh takes place in April (or the end of March) rather than early March,” Sacconaghi wrote in a report.

Wall Street is currently projecting earnings of $8 per share on revenue of $32 billion for the March quarter, according to Thomson Reuters.

Dan Gallagher is MarketWatch’s technology editor, based in San Francisco.

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Despite all the ads and hoopla, not everybody wants an iGadget, shiny bauble or flat-screen TV for the holidays. Some people on your list might fancy new kitchen gear or another product that makes life around the house more enjoyable such as a coffeemaker that brews terrific coffee or a stand mixer that kneads bread dough. And any handyman will appreciate a beefy cordless drill.

Here are 36 small appliances and other home products that scored highly in our tests and that are recommended by Consumer Reports.

Blenders

•The Ninja Master Prep Professional QB1004 ($60) is a CR Best Buy and this isn’t the first time we’ve touted its excellent ability to crush ice and make icy drinks. It excelled at our durability test in which we conduct the ice crush test 45 times and very good at such as other tasks as pur?eing soup and shredding cheese.
•The Vita-Mix 5200 ($450) aced Consumer Reports tests for icy drinks, ice crush, durability, and such other tasks as shredding and pur?eing—and at that price it should. It was very convenient although a bit noisier than the Ninja and the L’Equip.
•The L’Equip 228 ($160) was also excellent at crushing ice, shredding and pur?eing and was judged very durable. It was also very good at making icy drinks but not as convenient to use and clean as the other two.
•The Miallegro Professional MiTutto 9090 immersion blender ($70) is lightweight and versatile and a CR Best Buy. The handheld blender pur?ed soups, blended smoothies, whisked egg whites, grated cheese, and chopped onions and other foods better than more expensive versions in our tests. The metal parts detach for easy cleaning.

Coffeemakers

•The Mr. Coffee BVMC-SJX33GT ($40) is superb at brewing coffee and the conventional drip machine makes up to 12 cups. It’s programmable and allows you to adjust the brew strength, so you get just the jolt of joe you like.
•The Hamilton Beach BrewStation 47454 ($80) brew and dispense machine has excellent brew performance, is convenient and was judged excellent overall.
•The Senseo Supreme SL7832 ($130), a pod-style coffeemaker, was excellent at repeat speed and cup size consistency and very good at brewing range, temperature consistency, convenience and first-cup speed.

Cookware

•The Bonjour Stainless Steel ($540) 10-piece set was excellent at handle sturdiness, very good at cooking evenness and good at handle comfort, handle safety and ease of cleaning. The uncoated Bonjour set also worked well with induction cooktops and ranges. It’s dishwasher safe and oven safe to 500 degrees F.
•The Emerilware ($200) nonstick cookware comes in a 10-piece set made of hard anodized aluminium. The pans were excellent at cooking evenness and easy to clean. Handle safety was very good and the nonstick coating was durable.

Cordless Drills

•The Craftsman 17310 ($100) offers impressive power and speed. Compact, well balanced and lightweight, this cordless drill’s two-speed gearbox allows for slower speeds when driving screws, and the 24-position adjustable torque clutch offers ample flexibility. It comes with a lithium-ion battery that can be recharged in 30 minutes and an LED work light. It’s a CR Best Buy.
•The Craftsman 17586 ($70), another CR Best Buy, has a 3/8-inch chuck and two speed ranges. It comes with one Li-ion battery, a smart charger, and an LED work light. This 12-volt model is a good choice for quick, easy jobs, but not suited to heavy-duty tasks. It’s compact and lightweight for easy handling, with a fast 30-minute battery recharge time.
•The Hitachi DS18DSAL ($170) has a 1/2-inch chuck and two speed ranges. The 18-volt model comes with two Li-ion batteries, a smart charger, and a flashlight. This top-rated Hitachi is very fast and powerful, yet is lightweight and has a particularly comfortable handle. The price makes it a value over other high-performing name-brand drills. Fast and powerful, with easy handling and 40-minute recharge.

Food Processors

•The Cuisinart DFP-14BCN ($200) was very good in overall performance and has a special wide feed tube that can accommodate large items. The 14-cup machine was very good at chopping, slicing, grating, shredding and pur?eing and not too noisy.
•The KitchenAid KFP715[WH] ($100) was even quieter. The 7-cup processor was excellent at slicing and very good at shredding, chopping and pur?eing.
•The Cuisinart DLC-2011CHB ($200), like its brandmate, was very good at chopping, slicing, grating, shredding and pur?eing and not too noisy. It has a capacity of 11 cups.

