What Kind of Consumer Are You?

Depending on how you feel about luxury brands and “status” goods, you might be categorized as a Patrician or a Parvenu. But, if you read this blog regularly, you’re probably a Proletarian—which doesn’t necessarily mean you’re not rich.

Desperate Economic Times Call for … Desperately Crazy Measures?

Facing foreclosure, one man bulldozed his entire home, while another thought the best means of catching up with the mortgage payments was to set his car on fire. Here’s a roundup of people who have been pushed to the brink by awful financial situations—and who also may have had a few screws loose long before the economy tanked.

How Much Will The Economy Slow?

Amidst all the great earnings reports coming from U.S. companies this week there is disquieting talk of a real slowdown ahead in the economy. I was reminded of it Tuesday morning when PIMCO’s Mohamed El-Erian stated on Bloomberg TV that the indicators his firm watches most closely (and presumably trusts the most) show that “the economy …

Economic Statistics to Keep You Up at Night

Numbers reveal rises in evictions and “economically insecure” Americans, the disturbingly small percentage of consumers who are actually able to understand their credit card agreements, and how the poor subsidize the credit card reward programs enjoyed by the rich. Come to think of it, those last two might be somehow related.

Cheapskate Wisdom from … Barack Obama (on Teaching Kids about Money)

“So many of the problems that we see had to do with the fact that just basic calculations about compound interest and — and what that means, you know, kids aren’t taught that. And so what I’m doing now with Malia and Sasha is, you know, they’re getting an allowance. They’re starting to get old enough where they may be able to earn some …

Is the euro crisis over?

It is remarkable how sentiment has turned around on Europe from where we were less than three months ago. Back then, the euro was tanking, fears were escalating that the continent would suffer a series of sovereign debt defaults, and financial contagion raged out of control. My how things have changed. The governments of Spain and …

Can Stock Market’s Summer Rally Persist?

The stock market is defying doomsayers and showing a good bit of resiliency over the past week. True, it’s on low volume but the market is climbing nonetheless, rising 3.5% last week and then up about 1% on Monday. The Wall Street Journal even trumpeted the fact that the Dow is now in the black for the year–not sure whether this news

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