Pragmatic Capitalism. This is a great summary of many difficult topics to get your arms around normally. Roche does a good job summarizing many complex interrelations such as what is money, what you really do with your money in the economy, what the banks do and how the Federal Reserve, our central bank works in […]
Most people mentally picture getting to, and then through, retirement as a straightforward and linear path. Of course, that is desirable. But is this a realistic expectation? Some advisers may suggest the top path is possible by emphasizing “safety first.” This comes from Social Security and/or a pension (if you have one like your grandparents had). […]
Inflation is a persistent increase in general prices in an economy which results in a loss of purchasing power. The effect of price increases is insidious because we remember what the price was a short time ago, but not prices longer ago. Let’s take a look at both how prices have gone up and the […]
The term bubble is in the market news a lot lately. What’s A Bubble? An interesting interview on NPR (15:37) with Nobel Laureates Fama and Shiller (who are polar opposites on this question and most everything else about economics). Here’s a thought: When the Dow hit a high the first time at 10,000, was that a bubble […]
When you read or hear about a Pension Plan being underfunded, what does that mean? It means they don’t have enough assets to cover their liabilities. Assets are the pension plans investments. Liabilities are the payments to retirees. Underfunding is a wide spread problem today according to this study cited in Financial Advisor Magazine. So what […]
This is one of the common questions I get from people. They’re trying to benchmark where they stand relative to other people. The problem with this approach is once you know, if doesn’t change anything. You see, the more someone makes income wise, the more they need to save to sustain that Standard of Individual Living. […]
The Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond has rolled out the first issue of their education pieces. They plan on semi-annual issues. What is unique is their combination of improving both economic literacy concept and personal financial literacy on the select topic. Issues may be found on their site under the Education tab then Resources and Programs, […]
The bailout package has gone through – for now. However, as pointed out in the To the rescue Mar 25th 2013, 17:43 by Economist.com, their woes aren’t over. This is a great graphic and short commentary in their piece, that also shows the other countries needing help so far. As I would venture to say, woes […]
The changing elements of what jobs are available in the economy, as well as where those jobs are, often makes finding employment challenging. The very same forces of technology that underlies jobs moving around globally may also be used to find those jobs. Of course, moving to where the jobs are that match your skills increases […]
Rick Kahler writes an entertaining summary that puts how commodities are priced into perspective. Why are some commodities priced higher than others? Popularity, supply and demand, usefulness, and even marketing. Please read the short article linked to above for an entertaining explanation of commodity pricing … it should cause you pause next time you get all excited […]