Knives

•The Ginsu Chikara ($75) a CR Best Buy costs hundreds less than other picks and delivers the same excellent cutting performance. The eight-piece Ginsu Chikara is as good a starter set as any we tested. What’s more, the Ginsu includes a santoku knife, an increasingly popular cross between a chef’s knife and a cleaver.
•The Zwilling J.A. Henckels Twin Professional “S” set ($290) was best overall in our tests combining razor sharp blades and an ergonomic design in its seven-piece set. It was excellent at cutting and handle comfort and very good at handle balance.
•The Kershaw Shun Classic DMS300 ($270) three-piece set was excellent at cutting and very good at handle comfort and balance. But it’s missing a santoku and a slicer.

Hand Mixers

•The KitchenAid Architect Series KHM920A[CS] ($80) hand mixer exhibited very good whipping time, was excellent at mixing cookie dough and is capable of mixing small quantities of dough using dough hooks. It was also pretty quiet but if you need a mixer with interchangeable beaters, this one’s not for you.
•The Cooks 10-Speed HM820 (JCPenney) ($30) was excellent at whipping time and mixing cookie dough and also sturdy enough to mix small quantities of dough using dough hooks.
•The KitchenAid Ultra Power 5 KHM5AP[WH] ($50), like its brandmate, was excellent at mixing cookie dough and is capable of mixing small quantities of dough using dough hooks. But it was only good at whipping time and the beaters are not interchangeable.

Stand Mixers

•The KitchenAid Classic K45SS[WH] ($200) lives up to its name. It was excellent at whipping time, kneading and mixing and very good at convenience without too much noise. It’s a CR Best Buy.
•The KitchenAid KSM450[ER] ($250) sold at Sears—check out the red one—was also excellent at whipping time, mixing and kneading, was just as convenient and, again, pretty quiet.
•The Hamilton Beach Eclectrics 6322[1] ($180) stand mixer is another CR Best Buy. It was excellent at whipping time and mixing and very good at kneading and convenience. It’s also quieter than the other two on this list.

Sewing Machines

•The Brother Innov-is 40 ($400), an electronic/computerized machine, is a CR Best Buy. Our test panel thought the Brother was easy to use and ergonomic in its design. Sewing performance was very good—all machines are given technical evaluations on sewing seams, stitch types, button holes, hems, zippers insertion, including sewing on a variety of fabric types and weights.
•The Pfaff Select 3.0 ($800) was also very good at sewing performance. Our testers thought it was easy to use and comfortable too.
•The Bernina Activa 230PE ($1,350), another electronic/computerized model excelled at all the tasks that combine to add up to great sewing performance. Ease of use and ergonomics were very good.

Steam Irons

•The Singer Expert Finish EF ($60) excelled at our ironing tests which include the ironing of silk, cotton-poly, wool blend and linen. In our tests we also iron a linen table cloth, check the thermostat set point and measure the temperature swing. The steaming rate, which is measured over a period of 10 minutes, was excellent and the iron is easy to use with clear markings and settings. It’s a CR Best Buy as are the other two irons we recommend here.
•The Kenmore 80598 ($75) excelled at the steaming rate test but was not quite as good as the Singer at ironing various fabrics. However, the controls and settings were easy to use.
•The Rowenta Focus DZ5080 ($75) excelled at the two most important tests—steaming rate and ironing fabric. It was very good at ease of use but does not have a digital display.

Toaster Ovens

•The Oster TSSTTVMNDG toaster oven ($80) delivered fine baking, broiling and toasting, and can roast a four-pound chicken. It has convection cooking, which uses a fan to distribute heat evenly, but our tests found that the convection didn’t improve baking. The Oster was good at making toast the way you want it and was easy to clean.
•The Breville Smart Oven BOV800XL ($250) was very good in overall performance and was very good at toasting, baking and broiling. It excelled at toasting both full batches and successive batches and has controls that are easy to set. The Smart Oven has a convection oven that can accommodate a four-pound chicken.
•The Breville BOV650XL ($180) was better at toasting one slice of bread than its brandmate but was not quite as good at full and successive batches and doesn’t have a convection oven. Still, you can cook a small chicken in it. The toaster oven was very good at toasting, baking and broiling. The toast shade setting is a timer and is less convenient to use than others in our tests.

