• Death of equities may be exaggerated
     According to Marketwatch.com, investors have been selling actively managed stock funds. But they aren’t necessarily leaving the market, but are in many cases switching into index funds.
  • Fund Flows Paint a Contradictory Picture
    Individual investors have been reducing exposure to domestic stock funds. But according to Morningstar, that is not the whole story.
  • Have Individual Investors Really Left the Stock Market?
    Recently the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times have printed articles telling us that individual investors have deserted the stock market. But is this really accurate?
  • Antidotes to Economic Slowdown
    Wharton professor Jeremy Siegel explains what can be done to help ensure a continuation of the economic recovery.
  • Could the Dow really drop 90%?
    In a recent New York Times article, controversial market technician Robert Prechter predicted that the Dow Jones Industrial Average could drop below 1000. Obviously anything can happen, but this article explains why a drop that magnitude is not likely.
  • Krugman vs. Paulson
    Economist Paul Krugman remains pessimistic, whereas hedge fund manager John Paulson, famous for his profitable bets against the housing market, has been positioned for a recovery and continues to be.
  • Why fears of a second recession may be overblown
    Economic growth is likely to slow. But a double dip recession is unlikely.
  • Stocks beat bonds even in slow-growth economy
    Wharton professor Jeremy Siegel explains why stocks may beat bonds even in a "new normal" economy.
  • A review of past sovereign debt crises provides some solace
    What history tells us about currency crises.
  • How Far Will Europe's Economic Tremors Reach?
    A discussion of what the European crisis means for domestic markets and the American economy.
  • Lessons From the Forgotten 'Flash Crash' of 1962
    The May 6th 2010 flash crash is not as unique as many think. A similar event occurred on May 28th in 1962.
  • Deja vu all over again?
    Are parallels between today and October of 2008 really justified?
  • How the European crisis affects your portfolio
    This article discusses what  investors may want to do now in response to the European crisis.
  • Resisting the Urge to Sell Low
    The dangers of reacting to short-term market action.
  • Keep your distance from market volatility
    Article discusses how investors may want to react to volatility.
  • New Study Says Big Drops Are To Be Expected
    Although 10% drops like that of May 6 are rare, they do can and do occur about as often as a new study says they should.
  • Hedge-Fund Index Returns Questioned
    A new study says Hedge Fund indices may overstate performance even more than previously thought.
  • 10 Ways the New Healthcare Bill May Affect You
    Putting politics and economics aside, click the link above to find out how the specifics of the new law may impact you in the near future.
  • The Greek Tragedy
    Wharton economist Jeremy Siegel explains why switching to the Euro has been a disaster for Greece and for Europe.
  • Ten Places Not to Use a Debit Card
    Using a debit card in these ten instances may expose you to needless risks.
  • The Yes-Man Problem
     A new study by Harvard professor Sendhil Mullainathan, says that many financial advisors tell clients what they want to hear, rather than challenging them with ideas they may not like.
  • Most Common Traits of ID Theft Victims
    What are the most common traits of those targeted for identity theft?
  • U.S. Business Cycle Recovery to Keep Going
    The Economic Cycle Research Institute says the recovery continues.
  • Commodities Are a Rock in a Hard Place
    How the acceptance of long-only commodity funds as an asset class may have actually undermined their attractiveness.
  • Is Gold a Smart Long-Term Bet?
    This article considers whether gold a wise investment or just a speculation.
  • Stock Data Really DOES Go Back 200 Years
     The past 10 years have been lousy for domestic large cap stocks. This has caused some investors to question the value of stocks as a long-term investment. While past performance isn’t a guarantee of the future, according to Wharton professor Jeremy Siegel, over 200 years of history says stocks are usually a good bet over time.
  • Dual income households and the future of the consumer
    Understanding recent economic events in light of the rise of the dual income household.
  • Does Golden Pay for the CEOs Sink Stocks?
    2 new studies show that the more money CEOs make the worse their stocks perform.
