Financial News
Cautionary tale about career choices — dodged a bullet on insurance ‘career’
Many years ago, a buddy of mine, who had absolutely no experience as an insurance agent, contacted me with the career choice or business of my dreams — at least, that’s what he said at the time.
He had joined a company known as Primerica. The company specialized in term insurance, that is, term life insurance. [...]
Go ahead, I dare you — explain how the stock markets really work
The U.S. stock markets closed up yesterday. They remain, at this point in the late morning where I live, on a healthy uptrend.
But yesterday the only economic news I heard was bad news: crude oil prices were at a new high; housing foreclosures continue at a record pace; the consumer price index to the biggest [...]
Have you spent your economic stimulus money before you’ve even gotten it?
A friend just sent me a Private Message on a forum I belong to, asking me whether I thought we were heading perhaps into another “Great Depression.” (For you youngsters not familiar with the expression, the “Great Depression” was that period of worldwide economic depression which took place basically between 1929 and the start of [...]
Housing market’s collapse seems to be slowing ‘Boomer’ retirements
I just saw an interesting clip on the NBC Nightly News broadcast about the many Baby Boomers who are being forced to forgo retirement — primarily because they relied upon increased home values to fund their “sunset years.”
Well, as one of those Baby Boomers myself, I can appreciate the problem. In my case it would [...]
Call it a recession or not — it’s starting to really hurt people, isn’t it?
I have only one very small investment in stocks. In what’s left of a dividend reinvestment plan I wanted to try a couple of decades ago, I still own just over 5 shares of Wendy’s stock. Too long a story for this, but I want that noted when I talk about stocks and/or the stock [...]
How big are you willing to gamble with your home, health, or life?
The biggest crisis most of us face these days is an insurance crisis — whether we realize it or not. Indeed, the whole world of insurance, whether we’re talking whole life insurance, term life insurance, health insurance, or homeowners insurance, is the world’s biggest legalized gambling operation.
Maybe you’ve never thought of insurance as gambling, but [...]
Is it possible to ‘repair’ bad credit? Here’s an ebook that looks helpful
All over the Internet you see websites and companies that offer you promises of “Credit Repair Now,” but immediate questions arise — is it possible to “repair” bad credit, and how would a person do that?
Here’s a useful website — actually it directs you to a useful “ebook” — which gives detailed information about credit [...]
‘Retail therapy’ to cure the blues? The government’s relying on you to spend
I guess I thought people on TV and the Internet were joking when they used the phrase “retail therapy” for those people who go shopping a lot when they’re feeling down. Now I find there are studies done on the issue and that the term “retail therapy” really is used.
Boy, all along I thought the [...]
Now we’re going to have to pay the tab — Bush’s ‘tax-cut-and-spend’ legacy
The president submitted a $3 trillion budget to Congress yesterday which, I’m told, cuts domestic spending and boosts defense spending.
Not really a big surprise, is it, that a Republican president would make domestic cuts and boost defense spending? Isn’t that what Republican presidents traditionally do.
What really has been the big surprise in this Republican president, [...]
Does anybody REALLY understand the stock market? I don’t pretend to
I’m sitting here watching CNN coverage of early Super Tuesday voting and voter turnout. I’m also seeing on CNN that the Dow Jones Industrial Average has dropped 250+ points, the has fallen NASDAQ 41+.
Which leads to the obvious question in the title of this post: Does anybody REALLY understand the stock market?
Wouldn’t you think the [...]