Water Filters (Carafe Style)

•The Tersano Lotus LWT-1000 ($229) was excellent at removing lead and chloroform. The flow was also excellent and the filter retained its flow rate over time, which means it didn’t clog. An indicator lets you know when it’s time to change the filter.
•The Clear2O CWS100A ($15) is a CR Best Buy. It was excellent at lead and chloroform removal and had a steady flow rate. It was very good at not clogging.
•The ZeroWater Z-Pitcher ($35) was very good at lead removal, flow rate and not clogging but was not equipped to remove chloroform.

By Mary H.J. Farrell

The U.S. stock market returned almost nothing to investors in 2011. As of early December, the Standard & Poor’s 500 index had netted 0.9 percent — and actually lost 1 percent if dividends aren’t included.

Such poor overall performance hides some wide variations: 80 stocks in the S&P 500 returned 20 percent or more in 2011, while 43 lost more than a third of their value.

Bloomberg Rankings analyzed S&P 500 returns as of Dec. 2 to determine which stocks were best and worst to shareholders in 2011. Their results follow, starting with 2011′s 5 best performers.

THE BEST STOCKS OF 2011

Cabot Oil and Gas Corp.

Industry: Oil exploration & production

Total return: 128.8 percent

On Oct. 27, Cabot (COG) reported that gas and oil production was up 39 percent from a year ago. The company also estimated production could expand 45 percent to 55 percent in 2012, a projection Global Hunter Securities analyst Dan Morrison called “eye-popping.”

El Paso Corp.

Industry: Pipelines

Total return: 84.2 percent

El Paso (EP) shares rose in January when the company forecast “double digit” earnings growth in 2012. Then, on Oct. 17, shares surged higher still on news that competitor Kinder Morgan (KMI) would buy El Paso for $21.1 billion, 37 percent more than its closing price on Oct. 14.

Biogen Idec Inc.

Industry: Biotechnology

Total return: 68.9 percent

The world’s largest maker of medicines treating multiple sclerosis, Biogen Idec (BIIB) saw its biggest share gains of the year — including a 15 percent rise on Apr. 21 — driven by studies showing the effectiveness of the experimental MS pill BG-12. Analysts estimated the product could bring in annual sales of as much as $3 billion.

Mastercard Inc.

Industry: Commercial services-finance

Total return: 69.2 percent

MasterCard (MA) is the world’s second-largest payment network, processing $2.1 trillion in credit- and debit-card purchases in 2010. In 2011, the company’s rising profit and market share boosted the stock. On Nov. 2, the company reported that net income rose 38 percent amid a 21 percent rise in credit-card spending.

Intuitive Surgical Inc.

Industry: Medical instruments

Total return: 68.3 percent

Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) said in October it expects sales to rise as much as 23 percent this year. The company’s main product, the robotic “da Vinci” surgical system, converts doctor’s hand motions into tiny movements inside a patient.

THE WORST STOCKS OF 2011

Industry: Human resources

Total return: -68.9 percent

Monster Worldwide (MWW) shares rose 36 percent in 2010, but in January the company projected disappointing estimates for 2011 earnings. Goldman Sachs analysts said the stock was “fully valued.” Analysts surveyed by Bloomberg expect the company’s sales growth to slow from 25.5 percent year-over-year in the second quarter of 2011 to 0.35 percent in 2012′s first quarter.

First Solar Inc.

Industry: Energy-alternate sources

Total return: -63.3 percent

Solar manufacturers such as First Solar (FSLR) face an increasingly competitive industry. Prices have fallen for solar panels as demand from Europe has slowed and Chinese producers boost output. Three U.S. solar companies, including Solyndra, declared bankruptcy in 2011.

Netflix Inc.

Industry: Internet

Total return: -62.2 percent

Netflix (NFLX) shares rose 442 percent from the beginning of 2010 until July 2011. That advance stalled when customers didn’t like changes to the pricing and terms for Netflix’s video-streaming and DVD-by-mail subscription services. The company lost 800,000 U.S. subscribers in the third quarter of 2011.

MEMC Electronic Materials Inc.

Industry: Semiconductors

Total return: -62.0 percent

MEMC Electronic Materials (WFR) is contending with a downturn in two of its end markets, the solar and semiconductor industries. Analysts surveyed by Bloomberg estimate that revenue will drop 13 percent year-over-year in the first quarter of 2012, while the company posts a loss of 4 cents per share.

Alpha Natural Resources Inc.

