"Rather it is when the Fed goes too far that a recession comes on, which then sets the stage for a stock market plunge."
Since 1957, there have been nine bear markets. Three bears were not associated with recessions. Likewise, there have been nine recessions, three of which were not associated with bear markets. Just fyi.
http://www.advisorperspectives.com/dshort/charts/markets/SPX-and-Recessions.html?SPX-Percent-Off-Highs-and-Recessions.gif

So long a stretch IRAs rules remain unchanged they can be a multi-generational financial blessing:

Source:
what-is-a-stretch-ira?

These countries already have serious structural problems to begin with. Thus It is unrealistic for IMF (particularly Germany) to expect them to meet their debt obligation. The run on the banks scenario already started in Greece. Ted posted a similar picture on German currency after WWI.

FYI: Your death could be more taxing than you imagine.
Regards,
Ted
http://blogs.wsj.com/totalreturn/2015/06/11/another-death-triggered-tax-event-to-worry-about/tab/print/?mg=blogs-wsj&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblogs.wsj.com%2Ftotalreturn%2F2015%2F06%2F11%2Fanother-death-triggered-tax-event-to-worry-about%2Ftab%2Fprint

While I tried to make sense of this link, it seems to say that the "market" is reliant on the "bigger fool" hypothesis for further highs. I'm trying to decide if I should sell my value buys even if they are under water.
OTOH, VHCOX and VPMAX are positive for the year, and it's difficult to justify taking profits (scant, but real) there.The stocks made sense when I bought them, so they may be good in five years.
Since I'm 3 to 4 years from retirement, guess I'll sit, wait for a 10% drop, put in 50% of my cash when it happens, and decide if I like beans and rice if the market doesn't respond in 3 years.

There are many good reasons for MSCI's delay (although the change is coming). There are still purchasing restrictions in place for ownership of stocks represented in various Chinese stock indexes. Transparency/reporting practices, quotas, accessibility. Etc. These are all resolvable, but until they are ..... I don't know why Vanguard is going ahead with this. Doesn't seem prudent.
So much for "passive index investing." :)
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-06-09/china-mainland-shares-on-track-to-be-added-to-msci-stock-indexes

A good outline of China's place in the index world.
How to Tell Emerging from Developed Markets
Posted on June 11, 2015 by David Ott ,Acropolis Financial
After my article the other day about China being the second largest stock market in the world when you factor in all of their alphabet soup of stocks (click here for a refresher), a number of people asked me how China could still be considered an emerging market given their massive size.
It turns out that the generally accepted criteria for inclusion in either the developed or emerging market categories (and frontier, which is the real Wild West) is based on per-capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which measures the total economic output of a country on a per-person basis.
http://acrinv.com/how-to-tell-emerging-from-developed-markets/

Update
The adversarial atmosphere of negotiations increases.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-06-11/ukraine-bonds-drop-as-jaresko-said-to-seek-40-principal-cut-iary9dc1
The country will stop making payments on its debt if talks don’t make progress, Finance Minister Natalie Jaresko told reporters in Washington Wednesday. Bondholders are “deeply concerned” about Jaresko’s stance, a creditor group led by Franklin Templeton said in a statement today.
“Minister Jaresko has been in possession of a detailed IMF-compliant solution from the bond committee for over a month,” the committee said today. “We are ready and willing to start talks at any time.”

FYI: Who wants to handicap the stock market right now? Few, it seems. That’s why the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF (DIA) is going literally nowhere this year
Regards,
Ted
http://blogs.barrons.com/focusonfunds/2015/06/11/were-not-in-a-bubble-but-chances-are-60-70-that-one-is-coming-credit-suisse-says/tab/print/

Ya see, 'cause Royce European Smaller Companies (RISCX) could easily be mistaken for a fund that invests in kumquats, Chinese real estate, or three person Greek start-ups with $20 billion market caps (hey! it could happen) or huge companies that simply aren't mega-massive huge. Calling it Royce European Small Cap relieves all of those concerns.
With nine of Royce's 22 funds firmly in the "financially unsustainable" range ($75 million or less after 3-10 years in operation), something needs to change. I'm not sure it's always the name. RISCX been around nine years and has drawn $22 million. Odd that no comparable clarification is forthcoming for the $900 million Smaller-Companies Growth Fund (RYVPX).
David

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/04/us/last-task-after-layoff-at-disney-train-foreign-replacements.html
We talked about how people don't have money for retirement.
I don't see how they will get it. Illegal aliens taking unskilled jobs and not legal aliens taking skilled jobs.

