Nobody likes taxes, least of all me. But what the much-discussed idea of taxing sugary soft drinks boils down to is this: Does it make more sense to pay up when you buy Dr. Pepper, or when we all pay the doctors’ bills and rising health insurance premiums related to guzzling way too much Dr. Pepper?
Free Rides to Pro Basketball Games
So you really want to encourage people to use public transportation, huh? Here’s one idea: Give them a free ride.
What Bernanke actually said at Brookings
After writing my post yesterday wondering why it was news that Ben Bernanke thinks the recession is over, I discovered that the Brookings Institution has online a transcript of the Q&A in which Bernanke said it. In context, he sounds awfully unbullish. Not bearish either, but …
Bernanke’s words came in response to a question from …
The American mutual fund, a triumph of financial innovation
Phil Coggan of The Economist tells of a survey by Lipper (I can’t find it online) on mutual fund fees:
The average total expense ratios of US mutual funds are 1.32%, for German funds 1.57% and for UK funds 1.66%. Weight the ratios by asset size (to reflect where the bulk of investor money is held) and the difference is even more stark;
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How to Cook with Under a Buck: A Talk with the 99-Cent Chef
Up today in the cooking-on-a-budget series, a Q&A with a blogger-cook-cinematographer-jester who puts together recipes using ingredients that cost $1 or under. It’s not quite as difficult as sticking to $1 a day for your entire food budget. But it’s certainly interesting, and you’ve got to be creative to pull off a meal using only …
Not So Fast with the Fees, T-Mobile
All T-Mobile USA was supposedly trying to do was go green. That was the main reason it gave for planning to add a $1.50 monthly fee to customers who wanted paper copies of their bills.
It’s a Deal: Free Consumer Action Handbook
The government’s Federal Citizen Information Center will mail its 2009 Consumer Action Handbook to anyone who requests. The book, which has advice on telemarketing (how to avoid them), online shopping (how to avoid getting ripped off), and filing complaints (where to do it and how), can also be downloaded and read online. More details here.
A $120 stimulus check each and every month
First American CoreLogic has taken a look at the effect of the government’s efforts to drive down mortgage interest rates, which, among other things, makes for easier refinancing. According to the loan analytics company, in the first half of 2009, refinancing homeowners set themselves up to save some $11.5 billion over the next five …
A Blockbuster Shutdown
Brick and mortar are no matches for cheap kiosks and the Internet. If you hadn’t already gathered, it appears that Netflix and Redbox are taking control of the three-way battle for movie rental customers. The latest sign: Movie rental giant Blockbuster plans to shut down nearly 1,000 stores by the end of 2010.
Recession’s Next Victim: Celeb Fashion Lines
Turns out that celebrities, while possibly good at singing and entertaining—or possibly good simply at being famous—aren’t naturals with needle, thread, and design. Who would have guessed?
Why is it news that Ben Bernanke thinks the recession is over?
Example #389 of why I’m never going to make it in the news business: Yesterday afternoon, TIME.com’s business editor, John Curran, recommended that I take a look at Ben Bernanke’s speech at the Brookings Institution. I glanced at the text, saw that it was an exact repeat of the speech he’d given at Jackson Hole in August, and thought, …
Health Insurance Premiums Up 131% in Last Ten Years
Today, the average cost of a family health insurance offered by an employer is $13,375. That’s up 131% over the last decade—a period in which inflation rose only 28%. And one estimate says that if costs continue on their current trajectory, premiums will go up another 166% in the decade ahead.