Here's who would feel the pain most abruptly: Social Security recipients. The government is due to deliver $23 billion in Social Security payments on August 3, according to forecasting firm IHS Global Insight. If the government is forced to cut 40 percent of its spending, these Social Security checks may not arrive. The suddenness with …
Continue reading Who will suffer if there’s no debt-ceiling deal?
By now, you will have discovered that I have an interest in global politics and economics. That’s because increasingly, what happens across the world will significantly influence how much money I’ll have for the rest of my life. And you’ll have for the rest of your life too. As a Registered Financial Advisor, its in …
Continue reading Nine Global Ideas to Kick-start the US Economy
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…
Disturbing piece by John Bussey in the WSJ, noting how, as Congress dithers on free trade pacts regarding Colombia, Panama and South Korea, our competitors are moving ahead with their own and on that basis expanding their export presence, while US firms cannot due to the higher tariffs suffered. The US soybean industry alone thinks …
Continue reading A Reason We’re Losing the Globalization Game
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 …
Continue reading The Case for Alternative Investments – Part VI
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 …
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 …
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 …
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...
This calculator estimates your life expectancy. It was developed by Northwestern Mutual Life. It's interesting that there are only 13 questions; yet, they can predict how long you're likely to live. CALCULATOR
Helping Define Your Financial Future 