The Return Of The Bond Vigilantes By James Picerno | Jun 11, 2015 at 06:44 am EDT
The Capital Spectator
US Treasury yields continued to rise yesterday, with the rate on the benchmark 10-year Note reaching 2.50%–the highest level since last September, based on data from Treasury.gov. Meanwhile, the 2-year yield—considered the most sensitive spot on the yield curve for rate expectations—ticked up to a four-year high of 0.75% on Wednesday (June 10).
Meantime, recent data for the labor market paints an encouraging profile. After last week’s surprisingly strong rise in payrolls for May, along with jobless claims sticking close to a 15-year low, the Labor Department this week advised that job openings in April jumped to a 15-year high.
The net result is that the Treasury market is focused on the rising possibility that the Federal Reserve will start raising interest rates in the near future, perhaps as early as September.
http://www.capitalspectator.com/the-return-of-the-bond-vigilantes/

You asked: "And are there any other such funds?" I can't answer this. The following relates to FRIFX.
This fund will remain in this status as it is the only real estate fund that I am aware of that is about 50% each in equity and bond holdings. This fund will look like crap when the equity only real estate funds are happy and will also look like a very good fund when the equity real estate sector is being a dog.
A very smooth fund with a decent yield in this area. Do not be mislead by the rating here and at M*, or elsewhere.
There is not any good method to qualify this fund within the Real Estate sector.
I suspect you will not find another fund that is so badly mismatched to a category. Tis not the fault of those setting a category; but that there is not a satisfactory category for this fund.
If you want yield/income from this area; this is a nice, slow and smooth fund.
If real estate and related bond holdings all go to heck; this fund will eventually also suffer loses.
Keep in mind that this fund has always been a U.S. center real estate fund. Comparing with some other r.e. funds with large exposure to non-U.S. equity real estate will be an apples and oranges event.
Fidelity Overview here
We continue to hold this fund at our house.
Lastly, if one was a momentum trader in the real estate sector for etf's or active managed funds, one's profits "could" be higher with choices other than FRIFX as this chart presents.
PETDX vs FRIFX . Move the 200 day slider at its left edge, to the left, for a longer time frame view of these two funds.
Regards,
Catch

FYI: How much time do we left in this here bull market?
Regards,
Ted
http://thereformedbroker.com/2015/06/10/two-more-years-of-bull/

Royce is another company, like Waddell & Reed, with an awful record since start of current bull market. Of its 18 existing funds that have been around since March 2009, 15 have trailed its peers on an absolute return basis ... some by massive amounts. Here's list:

Nearly half of its funds are on the Three Alarm list, month ending May 2015.

As of month ending May, four of Waddell and Reed's 19 funds are on Three Alarm List:
Waddell & Reed Bond A (UNBDX)
Intermediate Government Waddell & Reed Government Secs A (UNGVX)
Muni National Long Waddell & Reed Municipal Bond A (UNMBX)
Waddell & Reed Dividend Opps A (WDVAX)
No funds on Honor Roll.
No Great Owls.
Since the start of the current bull market, 16 of their funds have underperformed its peers on an absolute return basis, some by massive amount. Here's the list:

FYI: (Click On Article Title At Top Of Google Search)
Waddell & Reed Financial Inc., one of the biggest beneficiaries of the recent boom in mutual funds, has hit a rough patch. Nervous investors pulled $12.5 billion out of the investment company’s two largest mutual funds over the past 12 months.
Regards,
Ted
https://www.google.com/#q=Outflows+Hit+Waddell+&+Reed+Funds+wsj
MarketWatch Free Version:
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/outflows-hit-waddell-reed-funds-2015-06-10-231031125/print

FYI: Midcap stock mutual funds catch companies in their teenage to young-adult years. They've survived early small-cap challenges, but still can have impressive earnings growth. So in a real sense midcap stock mutual funds get the best of both large- and small-cap stock worlds.
Regards,
Ted
http://license.icopyright.net/user/viewFreeUse.act?fuid=MTk2MzEyODQ=
Enlarged Graphic:
http://news.investors.com/photopopup.aspx?path=WEBlv061015.jpg&docId=756596&xmpSource=&width=1000&height=1198&caption=&id=756507

Yes, the fund family that cannot remain still is on the move again. On June 15, two international funds will be renamed, and another fund will transition to a global mandate requiring a name change:
Royce Financial Services Fund will be renamed Royce Global Financial Services Fund. May invest up to 50% of assets in foreign securities.
Royce European Smaller-Companies Fund will be renamed Royce European Small-Cap Fund.
Royce International Smaller-Companies Fund will be renamed Royce International Small-Cap Fund.
New non-fundamental investment policy for each requiring at least 80% of iassets in stocks with mkt caps up to $3B.
“As was the case with a prior round of name changes in May, we believe these new names will help to distinguish each Fund’s approach within our lineup,” says Chris Clark, Royce Prez. [my emphasis]
Oh, o.k.
https://www.roycefunds.com/news/2015/06/royce-rename-three-funds-june-15-2015?utm_source=eword0615&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=news-1&mkt_tok=3RkMMJWWfF9wsRonvqvKZKXonjHpfsX57uwoXqWylMI/0ER3fOvrPUfGjI4ARMJmI+SLDwEYGJlv6SgFT7fAMbZmwLgPWRA=

Banking Analyst Available !
Meredith Whitney, who turned fame as a banking analyst into a stint running her own hedge fund, is through with managing other people's money.
In a brief phone call Wednesday, Stanley Arkin, a lawyer for Ms. Whitney, wouldn't elaborate on her interview.
“She's an honest woman,” he said. “I'm not at liberty to say anything more than that.”
Starting her debut fund without a staff of analysts to help choose investments and relying too much on one investor's money helped lead her astray, a person with direct knowledge of her firm told Bloomberg earlier...
http://www.investmentnews.com/article/20150610/FREE/150619990?template=printart
With Pic !
http://www.investmentnews.com/article/20150610/FREE/150619990/meredith-whitney-says-shes-done-managing-other-peoples-money