Industry: Coal

Total return: -59.8 percent

Alpha Natural Resources (ANR) bought rival Massey Energy on June 14, months after an explosion at Massey’s Upper Big Branch coal mine killed 29 people. In August, executives said they would have difficulty getting planned cost savings from the combination. In September, they warned that production would be lower than expected.

This holiday season, technology tops many of our wish lists, with one in three saying they’d like to receive some type of consumer electronic gift, according to the National Retail Federation. Apple products — from the iPad to iPhone 4s — are, not surprisingly, among the hottest requests, but there are a number of other new gadgets worth considering, experts say. We spoke to Steve Kovach, editor at Business Insider, for his pick of the coolest tech gifts sure to bring a smile to any tech lover’s face.

Apple iPad

Apple’s iPad and iPad 2 have dominated the tablet market, holding about 70 percent of the share. The iPads are higher in price than other tablets though with a starting price at $499. Despite the iPad’s higher price, Kovach says the device’s competitive advantage is due to the number and variety of apps in Apple’s App Store. It offers thousands of apps for games, reading, messaging, photos and more. Apple also has several deals with publishers, Kovach adds, and the availability of publications on the iPad also contributes to its advantage and high demand.

Kindle Fire

While Apple has a higher market share, Amazon’s new Kindle Fire, stands to compete. Priced to sell at just $199 (compared to $499 for the iPad), it has access to all Amazon has to offer, including the online store’s entire inventory of books, movies, and music. The major difference between the two tablets, according to Kovach, is that the Fire gets only allows for a public or private Wi-Fi connection to the Internet. But for consumers who are using their tablets in their homes, offices or coffee shops, a Wi-Fi connection could be all they need.

Nook Tablet

This is Barnes & Noble’s answer to the Kindle Fire. The tablet runs on Wi-Fi, as well, and boasts much faster hardware specs. Owners can get access to movies TV shows and music from Netflix, Hulu and Pandora. It is, however, more expensive at $250.

Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus

Sticking with tablets, Kovach likes the Galaxy Tablet 7.0 Plus for consumers who enjoy the Stylus experience and like to jot down notes and drawings. The device also ships with a free application called Peel, which turns your tablet into a universal television remote.

Sonos

Sonos can be used in conjunction with your phone or tablet and works similarly to Peel. Kovach calls the gadget the latest and greatest in multi-room home entertainment systems. “It’s a fantastic way to connect to those streaming music services like Spotify, Pandora, etc.,” he says, “and best of all, you can control your house wirelessly.”

Samsung Galaxy Nexus

The highly awaited Samsung Galaxy Nexus is Google’s next flagship phone and the first phone to run the Android 4.0, aka “Ice Cream Sandwich.” It is expected to be released very soon and be the best Android phone around, says Kovach. “It promises to bring a whole new look and feel to the Android experience,” he says, including an ability to unlock the phone using face recognition. The price is not confirmed.

We’ve written plenty of times about how little Americans know about the distribution of income in the United States, and how many rich people don’t realize they’re rich, at least relative to the rest of the country.

Now Gallup has surveyed Americans to ask what they believe the cutoff for being “rich” should be. The median response was that a person would need to make at least $150,000 to be considered rich. Here’s a breakdown of the responses:

According to the Tax Policy Center’s calculations on income distribution, a household earning cash income of $150,000 would fall somewhere between the 89th and 90th percentiles. In other words, the typical American believes anyone in about the top tenth of the income distribution counts as “rich.”

President Obama and others, on the other hand, have set the cutoff around $250,000 when discussing “raising taxes on the rich.” Households earning cash income of $250,000 are somewhere between the 96th and 97th percentiles.

As you might expect, answers to Gallup’s survey question on the threshold for being “rich” varied tremendously by demographics and geography. For example, men cited a higher bar than women did — $150,000 versus $100,000, respectively:

Note that respondents with children under 18 said they would require $200,000 before considering themselves rich, whereas the childless were satisfied with a $100,000 benchmark. (That reminds me of this xkcd cartoon.)

As you might expect, those who live in urban areas — like New York City, where the cost of living is very high — or in suburbs had higher standards for being “rich” than did Americans who live in towns or rural settings.

Readers, I’m curious: What’s your definition for who counts as “rich”?

By CATHERINE RAMPELL

The holidays are a time for bargain shopping and enjoying family, but they’re also a good time to start becoming a new, more organized you.

By Brandon Ballenger | MoneyTalksNews

 

Maybe you’ve been too busy to notice, but the year’s almost over. So in between shopping trips, holiday preparations, and the rest of the daily grind, it’s time to take a breather and focus on some small things now that might make a big difference after year-end.

