We're wired to understand complex concepts by grounding them in simpler ones. It's often an effective way to get by in a complex world–but can lead us astray when it comes to our finances.
The Economy
Big Blue Turns 100: IBM’s Anniversary is One to Celebrate
Today, IBM officially marks its 100th anniversary. But the company today bears remarkably little resemblance either to the sleepy Computer Tabulating Recording Corporation that was formed on June 16, 1911, or to the more iconic …
The White House and Jeff Immelt on Jobs: Compelling, Infuriating or Simply Irrelevant?
At the start of the week, Jeff Immelt, the CEO of GE and the head of President Obama’s task force on job creation, released an interim report on plans to boost employment in the U.S. The reactions have been relatively …
Is Greece the Next Lehman?
We can all remember the sudden collapse of Lehman Brothers in September 2008, the official launch of the last financial crisis. Panicked investors dumped stocks and bonds around the globe in a desperate flight to cash and …
Why You Should Prepare for Inflation
High inflation erodes the purchasing power of savings, pushes up interest rates and undermines future economic growth. Everyone agrees, in short, that it’s bad. Very bad. What experts can’t agree on is whether the risk of …
Economists Survey: Unemployment Weighing Down Chances of U.S. Recovery
Sluggish hiring is the biggest threat to an economic rebound, according to the latest Wall Street Journal economic forecasting survey. But there is a hint of good news: the economists thought the chances of a double-dip recession …
Why OPEC Isn’t What it Used to Be
You’d think that OPEC would be laughing it up right now – all the way to the bank. With oil prices at a lofty $100 a barrel, OPEC’s oil exporters are sucking in petrodollars on a grand scale. But all is not happy in the world’s …
3 Hot Real Estate Markets That You’ve Likely Never Heard Of
Rarely does a week go by without someone publishing a list of real estate markets that are recession-proof, or that have recovered already, or that they predict will recover sooner than others.
One Reason Why Companies Aren’t Hiring? They’re Buying Equipment
A front-page story in today’s New York Times offers an intriguing reason as to why unemployment continues: companies are investing in equipment instead of people. It’s the most significant disparity between the two in three decades.
The World’s Dirtiest — and Best — Economic Crystal Ball? Iron Ore. Yes, Iron Ore.
Headlines were replete this week with talk of an imminent slowdown of the global economy. Combined with the pallid recovery of the United States and continued waves of debt crises in Europe, a lull in activity from Brazil to …
What Recovery? The Five Myths About the Economy
This is not your father’s recovery. It might not even be a recovery at all. For more, read this week’s cover story by TIME’s assistant managing editor Rana Foroohar on the state of the economy.
How Can Americans Get China To Do What They Want? For Starters, Shut Up
As global markets go through another week of selling and anxiousness, a new record was set yesterday: the Chinese yuan – that much maligned, politically charged national currency – hit a record high against the U.S. dollar.