Meta
Categories
- accounting
- Announcements
- architecture
- art
- auctions
- bailouts
- banking
- bankruptcy
- ben stein watch
- blogonomics
- bonds and loans
- charts
- china
- cities
- climate change
- commercial property
- commodities
- consumers
- consumption
- corporatespeak
- credit ratings
- crime
- Culture
- Davos 2008
- Davos 2009
- defenestrations
- demographics
- derivatives
- design
- development
- drugs
- Econoblog
- economics
- education
- emerging markets
- employment
- energy
- entitlements
- eschatology
- euro
- facial hair
- fashion
- Film
- Finance
- fiscal and monetary policy
- food
- foreign exchange
- fraud
- gambling
- geopolitics
- governance
- healthcare
- hedge funds
- holidays
- housing
- humor
- Humour
- iceland
- IMF
- immigration
- infrastructure
- insurance
- intellectual property
- investing
- journalism
- labor
- language
- law
- leadership
- leaks
- M&A
- Media
- milken 2008
- Not economics
- pay
- personal finance
- philanthropy
- pirates
- Politics
- Portfolio
- prediction markets
- private banking
- private equity
- privatization
- productivity
- publishing
- race
- rants
- regulation
- remainders
- research
- Restaurants
- Rhian in Antarctica
- risk
- satire
- science
- shareholder activism
- sovereign debt
- sports
- statistics
- stocks
- taxes
- technocrats
- technology
- trade
- travel
- Uncategorized
- water
- wealth
- world bank
Archives
- March 2023
- August 2022
- July 2022
- June 2022
- May 2022
- December 2021
- November 2021
- October 2021
- September 2021
- August 2021
- July 2021
- June 2021
- May 2021
- April 2021
- December 2020
- November 2020
- October 2020
- September 2020
- August 2020
- July 2020
- June 2020
- May 2020
- April 2020
- March 2020
- February 2020
- January 2020
- December 2019
- November 2019
- October 2019
- September 2019
- August 2019
- July 2019
- June 2019
- May 2019
- April 2019
- March 2019
- February 2019
- January 2019
- December 2018
- November 2018
- October 2018
- September 2018
- August 2018
- July 2018
- June 2018
- May 2018
- April 2018
- March 2018
- February 2018
- January 2018
- December 2017
- November 2017
- October 2017
- September 2017
- August 2017
- July 2017
- June 2017
- May 2017
- April 2017
- March 2017
- February 2017
- January 2017
- December 2016
- November 2016
- October 2016
- September 2016
- August 2016
- July 2016
- June 2016
- May 2016
- April 2016
- March 2016
- February 2016
- January 2016
- December 2015
- November 2015
- October 2015
- September 2015
- August 2015
- July 2015
- June 2015
- May 2015
- April 2015
- March 2015
- February 2015
- January 2015
- December 2014
- November 2014
- October 2014
- September 2014
- August 2014
- July 2014
- June 2014
- May 2014
- December 2012
- August 2012
- June 2012
- March 2012
- April 2011
- August 2010
- June 2010
- January 2010
- December 2009
- September 2009
- July 2009
- June 2009
- May 2009
- April 2009
- March 2009
- February 2009
- January 2009
- December 2008
- November 2008
- October 2008
- September 2008
- August 2008
- July 2008
- June 2008
- May 2008
- April 2008
- March 2008
- February 2008
- January 2008
- December 2007
- November 2007
- October 2007
- September 2007
- August 2007
- July 2007
- June 2007
- May 2007
- April 2007
- March 2007
- February 2007
- January 2007
- December 2006
- November 2006
- October 2006
- September 2006
- August 2006
- July 2006
- June 2006
- May 2006
- April 2006
- March 2006
- February 2006
- January 2006
- December 2005
- November 2005
- October 2005
- September 2005
- August 2005
- July 2005
- June 2005
- May 2005
- April 2005
- March 2005
- February 2005
- January 2005
- December 2004
- November 2004
- October 2004
- September 2004
- August 2004
- July 2004
- June 2004
- May 2004
- April 2004
- March 2004
- February 2004
- January 2004
- December 2003
- November 2003
- October 2003
- September 2003
- August 2003
- July 2003
- June 2003
- May 2003
- April 2003
- March 2003
- February 2003
- January 2003
- December 2002
- November 2002
- October 2002
- September 2002
- August 2002
- July 2002
- June 2002
- May 2002
- March 2002
- February 2002
- January 2002
- December 2001
- November 2001
- October 2001
- September 2001
- August 2001
- July 2001
- June 2001
- May 2001
- April 2001
- March 2001
- February 2001
- January 2001
- December 2000
- September 2000
- July 2000
- March 2000
- July 1999
Category Archives: personal finance
A Little Financial Knowledge is a Dangerous Thing
The Citi Smith Barney chap at my local Citibank branch is very sweet. Whenever anybody asks to open a brokerage account, he tells them that he’s not a discount brokerage, and that there are lots of discount brokers like E*Trade … Continue reading
Posted in personal finance
2 Comments
Will Banks Ever Promote Financial Wellness?
