In the nearly 15 years that I’ve been writing about markets and managing money, there’s been a dramatic shift that has gotten only marginal notice. We’ve gone from having an optimism surplus to an optimism deficit. That may …
recession
Bernanke and the Fed: Reading Between the Lines
Today we were treated to the second installment of the Federal Reserve’s new policy of openness with Chairman Ben Bernanke’s press conference. That followed on the heels of the statement by the Fed Open Market Committee about …
Home Sales Plummet: How to Fix the Housing Market
It’s time for new housing market stimulus. But how? Home sales fell 3.8% in May. That might not sound like a big drop in sales. After all, real estate is double dipping. But for this time of year, it’s big. May and June are …
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 …
America Suffering from ‘Value Mania’
The dictionary defines mania as “excessive or unreasonable enthusiasm.” So in this case, it’d be an excessive or unreasonable enthusiasm for value. But is there anything remotely unreasonable about demanding good value when …
The Upside of a Double Dip
A slew of economic indicators out this week has ratcheted up fears of a double dip recession. Many think Friday’s jobs’ report could be the death knell of the U.S. recovery. But there’s a silver lining to the disappointing stats on housing, jobs, and manufacturing: No matter how bad it gets, the dollar will probably stay weak. And …
New Rules For the Job Interview
The job interview has always been a crucial part of the hiring process. But in today’s intensely competitive labor market, it couldn’t be more key. For every open position, expect to find an army of qualified, and even overqualified, candidates starving for work in a country with 9% unemployment. If you’re lucky enough to make it …
The Recession’s Big Impact on Marriage and … College Student Drinking Habits?
Seeing as money is often cited as a prime reason couples break up, it’s no surprise that the economic downturn has had a big impact—sometimes positive, often negative—on many marriages. The tough economy may also be causing the nation’s college students to hit the bottle less too.
Cheapskate Wisdom … on Why It’s So Hard to Be a Cheapskate
“Stores are open all the time, parking is easy and a lot of people treat shopping as a sort of recreational activity, and stuff is amazingly cheap. It’s the same problem we have with fast food. Fast food is so cheap, it’s just tempting to eat a lot of it.”
Are You Fluent in Recession?
After you lost your “job-job,” you’ve been “decruited” more than once—maybe that “job stopper” on your neck had something to do with it—and because your financial outlook is somewhere between “blark” and “Full Walton” lately, you’ve been alternating between “Wonderbreading” and the “Peanut Butter Challenge” and need to get “approval …
The Recession That Will Never End, Even Though It Already Has
Back in 2007, everybody seemed willing to believe the housing market, stock market, and economy as a whole would keep humming along uninterrupted for, well, forever. Now, few people seem to believe that the recession is over—even though it supposedly ended last summer.
New Jobs Number: A “Single Dip” Recession?
For a while now, chatter has been growing that the economy is headed for a double-dip recession. That’s the type where you think you have recovered, but in fact you are only on the first bump of the roller coaster. But this morning’s jobs numbers seem to suggest the possibility of a double dip is receeding. The Labor Department said the …