A nice supporting article to our June 3rd post ("You Call This Change?") is available in today's Wall Street Journal. David Skeel, professor of law at the University of Pennsylvania, builds on the points we made about the GM/Chrysler bailout charade by tackling the long-term impact of government intervention on politically sensitive industries.
For everyone who's ever accused us of being a shill for the Republicans get ready to fire off an angry e-mail because we're about to blast the Orator in Chief: Partisan politics in this country being what they are we're told the paternalistic Democrats look out for the little guy while evil Republicans care only [...]
If you're one of the many longtime friends and clients of Apollo Wealth Management ("Apollo") then you know of our frustration with the amount of garbage that passes for clever commentary and prescient thinking. All too often there's an inverse relationship between the volume of information and its value. Conversely when intelligent voices are able [...]
It may not be Roe v. Wade or Brown v. Board of Education but Roth v. Roth is bound to make history. Hyperbole you say? Of course it is. You try making finance interesting! By now we're familiar with how our 401(k) plans operate and much has been written about the pros/cons of Traditional v. Roth IRAs but the [...]
History and pop culture have given us many famous phrases and quotable moments: Jedi Master Yoda tells us, "Do or do not. There is no try." Everyone's favorite grandmother, Clara Peller, wondered throughout the 1980s, "Where's the Beef?" And no one seems to know the full story behind those famous words uttered at The Battle of Bunker Hill: "Don't [...]
Vanguard, the mutual fund giant known for its rock bottom expenses and shareholder-friendly policies, has long been considered (fairly or unfairly) the king of indexing. And why not?...it's plastered across their home page! It's not a stretch to say this is the logical end for a firm that must be a strong believer in the Efficient Market Hypothesis [...]
Interesting? Useless? Both? Neither? Whatever the value here's a summary of employment changes over the past 20 years according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics: Net Increase/(Decrease) Health Care 7,000,000 Financial & Business Services 6,400,000 Education 4,000,000 Leisure & Hospitality 3,900,000 Trade & Retailing 2,600,000 Government 1,100,000 Services (other) 1,200,000 Mining & Construction 600,000 Manufacturing (5,500,000) [...]
Where have all the tax breaks gone? Long time passing. Where have all the tax breaks gone? Long time ago. With apologies to Peter, Paul & Mary we've taken some liberties with the lyrics so we can make the dry topic of taxation a little less, well, boring. As a counterbalance we'll toss in a few statistics [...]
With no bonds and no stocks... In your little safe deposit box... You can never be affected by inflation. If you enjoy Broadway theatre, starred in your high school's drama club or are a fan of the original 1933 "talkie" then you certainly recognize these lyrics from Sunny Side to Every Situation - one of the many [...]
During its early days tiny, idealistic Google rallied its troops with the now famous "Do No Evil" mantra. Today this "us against the world" mentality seems out of place for a $170 billion company. Google touches us in so many ways. There's Google Earth, Google Maps, internet search, Android...the list goes on and on. Their strategy is obvious - imbed [...]