From the category archives:
If you do anything else today (and you live in the United States), make sure you find your polling location and vote. While the outcome of today’s presidential election may seem like a foregone conclusion, keep in mind that there are many other important issues and races that are in need of your vote. I will ... Continue reading this article…
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The Federal Reserve Board responded to the economy yesterday by lowering the target for the federal funds rate to 1 percent and the discount rate to 1.25 percent. The first number is the rate usually in the news. The federal funds rate is the interest rate that banks charge to lend their balances to one ... Continue reading this article…
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Yesterday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 514 points, making October 22 yet another day among the top ten worst days on Wall Street. But it’s the credit crunch that we’re feeling on Main Street. Until the banks start lending to each other again, it’s difficult for small businesses and individuals to find loans necessary ... Continue reading this article…
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Back in June, Senator Barack Obama called for a second economic stimulus package. The idea has been tossed around Congress, but a stimulus package in which the government sends checks directly to taxpayers has not passed yet. Even following the bailout of the financial industry, the government is not yet satisfied with the ... Continue reading this article…
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Following Barack Obama’s proposals announced earlier, Republican candidate John McCain has outlined the steps he would take as president to help spur the economy in the United States. 1. Eliminate taxes on unemployment benefits. Like the Democratic candidate, McCain suggests eliminating taxes on unemployment insurance to make sure that those individuals out of work have a ... Continue reading this article…
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Each major presidential candidate is making his presence known and ensuring his name is constantly in the media as next month’s election approaches. Recently, Democratic candidate Barack Obama announced six action steps to help heal the economy in this country and across the world. Five of these are “new” ideas, and one was originally ... Continue reading this article…
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One of the most well-received stories about the 2008 financial meltdown is the This American Life episode titled “The Giant Pool of Money“. It’s from “way back” in May and goes into great detail without sounding like Ben Stein’s bored teacher character from “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”. Don’t worry if you find Ira Glass off-putting; ... Continue reading this article…
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Knight Kiplinger is the editor in chief of Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine and Kiplinger.com, and in the November issue, he has published an editorial that gets to the core of what must be done to adapt to today’s economic reality. A link to the online edition of the article was sent to me by ... Continue reading this article…
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The stock market was hoping for good news today regarding the bailout bill. When the House of Representatives voted down the proposal which had support from only 60 percent of Democrats and 30 percent of Republicans, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 Index, and the price of oil dropped sharply. With pressure from the Executive branch, I ... Continue reading this article…
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In the original version of this article, I was under the impression that the Senate had passed this bill already. It hasn’t; they have only just released the details to the public. A vote will come later. Over the weekend as I watched the Mets end a frustrating season with a disappointing final series, the details ... Continue reading this article…
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Thanks to Matt from Web Developer Guru who just a few minutes ago wrote in to let me know about this latest development. The FBI is investigating the financial firms primarily involved with the recent economic collapse, Lehman Brothers, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and American International Group (AIG), and those who have been running ... Continue reading this article…
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I swear I’m trying to write about topics other than the massive national bailout of the financial industry, but there always seems to be something interesting to say. Yesterday, it was Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks and chairman of HDNet who offered interesting insight. He suggested that the United States Treasury Department ... Continue reading this article…
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Over the weekend, President Bush asked Congress to grant the United States Treasury Department the authority to purchase $700 billion in assets from troubled financial companies. The government would create a corporation, like 1933’s Home Owners’ Loan Corporation, to buy mortgage-backed securities at a discount and sell them later for a profit. This is by any ... Continue reading this article…
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Going into the weekend, it looked like Bank of America was poised to save the failing Lehman Brothers. In an interesting dramatic twist, Lehman Brothers will file for bankruptcy while Bank of America will buy Merrill Lynch for $50 billion in stock. After the deal, Bank of America will be managing assets of $2.5 trillion. The ... Continue reading this article…
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Fannie Mae (the Federal National Mortgage Association) and Freddie Mac (the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation) are companies that buy mortgages from lenders. Those lenders, by selling loans to the companies, have more cash on hand to lend to other individuals. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac then “repackage” the mortgages and sell them as securities ... Continue reading this article…
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A few days ago, rap mogul “Diddy” (aka Sean Combs) shared his thoughts on high gas prices with the world through a video “blog” posted at Youtube. I’ve embedded the video below for all who are interested. Readers enjoying Consumerism Commentary via RSS will need to click through to see what Diddy has ... Continue reading this article…
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A few years ago, when I started paying attention to my diet, I found that drinking at least a liter of water a day kept my brain functioning better, and in the case of two liters a day, kept me from gaining weight. Where I was living, the tap water was unpalatable, so I made ... Continue reading this article…
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NPR syndicates a show called “Marketplace” all over the country (and online, of course). I like to listen to the Morning Report while driving to work. The show does a great job of explaining current economic stories without a lot of technical explanations and acronyms. I found a game on the Web site called “Budget Hero” ... Continue reading this article…
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When the Environmental Protection Agency decides which regulations to create and enforce, just like any business deciding to pursue a project, it runs a cost-benefit analysis. While typical businesses might compare the costs of obtaining equipment and paying salaries with the anticipated income from the project, the EPA has to consider grander variables. If the EPA ... Continue reading this article…
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A recent article on CNN Money described the woes of independent gas station owners. The increasing cost of a gallon of gasoline results in less profit thanks to the processing fees credit card companies charge the merchants. I can appreciate that doing business in this type of environment is tough. With gas prices soaring ... Continue reading this article…
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