  • Recovery and Jobs Growth are Underway
    Outlook for the recovery and jobs from The Economic Cycle Research Institute. This article discusses good things that are happening as well as challenges we may face in the coming years.
  • Gold Hasen't Beaten Checking Accounts 30 Years After Peak
    What are the merits of gold as a long-term investment?
  • Were Friday's Job Numbers a Fluke?
    Friday's great numbers were not a one-time fluke, says Morningstar's Bob Johnson.
  • Disconnect between recovery and jobs
     This video explains why there is a disconnect between the recovery and the jobs picture and why this is not unusual.
  • What We Learned From the GDP Number
    What we learned and didn't learn from the recent GDP figure.
  • Darda Sees Strong U.S. Recovery (Video)
    Economist Michael Darda argues that the economic recovery will be better than expected.
  • Yale's Shiller Says It's More Than Stimulus Driving Home Prices (Video)
    Yale's Robert Shiller says housing recovery may be for real.
  • The Chinese Disconnect
     Economist Paul Krugman discusses how China’s currency manipulation is harmful to the world economy.
  • Home Prices: Sustainable Bottom or Dead Cat Bounce?
    Is the housing market recovery for real?
  • ECRI leading index of US growth at record rate
    Leading economic indicators say the recovery is likely to be stronger than generally expected.
  • Ignore the Noise
    Although some economic numbers have come in weaker than expected, the general trend is still up.
  • Billionaire Michael Price Says Stocks May Climb, Repeat 1975-1982
    Legendary investor Michael Price sees opportunity similar to 1975-1982.
  • U.S. inflation on ''cusp of cyclical upswing'':
    Upswing in prices now likely.
  • Barclays Says Global Growth May Better Than Expected
    Click the link to find out why...
  • When Elder Care Problems Escalate, You Can Hire an Expert
    What to do when you need help caring for an elderly parent or grandparent.
  • Government Intervention and Stock Returns (Video)
    Will government involvement in the markets and economy reduce investor returns?
  • From Bear to Bull
    Highly respected economist Jim Grant's discussion of the likely shape of the recovery.
  • How Did Economists Get It So Wrong?
    Link to Paul Krugman's NY Times article on the failure of free-market economics. This is worth reading whether or not you agree with his views.
  • Housing Market Has Rarely Looked Better
    Why now may be a good time to buy a home.
  • Credit Scores: What You Need To Know Now
    Common myths about credit scores explained here.
  • Jobs Report and Recovery (Video)
    CNN interview with ECRI's Lakshman Achuthan about the outlook for jobs.
  • In-depth Interview on Recession and Recovery (Video)
    This recent interview on CNBC India with ERCI's Lakshman Achuthan explains why economic recovery is probably nearer than most economists believe.
  • Sharp Rise in Industrial Material Prices Suggests End to Recession (Video)
    Watch the video to learn more...
  • JoC-ECRI Index Shows First Growth in a Year
    Prices of raw materials used in production are up, which suggest an economic recovery is near. 
  • The Economy Has Hit Bottom
    According to Princeton University economist Alan Blinder, the economy may have hit bottom.
  • Buffett: Now is time to invest in stocks
    Warren Buffett still likes stocks, even after the run up.
  • Are Bonds Going to Outperform Stocks Over the Long Run?
    Some argue that investors should allocate entirely to bonds, which they think will beat stocks over the long run. Morningstar is skeptical.
  • Reversion to the mean may lead to higher stock returns
    New research from the Leuthold Group, an institutional research and mutual fund firm, indicates that stocks have done about as poorly relative to 10-year Treasury obligations as they have ever done. But that may be good news going forward!
  • Why California Will Avoid Default on Its Debt (Video)
    Franklin Templeton muni co-director Rafael Costas says the very high long-term cost of funding that California would suffer after a default will keep the state paying on its current obligations.
  • History says March 2009 may have marked a historic buying opportunity
    Pessimists say it's a "suckers' rally," but does history agree?
