Daily Economy News
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Financial First Steps: Paying Your Bills on Time
In order to be in a position to pursue your dreams, you need to have your financial basics down. The most important of these is your ability to pay bills on time. The key to accomplishing this is to stay organized. The importance of paying your bills on time cannot be overstated. Late payments negatively…
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Economy Grows on a Shaky Foundation of Debt
Median household income has remained stagnant over the past quarter century, when controlled for inflation. With rising needs like cell phones, computers and cable TV, many U.S. households have had to go into debt to maintain a middle-class standard of living. This has provided a boost to the overall economy, because consumer spending makes up…
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Investors Favoring Stocks Over Bonds
Investors are buying stocks. The level of stock ownership as a share of portfolios is at a level only seen in 2000 and 2006-2007. The share of mutual fund investments in stock funds is almost 62 percent, according to data from the Investment Company Institute. It makes sense that investors are favoring stocks. Bond yields…
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Financial First Steps: Set Your Goals Now
Many of us in our late teens and early 20’s have never really thought about our financial aspirations. No, I am not talking about having enough spending money for your next semester at college. I am talking about your long-term financial goals. These include if you want to buy a house, at what age you…
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Greek Financial Crisis: What Would Aristotle Do?
A common put-down of economists is that they know the price of everything but the value of nothing. This pithy comment encapsulates two very different views of money, and can be helpful in understanding how to resolve the Greek financial crisis.
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A Good Week for the Economy
The economy appears to be picking up more momentum, as consumer sentiment saw a marked gain amid a week of data releases that underscore renewed economic growth. Today, the University of Michigan released its survey that showed the overall consumer sentiment index at 96.1, up from 90.7 in May. Bob Hughes, senior research fellow at…
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The Uber Model Has Its Limits
Will the “sharing economy” fundamentally change the way we work? Platforms like the taxi service Uber, and the vacation rental service AirBnB, sever traditional bonds between a company and its employees, instead providing platforms where customers and independent contractors match themselves for the service in question. Service providers can make themselves available at times of…
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Home Ownership Down, While Rentals Soar
Here’s an interesting piece in The New York Times about how Americans are increasingly putting the dream of home ownership aside and renting their homes.
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Lending a Hand to Small Business Owners in Africa
Operating a small business is one way poor people in less developed countries support themselves and their families. Learning Initiatives, a non-profit non-governmental organization, has developed a highly successful program where U.S. high school students, working in teams, provide advice to a small business in Africa, such as a fish farm or an auto repair…
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A Crossroads for the Affordable Care Act
Both The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal weighed in this morning with pieces about preparations being made in case the Supreme Court strikes down Afffordable Care Act subsidies in states that have not established their own insurance marketplaces. If they lose their subsidies, millions of Americans are expected to discontinue their policies,…
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•
Financial First Steps: Paying Your Bills on Time
In order to be in a position to pursue your dreams, you need to have your financial basics down. The most important of these is your ability to pay bills on time. The key to accomplishing this is to stay organized. The importance of paying your bills on time cannot be overstated. Late payments negatively…
-
•
Economy Grows on a Shaky Foundation of Debt
Median household income has remained stagnant over the past quarter century, when controlled for inflation. With rising needs like cell phones, computers and cable TV, many U.S. households have had to go into debt to maintain a middle-class standard of living. This has provided a boost to the overall economy, because consumer spending makes up…
-
•
Investors Favoring Stocks Over Bonds
Investors are buying stocks. The level of stock ownership as a share of portfolios is at a level only seen in 2000 and 2006-2007. The share of mutual fund investments in stock funds is almost 62 percent, according to data from the Investment Company Institute. It makes sense that investors are favoring stocks. Bond yields…
-
•
Financial First Steps: Set Your Goals Now
Many of us in our late teens and early 20’s have never really thought about our financial aspirations. No, I am not talking about having enough spending money for your next semester at college. I am talking about your long-term financial goals. These include if you want to buy a house, at what age you…
-
•
Greek Financial Crisis: What Would Aristotle Do?
A common put-down of economists is that they know the price of everything but the value of nothing. This pithy comment encapsulates two very different views of money, and can be helpful in understanding how to resolve the Greek financial crisis.
-
•
A Good Week for the Economy
The economy appears to be picking up more momentum, as consumer sentiment saw a marked gain amid a week of data releases that underscore renewed economic growth. Today, the University of Michigan released its survey that showed the overall consumer sentiment index at 96.1, up from 90.7 in May. Bob Hughes, senior research fellow at…
-
•
The Uber Model Has Its Limits
Will the “sharing economy” fundamentally change the way we work? Platforms like the taxi service Uber, and the vacation rental service AirBnB, sever traditional bonds between a company and its employees, instead providing platforms where customers and independent contractors match themselves for the service in question. Service providers can make themselves available at times of…
-
•
Home Ownership Down, While Rentals Soar
Here’s an interesting piece in The New York Times about how Americans are increasingly putting the dream of home ownership aside and renting their homes.
-
•
Lending a Hand to Small Business Owners in Africa
Operating a small business is one way poor people in less developed countries support themselves and their families. Learning Initiatives, a non-profit non-governmental organization, has developed a highly successful program where U.S. high school students, working in teams, provide advice to a small business in Africa, such as a fish farm or an auto repair…
-
•
A Crossroads for the Affordable Care Act
Both The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal weighed in this morning with pieces about preparations being made in case the Supreme Court strikes down Afffordable Care Act subsidies in states that have not established their own insurance marketplaces. If they lose their subsidies, millions of Americans are expected to discontinue their policies,…