Share
Now that policy makers worldwide have finally stepped in to stop the bleeding, we have had a relief rally of monumental proportions. Most global indices were deep into oversold territory, meaning that there was lots of pent-up demand for a turn to the upside. A big rally to the upside was baked into [...]

Share
Tom Toles is absolutely terrific. He captures the mood of the day so well in his cartoons, that it really puts paid to the aphorism that a picture is worth a thousand words.
SourceTom Toles Cartoons, Washington Post

Share
The numbers on auto sales were unbelievably bad for September — Ford down 34%. Honda down 24%, Toyota down 32%, Nissan down 37%. Amazingly, G.M. was at the head of the pack with sales down only 16 percent. (I guess those Escalade Hybrids are selling like hot cakes).
Blame this one on the credit crunch [...]

Share
I am not a certified financial planner and therefore, do not give financial advice or investment advice. Anyone looking for financial advice is advised to see a independent certified financial planner to help them with their investments.
The Certified Financial Planner (CFP) designation is a certification mark for financial planners conferred by the Certified Financial Planner [...]

Apparently, a new market of peer-to-peer lending has popped up , where banks are no longer a part of the lending proposition. Loans are made directly peer-to-peer. Whether this is a reaction to tight credit or some weird new innovation due to the Internet, I don’t know. Call me conservative, but it doesn’t sound like an attractive proposition for individual lenders.

Share
Here’s an interesting statistic from the OCRegister in California. What are the twenty wealthiest cities in the United States? Pleasanton, CA tops the list with a median household income of $113,345. See the chart below for the other 19. I counted nine in California, five in Texas and two in the [...]

Share
This is a transcript from the Nightly Business Report interview with David Rosenberg last night. He has consistently been one of the best economic commentators on Wall Street during and after the bubble. His comments regarding consumption, a second stimulus package, inflation and the Fed should be noted.
I take his comments on the [...]

The Escalade Hybrid is here and I want one. It’s almost as good as the Prius. It’s like conservation without the sacrifice. (Do you sense the sarcasm?)

Share
I’ve been thinking a lot about unrealized gains and their effect on the global economy. if you remember, I wrote a few weeks ago about a new debit card that lets people tap the money from their 401(k) plan. I think these cards are a bad idea. I don’t like them because [...]

Share
The headline says it all. The U.K. has fallen into its economic downturn with much greater speed than the U.S. Retail sales were down in June3.9% after a rise of 3.6% in May.
U.K. retail sales dropped in June by the most since at least 1986 as accelerating inflation and the slowdown in economic growth [...]