Remember the days when one catch phrase could sum up our entire economy? In the 1970s, it was “stagflation,” the idea that inflation could be high even when economic growth was low. In the early 90s, the “jobless recovery,” a term coined during Bill Clinton’s presidential campaign, referred to the lingering recession that …
Serious Cash Back: Chase Freedom Card Ups Ante with $200 Cash Back Intro Offer
Chase’s Freedom credit card first became popular when it began offering a $100 bonus for new customers who spent a certain amount of money in three months. Now there’s an additional $100 bonus tempting consumers to sign up.
Tips on Controlling Your Impulse Buys
A lot of people believe they're immune to advertising and marketing. A lot of people are wrong.
In Many Cities, Jobs Recovery Could be a Decade Away
Remember when we used to talk about a V-shaped recovery. Yeah not so much. A new economic report commissioned by the U.S. Conference of Mayors, which is meeting this week, predicts that at least 50 metro areas, or about one-in-seven cities, in this country won’t see a return to pre-recession employment levels until 2020. Among the …
It’s a Deal: Free Admission to National Parks on June 21
The only fee-free day at national parks this summer is the first day of summer, Tuesday, June 21. All national parks and monuments that usually charge admission waive all entrance fees on this day, and several other dates throughout the year.
Workplace Purgatory: Hating the Job, But Reluctant to Quit
Overworked and poorly paid, today’s workers increasingly wish they could march up to the boss and drop the classic line, “Take this job and shove it.” Given high unemployment rates and the uncertainties in the economy, however, …
Mortgage Giants Wells Fargo and Bank of America Opt Out of Reverse Mortgage Business
At the height of the real estate market, I recall driving past a Bay Area billboard for an apparently conservative financial advisory firm that read something like: “Your home is not a retirement plan.” At the time, the …
The Summer of the $5 Ice Cream Cone
It’s a perfect storm for ice cream lovers: Because of factors including everything from droughts in Russia to rising prices of cattle feed, dairy products, and gas, the ice cream cone that used to run $3 or $4 is now likely to …
How Miserable Are You?
The Misery Index has just reached a 28-year high. But some Americans are a lot more miserable than others.
How to Save $23,000 On Car Insurance
Hard or Soft Landing for China? How About No Landing
The past few weeks in financial-land have been dominated by two combustible fears: 1.) that this time Greece really will default on its debts and plunge the Eurozone into chaos; and 2.) that this time China really will hit the …
Why I should run the IMF
As the contest for the top job at the International Monetary Fund heats up in the wake of Dominique Strauss-Kahn’s embarrassing arrest, I’m considering nominating a new candidate: Myself. Am I qualified? Well, I haven’t managed a finance ministry or a central bank, and I barely recall taking calculus in high school. But I’ve got …