If you’re confused about the outlook for the economy and stocks one year after the market hit bottom, then you’ve got good company — the Wall Street economists and strategists who are supposed to have this all figured out.

Rarely have the experts seemed so divided about the future.

We’re either beginning the type of robust recovery that typically follows a deep recession, or we’re on the cusp of another contraction, the dreaded double dip. Prices could climb fast as they did in the U.S. during the 1970s, or fall to devastating effect as they did in Japan during the 1990s.

Stocks? We’re on the verge of a long bull market a la the 1980s. Then again, maybe not. To hear some tell it, the present is more like the 1930s, when stocks were viewed less as vehicles to riches and more as a boring source of dividends.

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On March 9, 2009, it felt like the world was ending.

The Dow Jones industrial average had tumbled to a 12-year low of 6,547, and looked to keep plunging. A day later, Citigroup Inc. stopped the market’s drop with news that it was turning a profit. That began the stock market’s answer to the Great Recession: the Great Rebound.

The numbers are hard to believe. The Dow has rocketed 61 percent in a year. That’s the kind of gain that would normally come in five or six good years. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index — which is the basis for many retirement accounts and mutual funds — jumped 20 percent in the first 10 trading days after March low. It’s now up 68 percent.

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Small business owners who compile their own income tax returns can find themselves falling into some common quicksand pits. The mistakes can be costly if they raise a company’s tax bill unnecessarily or subject it to penalties and interest in the future.

Some of the problems are mechanical in nature, such as not filling out the right forms. Others are more strategic, including not considering how the deductions you take on your 2009 return might affect your taxes in future years.

Other mistakes are the result of owners not being well informed about the tax laws and the requirements they can impose, for example, on an owner’s salary or the way employees are classified. . . . read more

Figures on government spending and debt (last six digits are eliminated). The government’s fiscal year runs Oct. 1 through Sept. 30. . . . read more

Jeremy Lesniak owns a small Web design firm in Randolph, Vt. He has 10 employees and hundreds of clients. Sick isn’t an option.

“I have two cell phones and a pager” he said. “I have taken partial sick days or just worked from home, but I haven’t had a real one in over six years.”

The swine flu epidemic had employers desperately trying to keep sick workers at bay, calling into question companies that didn’t. But the economic meltdown has stepped up pressure on worker bees and bosses alike to produce from home rather than heal in bed, said Dave Couper, a career coach and corporate human resources consultant in Los Angeles . . . read more

Skyrocketing premiums have stunned some consumers who buy their own health insurance policies. People in several corners of the country are facing increases of 20 percent or more from some insurers.

Congress has asked the largest health insurer, WellPoint Inc., to testify about rate hikes of up to 39 percent for its Anthem Blue Cross plans in California, and President Obama wants federal oversight of rate increases. Insurers say rising medical costs are to blame for the price hikes.

There are steps consumers can take to shrink their payments while all this haggling takes place. Here are things to consider: . . . read more

The government is giving homeowners another year to refinance their loans under a little-used program designed to help borrowers whose homes have plummeted in value.

The Obama administration effort, known as Home Affordable Refinance Program, had been scheduled . . . read more

If you decide to hire a professional to help prepare your taxes, it’s important to remember that you are still ultimately responsible for what’s on your return.

Here are some tips to remember before you hire someone to assist with your taxes . . . read more

Closed-end funds are generally not for hands-off investors. But they can offer benefits over more common open-end mutual funds, if an investor is willing to take on the added risks and rewards from differences in how they operate. Here’s a look at key differences:

Despite their exclusive-sounding name, closed-end funds don’t maintain the equivalent of a velvet rope restricting access to VIPs.

The reality is that investors in closed-end funds tend to be wealthier than the average client in conventional open-end mutual funds, which far outnumber closed-end funds.

Yet it’s not a matter of cost that gives closed-end funds their more exclusive reputation. It’s the difference in how closed-end funds operate that introduces an extra layer of potential risk, and draws a different pool of investors. . . . read more