I have quite a few bond proposals on my November 4th ballot. I voted (by mail) for one measure for public transportation, another for public schools and against the others. What’s interesting to me is that the proposals all say there is no tax increase because the bond repayments will be paid out of the […]
Latest Blog Posts
Tax Loss Harvesting and Missing the Best Days
When news about the $700 billion bailout plan first came out last month, the U.S. stock market staged a big rally on September 18 and 19. The S&P 500 index rose 8.5% in two days. Respected author Larry Swedroe posted this on the Bogleheads forum on Sunday, September 21: “It is often discussed about TLH […]
TIPS During Deflation
[Updated on Oct. 28, 2008. All yields are real yields, after inflation/deflation adjustments.] While the stock market was in turmoil, the real yields on Treasury Inflation Protected Securities (TIPS) rose to an attractive level. The real yield on 10-year TIPS broke the magic 3% number, a level that hasn’t been reached for many years. Many […]
Overbalancing Continues
The stock market crashed last week. I continued with overbalancing although I slowed down the pace from my original plan because it’s hard to keep up with the speed the market was dropping. Both the U.S. and international broad market indexes crossed the 40%-off mark. My target stocks/bonds ratio is 70/30, up from 65/35 when […]
Refinanced to Foreclosure
I heard this on the radio on my way home last week. A lady called a talk show program about her foreclosure story. I’m paraphrasing here: The bank foreclosed my home recently. It was my family home of 35 years. I raised my kids in it. I love it. The bank was WaMu. I begged […]
Mortgage Loans Around the World
In so many articles about the housing and mortgage crisis in the United States, adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs) are invariably mentioned as one of the culprits. People can’t pay when the interest rate on their loan resets. The words ARM and dangerous are often used in the same sentence. Should ARMs bear the blame though? […]
Crime and Punishment
There is no doubt the financial market crisis is perpetrated by Americans. American homeowners decided to speculate on housing prices. American lenders lent irresponsibly. American borrowers decided not to honor their debt. American financial institutions packaged and sold mortgage backed securities to other American investors and to investors around the world. American bond rating agencies […]
Price Matching Policy and Time Limit
There are enough chaos in the financial markets. I’m not going to post anything related to investing this week. There’s plenty to read and digest about Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch and AIG. I believe all eyes are on WaMu now. Should a business stand firm on its price matching policy? That’s the question for today. […]
Nudge: Econs, Humans, and Choice Architecture
At the end of a previous post, Stories from Strapped: Debt, I asked, How do you make people do the right thing for themselves? This new book Nudge, by University of Chicago professors Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein, addresses exactly that question. Here’s a 8-minute video of the authors talking about this book. I find […]
Recession and Wii
I want to buy a Wii. I played a Wii at my sister’s place and I liked it. Now I want to buy one but I can’t find one. Except on eBay, where it’s sold above MSRP, the Wii is out of stock everywhere. When they come into stock, the units are sold out immediately. […]