There are very few things more stressful than money, whether you don’t have it or whether you do. Money problems destroy relationships every day, and I’m sure that all of my readers can think of quite a few people off … Continue reading
Posted in personal finance
Comments Off on Will Banks Ever Promote Financial Wellness?
Silly Idea of the Day: Opening Foreign Brokerage Accounts
Abnormal Returns rarely criticises the stories it features in its invaluable daily linkfest. But today’s an exception: Color us skeptical that individual investors should be opening brokerage accounts around the world. (WSJ.com) Boy are they right to be skeptical. Armed … Continue reading
Posted in personal finance, stocks
Comments Off on Silly Idea of the Day: Opening Foreign Brokerage Accounts
No Security in Securities
James Stewart is shocked – shocked! – to find out that his ARPS aren’t liquid. They were sold as a liquid, safe, slightly higher-yielding, tax-exempt alternative to money-market funds. I should know, since I bought some… What was a ready … Continue reading
Posted in bonds and loans, personal finance
Comments Off on No Security in Securities
Credit Cards Around the World
Ronald Mann’s credit-card infographic in Foreign Policy has been getting a lot of attention in the econoblogosphere today. It’s a great little piece, but a little unclear on some things, especially sources. So I sent off an email to Professor … Continue reading
Posted in personal finance
Comments Off on Credit Cards Around the World
Vishing for Credit
Is it possible that, by conducting a telephone survey, one can reliably conclude that identity fraud costs Americans $45 billion per year? I suspect it isn’t. And I’m even more suspicious of enormous jumps like this: Fraudsters are turning to … Continue reading
Posted in personal finance
Comments Off on Vishing for Credit
Credit Card Datapoint of the Day
Jonathan Stempel reports: Discover Financial Services said on Thursday it agreed to sell its Goldfish credit card unit in Britain to Barclays Plc for $70 million, abandoning a money-losing business it bought two years ago for $1.68 billion, as consumer … Continue reading
Posted in banking, personal finance
Comments Off on Credit Card Datapoint of the Day
The Past-Due Loan Problem at American Express
Right now the Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 86.16 points, and American Express is down $1.51 per share. Given that the DJIA divisor is 0.123017848, that means American Express is responsible for 12.27 points of the Dow’s 86-point fall, … Continue reading
Posted in bonds and loans, personal finance
Comments Off on The Past-Due Loan Problem at American Express
The Credit Crunch and US Politics
It’s pretty obvious that the incumbent party is always going to have a harder time being reelected if it’s running during a recession. But a post by John Quiggin today implies that the thing that the Republicans should be most … Continue reading
Posted in personal finance, Politics
Comments Off on The Credit Crunch and US Politics
Fiscal Stimulus: The Consumption Dilemma
Zubin Jelveh has some advice for the IRS on how to spin the upcoming tax rebate so that people will spend it rather than save it. It’s good advice, too – for any politician looking to maximize the bang for … Continue reading
Posted in fiscal and monetary policy, personal finance
Comments Off on Fiscal Stimulus: The Consumption Dilemma
Is Cramer Advocating Index Funds?
