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…
Economic Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is “a long-term mental disorder of a type involving a breakdown in the relation between thought, emotion, and behavior, leading to faulty perception, inappropriate actions and feelings, withdrawal from…
Do You Believe in Santa Claus? You May Be A Keynesian.
The Christmas season is an appropriate time to reflect on Keynesian economics, given this: believing in Keynesian economics is a lot like believing in Santa Claus. Most Americans grow up…
The Markets Need Psychotherapy
“The whole idea that the stock market reflects fundamentals is, I think, wrong. It really reflects psychology. The aggregate stock market reflects psychology more than fundamentals.” Robert Shiller, Nobel Prize-winning…
Baby Boomer Bust
Each day, another 8,000 baby boomers turn 65. The U.S. Census Bureau says there are more than 77 million baby boomers, defined as those born between 1946 and 1964. By…
Only a Half Trillion Dollars
It’s a sign of how much trouble we’re in when a budget deficit of a half trillion dollars seems like fiscal restraint. It is progress, given that annual budget deficits…
The QE Apocalypse
The end is near. The Federal Reserve Board has now put a date on the quantitative easing apocalypse, letting us know that bond buying will end in October – unless…
Sprinkling the Fairy Dust of Illusory Riches
When the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) calls central bank market rigging “the fairy dust of illusory riches,” it’s time to pay attention. The BIS is the central banks’ central…
Prozac Nation
It’s all stress-free bliss these days … at least for anyone who’s not paying attention. Has someone been putting anti-depressants in the water supply? That’s one way to explain Wednesday’s…