Ch. 3 – CollegeMoneyNow – Help With College Funding

Given all the media coverage of skyrocketing college costs, you would think that parents would have a good grasp of the cost of an undergraduate education for their children and how they are going to pay for it. I don’t think they do. For many families, financing the cost of college remains a mystery. The …

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Captital Market Insights – July 11, 2011

Here’s your Weekly Insights update from Curian’s Asset Management Group. This informative capital market update is designed to help you stay informed about important developments from the past week, as well as provide thoughtful commentary on how these events might… CONTINUE…

The Case for Alternative Investments – Part VI

When I started this series, I began with some definitions to help the reader understand some of the jargon inherent to the discussion. One word I forgot to define is “correlation”. In financial terms, it refers to the extent to which the value of different asset classes (bonds, stocks, gold, etc.) move in relation to …

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What’s Happening Today?

From time to time I get word from one of the money management programs we use that I think will give you some guidance if you are intent on managing your own money. Here's what arrived today... "After trading sideways for a majority of June, the markets rallied beginning in the last week of the …

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Something Troubles Me

Ever since I took Economics 101 some 42 years ago, I have understood that "interest", in the financial sense, was the price you paid for the use of someone else's money. If you had money, and someone else wanted it, you could charge "interest" and in time, you would get back what you loaned to …

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Does Government Matter?

Washington’s fight over the debt ceiling has obscured a larger reality: Government has lost its ability to influence the economy. A nice analysis that explores the concensus that the state pulls the levers that determine economic health. Zachary Karabell suggests that is no longer true. The essence of his summary: "What, then, can nations and …

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Is College a Waste of Money?

In an unusual mid-month commentary, PIMCO chairman Bill Gross says fiscal balance alone will not likely produce 20 million jobs over the next decade. He said the government must re-think how it approaches job creation, and said that a college education was a waste of money. “It is becoming obvious that the 2012 election will …

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Captital Market Insights – July 5, 2011

Here’s your Weekly Insights update from Curian’s Asset Management Group. This informative capital market update is designed to help you stay informed about important developments from the past week, as well as provide thoughtful commentary on how these events might… CONTINUE...

The Long-Term Care Conundrum

For many readers, the term "Long-Term Care" belongs in a foreign dictionary. Its an obscure concept that has very little relevance to them. At least until one of their parents faces the prospect of assisted living or perhaps something more serious. Or something unexpected and bad happens to you. In the traditional sense, you can …

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The Divided States of Europe

Critical explanation from Stratfor about Europe. Like it or not, these events will greatly influence how your investments perform over the next several months. Here is a key paragraph: "That is because the real crisis is the more fundamental question of how the European continent is to be ruled in the 21st century. Europe has …

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