February 5, 2012

How to Solve the Trade Deficit – Part IV

I Want My Country Back

This is part of my special on How to Solve the Trade Deficit. You can read Part I, Part II, or Part III if you missed them. The Increased Competition for Jobs Is Domestic, As Well You mention that standards of living have fallen, despite gains in things like iPods with 25,000 songs and the ability to connect instantly through the Internet.  The thing is: In many respects, it isn't true - standards of living haven't fallen - unless you fit one specific demographic, which we'll talk about in a … [Read more...]

The Hindenburg Omen and the Stock Market

The stock market is all lit up talking about the dreaded Hindenburg Omen, which sometimes (though not always) predicts a major stock market crash. Listen to me: All of this trash is nonsense.  Things like the Hindenberg Omen and other market forecasts are merely attempts to look at symptoms rather than causes.  It would be like if doctors panicked every time a patient had a fever and immediately concluded the patient had not a head cold but full-blow AIDs with an unrelated case of … [Read more...]

Sun Trust Bank and the Coca-Cola Stock

Coca-Cola and the SunTrust Bank Underwriting Fee

I'm reading the Sun Trust annual report and I realized that many, if not most, of you are probably unaware of the Sun Trust connection to Coca-Cola and how it gave rise to one of the greatest investments in history.  (As many of you know, we used the Coca-Cola direct stock purchase plan and dividend reinvestment plan to teach my youngest sister about stocks when she was a child.) When Coca-Cola went public in 1919, the underwriting was handled by two institutions, one connected to J.P. … [Read more...]

Would You Please Stop Blaming the Banks?

Blaming the Banks for the Banking Crisis

Everyone in the media is blaming the recession on the fact banks were willing to make bad loans.  Yes, they were.  And most of the stockholders of those institutions (re: the owners) have been wiped out, or effectively wiped out so the term "bail out" isn't appropriate except for the idiots in the executive suite that caused the problems.  Yet, it seems they are overlooking one basic, simple fact: No one made homeowners borrow money to buy an asset that was overvalued and that they could not … [Read more...]

Misconceptions About Wealth

Pinot Grigio White Wine

How The Marketing Industry Continues to Convince Average Americans They Know What a Millionaire Looks Like A few days ago, I quoted something from one of Dr. Thomas J. Stanley's books: "In the United States, there are three times more millionaires living in homes that have a market value of under $300,000 than there are living in homes valued at $1 million or more." For the past few days, I've been studying more about average household income in the United States and, specifically, the … [Read more...]

How Investors Who Practiced Dollar Cost Averaging Were Richer Within Only 2 Years of the Credit Crisis Meltdown

Dollar Cost Averaging Your Retirement Account

Citing data provided by Vanguard, one of the premier mutual fund and 401(k) providers in the world, The New York Times recently reported that 60 percent of 401(k) accounts now have more money in them than they did before the stock market crash and worst recession since the Great Depression began two years ago. That may not seem possible given that the Dow Jones Industrial Average collapsed from 14,000+ to 6,000 and has only made its way back up to 10,000.  For those who know how dollar cost … [Read more...]

Video Game Sales Fall for 5th Straight Month and Wall Street Blames … the Recession?

It's not about the economy ... it's all about the games.

According to an AP Article, sales of video games have plunged 29% year-over-year and Wall Street is concerned that it is proof the video game market isn't as recession-resistant as everyone believed.  Seriously.  That's the crap that's coming out of these news rooms.  News flash: Look at the game release schedules.  Last year saw a host of relaunches of various Final Fantasy titles, new version of the Civilization franchise, another installment of Harvest Moon, and the updated Soul … [Read more...]