Maybe you’ve been putting off these tasks, or maybe they haven’t occurred to you. But with 30 days left in the year, you can take out this whole list doing just one thing every couple of days. And most of these jobs won’t take an hour.

Review your credit history. Time required: less than one hour. At AnnualCreditReport.com you can get a free copy of your credit history — everything the three major reporting agencies have in your file. Your credit history doesn’t include your credit score, but this is the information used to tabulate your score, so you really need to check it for accuracy. Take 10 minutes to download it, then a half-hour looking it over to make sure all’s well.

Check out your tax situation. Time required: one to two hours. The window for some tax advantages closes at the end of the year, so now’s the time to look into possible credits and deductions – especially if you’re close to another tax bracket. Start by pulling out last year’s return, scoping out last year’s deductions, and seeing if there are actions you can take now to swell this year’s. Can you add more to your retirement plan at work? Can you take a deductible loss on an investment? Make a charitable donation?

Clear clutter. Time required: one hour to one month. There’s no better time than the holidays to turn your clutter into cash, or at least a tax deduction. The best way to approach your closets, attic, basement, or storage rooms is slowly – otherwise it’s too overwhelming. Pick one room, closet, or drawer per day, and spend a few minutes getting rid of stuff you haven’t touched in a year or more. If it’s easily sold, sell it online. If you’d rather help someone less fortunate, donate it. Either way, you’ll end up with more money, more deductions, less mess — and if you’re lucky, maybe even a re-gift.

Review/rebalance investments. Time required: less than one hour. Investments like your retirement plan shouldn’t require a lot of maintenance, but they do require some. Take a look at how your investments are performing and decide whether it’s time to buy, sell, or leave well enough alone.

Support a charity. Time required: less than one hour. It’s the season for giving, not just because of good  cheer, but also because of tax-deductible donations. It only takes a few minutes to check out charities.

Max out retirement contributions. Time required: less than one hour According to the IRS, the annual cap for IRAs (including Roths) is $5,000 for those under 50 on Dec. 31 and $6,000 for those older. You have until April to do this, but not so with your 401(k) at work. You only have until Dec. 31 to contribute the max: $16,500 if you’re under 50, and $22,000 if you’re over. Finding out how much you’re contributed this year should only take a minute or two. Use the rest of the time to contact your HR department and set up fatter contributions through year-end.

Spend your FSA. Time required: less than one hour. If you’ve set aside money in a flexible spending  account, it’s gone after Dec. 31. Some changes were made this year to how an FSA can be used. For example, most non-prescription drugs no longer qualify. But if you don’t use it, you’ll lose it.

Prepay bills. Time required: less than one hour. You might boost some tax credits and deductions for this tax year by prepaying things like your mortgage or next semester’s college tuition. If these bills are due soon anyway, get a deduction by paying in advance. What’s deductible? Look at last year’s tax return.

Find a financial adviser. Time required: one to three hours. There’s someone out there who can help you with most of the things on this list, and a lot more – a financial adviser. The National Association of Personal Financial Advisors lets you look up professionals by zip code. Even if you choose one that charges by the hour, you can probably get a free first appointment.

Tinker with your budget. Time required: one to two hours. Now’s a good time to look at whether your spending has matched your projections over the past year – maybe some adjustments are in order, especially if your income or expenses has changed.

Change important passwords. Time required: less than one hour. A lot of sensitive personal information is one smart guess away from being stolen. Add an extra layer of protection by changing the most important passwords at least once a year. A good password has a mix of numbers, letters, and special characters – but as this XKCD comic strip shows, length is more important than complexity.

Digitize documents. Time required: one hour to one month. If you’re buried in paper, maybe it’s time to invest in a document scanner. You can get a decent one for $50 and start transferring the contents of your filing cabinets and drawers to your computer. Just make sure to keep backups.

Make a will. Time required: less than one hour. If you don’t have a plan for your demise, there’s no time like the present to start one. Lawyers can cost hundreds but do-it-yourself software is less than $50 and you can do it in less than an hour. If you have the time and money, have your computer-generated will checked by a lawyer later.

How to find the time to do this stuff

The key is slow, easy, and gradual. Earmark just 15 minutes to an hour per day and go down the list. Keep in mind much of this stuff doesn’t require excessive concentration – you can do a lot of it while you’re watching TV.

And if you don’t get it all done? Well, there’s always next year.