One of the most effective ways to sell anything is to tell your mark that he’s special, and that your product isn’t suitable for just anyone, you know. The masses? The great unwashed? They can make do with mass-market products. … Continue reading
Posted in investing, personal finance, stocks
Comments Off on Is Cramer Advocating Index Funds?
Adventures in Personal Finance, APR Edition
I just got my Mastercard statement from Citibank, and found this: Apparently the ANNUAL PERCENTAGE RATE on purchases is 36%, corresponding to a "Nominal APR" of 17.74%, while the two are the same on advances. (Click on the image for … Continue reading
Posted in personal finance
Comments Off on Adventures in Personal Finance, APR Edition
Hidden Fees in Mortgages and Credit Cards
Have you ever wondered where the enormous profits being booked by various bits of the financial sector come from? Elizabeth Warren, whom I interviewed in June, has an excellent blog called Credit Slips which specializes, among other things, in revealing … Continue reading
Posted in personal finance
Comments Off on Hidden Fees in Mortgages and Credit Cards
Debit Cards vs Cash
If you want to read Andrew Leonard’s blog entry about Visa’s ad campaign today, and you’re not a subscriber to Salon, then you’ll have to sit through an ad for Visa to get there. It’s possible that the ad will … Continue reading
Posted in personal finance
Comments Off on Debit Cards vs Cash
On Bankruptcy
Megan McArdle has a paen
to the US bankruptcy system today:
Continue reading
Posted in bonds and loans, personal finance
Comments Off on On Bankruptcy
New Business Opportunity: SMS Loan Sharking
Yves Smith at Naked Capitalism submits: Lucy Kellaway, a Financial Times columnist who writes about corporate fads, once said no new business technique is too ridiculous to be put into practice. The Springwise newsletter (“New business ideas for entrepreneurial minds”), … Continue reading
Posted in banking, bonds and loans, personal finance, regulation
1 Comment
Understanding Investments
Barry Ritholtz has words
of advice for young and old:
Continue reading
Posted in personal finance
Comments Off on Understanding Investments
Looking for a Risk-Constant Mutual Fund
The financial markets have outgrown their retail investors. When will those investors be given the tools to catch up?
Continue reading
Posted in personal finance
Comments Off on Looking for a Risk-Constant Mutual Fund
When Hedge Fund Investors Lose Confidence
Jenny Anderson is
worried that when hedge-fund investors get their monthly statements in July,
they’ll start to panic.
Continue reading
Posted in hedge funds, personal finance
Comments Off on When Hedge Fund Investors Lose Confidence
BanXcard: Better Than Wal-Mart, Worse Than Credit Unions
I have mixed feelings about the BanXcard,
a new product which is indubitably better than the MoneyCard.
Continue reading
Posted in banking, personal finance
Comments Off on BanXcard: Better Than Wal-Mart, Worse Than Credit Unions
Time to Buy ETFs and Head to the Beach
A diverse
global ETF portfolio can be put together with an overall expense ratio of
less than 0.15%
Continue reading
Posted in personal finance
Comments Off on Time to Buy ETFs and Head to the Beach
MLM Schemes: A Very Bad Idea
Many MLM schemes can be extremely profitable, for their owners.
Continue reading
Posted in personal finance
4 Comments
Why Enormous Personal Debt Means a More Vibrant Economy
Chris Dillow finds
a silver lining to the ever-increasing amounts of leverage bidding up asset
prices around the world.
Continue reading
Posted in bonds and loans, economics, personal finance
Comments Off on Why Enormous Personal Debt Means a More Vibrant Economy
Control Your Money Even After You Die
I had coffee with Armond Budish this morning, who’s plugging
his new
book on estate planning.
Continue reading
Posted in personal finance
Comments Off on Control Your Money Even After You Die
The Wal-Mart MoneyCard: A Rip-Off
Ron
Galloway reckons that Wal-Mart’s new
debit card "is simply a deposit account by another name" and that
Wal-Mart has thereby managed to become a bank via the back door, as it were.
Continue reading
Posted in personal finance
Comments Off on The Wal-Mart MoneyCard: A Rip-Off