Live to Fight another Day
At year-end 1965 the Dow Jones Industrial average closed at 969.26. At year-end 1981, sixteen years later, it closed lower at 875. That’s a...
It’s Not My Money
The way that groupthink hurts the average pension recipient is appalling. The ones making the investment decisions for the bus driver, schoolteacher, and janitor...
Double Your Money
Investors pay too much attention to prices. That’s not investing. It’s trading. Sitting still and collecting dividends is investing. Let’s focus on the best...
Into the Abyss: The Bernanke Fed
Late yesterday, the Federal Reserve released the minutes from their last policy-setting meeting. In the minutes, Bernanke & Co. all but guaranteed investors that...
Survival Stock
In seventh grade, my school had a program called “Survival” up in the woods of Western Massachusetts. It was for the whole grade. Not...
India: BRIC Broken
India, one of the much hyped BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) has seen its currency plunge in recent months. Over the last...
Don’t Save Yourself Short
Chances are you’re not saving enough. To find out for sure, do this simple exercise. Calculate how much you expect to save by the...
High Corn Prices Threaten Consumer Spending
Stockpiles of grains are dwindling across the globe as droughts take hold in the U.S., Europe and Asia. Bloomberg reports:
Combined inventories of corn, wheat,...
Higher Unemployment amid Slow Job Gains
Today’s employment report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics indicated an increase of 163,000 jobs in July (chart 1). That’s the most jobs added...
Manufacturing Staggers
For the second month in a row manufacturers reported declines (chart 1) in overall business, as recorded by the Manufacturing ISM Report on Business for...