Last week, we discussed causes of the Great Recession. Today, we look at how it was addressed. The financial crisis was essentially a debt crisis. Mortgagees were unable to pay…
What Caused the Great Recession?
A decade after the collapse of Lehman Brothers, many are referring to this month as the 10th anniversary of the Great Recession. That’s a bit misleading, as the demise of…
In China, People Are Disappearing, but Problems Aren’t
President Obama has to be at least a little bit jealous of the power yielded by China’s leaders. He may use executive orders to get his way, but he has…
The Stock Market Needs “Seasonal Adjustment”
How many jobs did the U.S. economy generate in December? The correct answer is: 292,000 281,000 11,000 None of the above David Stockman wrote on his “Contra Corner” blog: “According…
Happy New Year: Meh.
Well, it’s a brave new world for us cynics. Somehow, we all survived another year, but it wasn’t easy. It was a good year for terrorists (Paris, San Bernardino), despots…
Taper Tantrum Two
Call it Taper Tantrum Two. Two of the 12 members of the Federal Open Market Committee suggested on Thursday that it’s time to raise interest rates, causing the Dow Jones…
Abnormalization and QE4
It seems to be a policy of the Federal Reserve Board to never use a two-syllable word when a four- or five-syllable word is available. So we have “quantitative easing”…
Yellen’s Soliloquy: To Raise or Not to Raise
To raise, or not to raise – that is the question: Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer The barbs and insults of outraged pundits and journalists Or to…
Big Board Floored
The Big Board is not so big anymore. A decade ago, it accounted for 80% of stock trades. Today, it accounts for 20%. There are also far fewer publicly traded…
How to Retire Early – Part Two
In part one of “How to Retire Early,” we focused on the need to reduce expenses and control debt. Doing so can create the foundation for a retirement plan by…