In large part, financial derivatives caused the meltdown of the world financial system. Do you know what a derivative is? If you found a derivative on your doorstep, would you recognize it? Do you think your local banker knows what a derivative is well enough to describe it to you? Could your financial advisor educate [...]
Archive for the ‘investing’ Category
Why do we need derivatives?
Posted in economy, investing, tagged bailout, derivatives, Goldman Sachs, investing, wall street on October 21, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Is the Recession and the Financial Crisis Almost Over?
Posted in economy, government, health care, investing, politics, public policy, renewable energy on October 9, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
If you watch the nightly news or read the news on the web, it sounds like things are getting better. The stock market is up 40% over its low, the banks appear to be stable, job losses are tapering off, real estate sales are up 6% from the month before, and on and on – [...]
Goldman Sachs Reports 2.72 Billion in Profits
Posted in economy, investing, tagged 2 Billion Profits, Goldman Sachs, greed, wall street on July 13, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Does this headline bother anyone else? Forget about the fact that the taxpayers had to bail these guys out and then they were allowed to repay the bailout, essentially depriving the taxpayer of any profits from its investment; but consider where those $2.72 billion in profits came from. Those $2 billion in profits are $2 [...]
Congressional Stimulus Includes $20 Billion for Clean Energy
Posted in energy, investing, public policy, renewable energy on January 23, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Congress is about to pass a stimulus package that includes $20 billion for clean energy. This is better than no action at all, but a far smarter choice would be to support the Profitable Renewable Energy concept. The plan is called the PRE-Plan and it wouldn’t cost the federal government anything and it would raise [...]
Will we be able to retire?
Posted in economy, energy, energy policy, government, investing, tagged economy, investing, pension plans, retirement, retirement savings on January 3, 2009 | 3 Comments »
I’m pretty well off relative to most people and now I’m starting to doubt my ability to retire, so I can’t even imagine how the people of lesser means will ever make it. We are being hit from all sides, and scratch the surface just a little, and you’ll find some greedy bastard at the [...]
Where should I invest my money during this financial crisis?
Posted in economy, investing, tagged bailout, depression, financial crisis, invest, investing, investment advice, real estate, stock market on December 21, 2008 | 1 Comment »
So, you’re one of the lucky ones and you’ve got a few bucks in the bank and you’re one of the few that still believes they may be able to retire before you turn 80. You are asking yourself and perhaps others, where can I safely put my money? You could turn to a [...]
When did everything stop making sense?
Posted in energy, financing, investing, politics, renewable energy, tagged 1929, corporate greed, economy, energy independance, global warming, PRE-Plan on December 14, 2008 | 2 Comments »
Do the financial markets make sense to you? Do you think it’s just possible we are being manipulated by Wall Street? Does it bother you that car companies can offer $8,000 discounts. Does that imply that they’d been making $8,000 in excess profit? Does it bother you that whenever companies go bankrupt that the guys [...]
When should I buy a house?
Posted in financing, government, investing, public policy, tagged financial bailout, financing, investing, Obama policy, real estate on December 7, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
If you are fortunate enough to be in a position to purchase a home when so many millions of others are losing theirs, now is the time to act. Prices may fall a bit further, but not much, but price isn’t the only factor. Speculators that have long been sitting on the sidelines are starting [...]
The bailout, how stupid do they think we are?
Posted in economy, government, investing, tagged AIG, corruption, financial bailout, politics on November 13, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
I just read an AP story where congress was grilling bankers about why they aren’t lending more money. Apparently there was no real answer. The committe then asked about how the bailout money was being spent. The AP reports, ”The committee has asked whether (bailout) funds would be spent on executive compensation,” said Jon Campbell, regional [...]
