We’re all by now well aware of the dangers of global imbalances, those massive surpluses and deficits – most notably in China and the U.S. — that underpinned the Great Recession. Economists agree that the world economy will not return to a stable, healthy growth path until those giant imbalances are reduced. That means Americans …
Blame Your Next Unplanned Purchase on Your Cellphone
New apps will send coupons and other promotions to the cellphones of potential shoppers who are near stores to try to lure them inside and entice them into buying something.
How to Let Your Lawn Go to Hell and Feel Good About It
Weeds have just as much right to be in your yard as grass. So why are you putting all sorts of time, money, and chemicals into your front lawn?
It’s a Deal: $10 Off Mother’s Day Gifts at Wine.com
The dangerous development of the market-timing mindset
Of all the unfortunate circumstances to emerge from the housing bubble and bust, one of the most underappreciated is the development of a market-timing mindset when it comes to the decision about when to buy a home. I mention this now because this morning’s New York Times has a story about using price-to-rent ratios to tell whether or …
Report: Penny Pinching Alive and Well
Even though there are signs that the economy is recovering, there are just as many indications that consumers remain in scale-back mode, buying cheaper or discounted goods, and buying less period. Will the days of spending $100 a month on cat food ever return?
Morning Must Reads: Profit Surges at Big Banks, Facebook v. Google: It’s on
–Trading profits continue to surge at the investment banks. Morgan Stanley‘s earnings more than doubled expectations as revenue from its currency and trading opperations more than doubled from a year ago. The question is how much of that was from better marks. The company’s value at risk was down from the 4Q, so the good new was the …
Signs the Economy Isn’t a Total Basket Case
For quite some time, there was no shortage of indicators pointing to the fact that the economy wasn’t doing so hot—including some odd data about a falloff in men’s underwear sales, a rise in animals being abandoned at pet shelters, and the impressively overqualified status of this year’s census workers. Now, at long last, we’ve got …
How Much Do You Really Spend on Your Pet?
For a medium-sized dog, you’re looking at roughly $1,600 in the first year.
Making the Case for ‘For Sale by Owner’
“If I’ve done my homework and priced my house correctly, any haggling between me and a serious buyer should be in the vicinity of between five and ten percent of the asking price – and not having to pay the realtor six percent is going to make coming to an equitable agreement for both parties a lot easier.”
What a 100-Year Stock Market Chart Says
Up on my office wall just beyond my computer screen I have a 100- year chart of the stock market. It’s none too elegant, having been cobbled together from a long-term chart of the Dow that Value Line offers for free on its website, some decades from other data sources and crude penciling in by me of missing months. (A friendly source …
A Totally Unconvincing Story about How Workers Prefer Freelancing Over Full-Time Employment
As full-time jobs dried up or disappeared during the recession, more and more workers became independent contractors, signing on for short-term projects and part-time responsibilities. And an undetermined number of these so-called “disposable workers” prefer the life of free agents, floating from gig to gig, with no benefits, and no …