  • Steve Leuthold's case for higher stock prices (Video)
    Watch the video to learn more...
  • Big Risks to Guard Against
    According to economist Alan Blinder, 2009 is not 1930 redux. What we must guard against, instead, is 2010 or 2011 becoming another 1936.
  • How to Value Stocks? Ignore Economic News
    Investors trade on the belief that share values are closely related to the economy. They shouldn't.
  • Why Three Bears Turned Bullish
    Veteran analysts tell why they think stocks are heading up.
  • Should You Bother With Government Bonds?
    For the 40 year period ended March of 2008, Treasury Bonds have actually beaten the S&P 500. Does this mean we should dump stocks for the long run and focus on bonds?
  • Error of Pessimism (Video)
    ECRI's Achuthan Spoke live with CNN International's Ralitsa Vassileva about ECRI's recovery call and how it relates to other prominent economic forecasts.
  • Recession Likely Over by Summer's End (Video)
    According to the economic cycle research institute, the recession is likely to end this summer.
  • How long did it take investors who lost in the crash of 1929 to recover?

    We are always hearing that it took 25 years for investors to recover the money lost during the 1929 crash. But is it really true?

  • Green Shoots or Yellow Straw? (Video)
    ECRI's Achuthan spoke with ABC's Nightline about how ECRI leading indexes help put "green shoots" of less-bad economic data into context.
  • Home Price Affordability Improves Dramatically
    Having plunged more than 25% from their peaks of 2006, home prices are now more affordable than they've been at any time in at least 23 years.
  • US yearly econ growth forecast at 6-month high-ECRI
    According to the Economic Cycle Research Group, economic activity is likely to improve in the next few months.
  • Is It Too Early For Optimism?
    ECRI's Achuthan spoke with CNN about how the tug-of-war between pessimism and optimism is a normal part of business cycle turning points.
  • In-depth discussion of economic outlook (Video)
    BNN interviews Lakshman Achuthan, managing director, Economic Cycle Research Institute, starting at 4 minutes into the video.
  • Bears, bulls and the hazards of gurudom
    A lot of people get one big, memorable prediction right, make a name for themselves, and get placed on a pedestal by the media. It's replicating the feat that's so difficult. Keep that in mind as you listen to the superbears who now occupy the stage.
  • The Meredith Whitney Myth
    A bearish call made her the oracle of Wall Street. But she, like many others, failed to predict the market meltdown.
  • WLI Growth at 24-Week High
    A weekly measure of future U.S. economic growth continued to climb and its annualized growth rate reached a 24-week high, suggesting positive economic turnaround in the near future, a research group said on Friday.
  • Jobs and Growth Rate Cycle Trough (Video)
    ECRI's Achuthan discusses the latest jobs figures and growing signs of a U.S. growth rate cycle trough in coming months.
  • Fund Firms Look to Offer a Toxic Taste
    Toxic assets nearly sank U.S. banks, until taxpayers bailed them out. Soon, some taxpayers can buy some of those toxic assets themselves. At least three mutual-fund providers are aiming to launch closed-end funds to take advantage of various parts of the Obama administration's toxic-asset program.
  • US yearly economic growth rate at 21-wk high
    A weekly measure of U.S.future economic growth climbed along with its annualized growthrate, indicating signs of a smoother economic recovery, a research group said on Friday.
  • Yes, diversification works - eventually
    When everything's going down, spreading your bets might seem pointless. But over the long term, it still pays.
  • Immigrants Can Help Fix the Housing Bubble
    The Obama administration should seriously consider granting resident status to foreigners who buy surplus houses in this country. This makes more sense than the president's $275 billion housing bailout plan, which Americans greeted with a Bronx cheer.
  • Banks may see brain drain if bonus tax becomes law

    A bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives to tax employee bonuses at companies getting $5 billion or more in government bailout funds could send bank employees rushing to the exit sign if it becomes law.

  • Grantham Urges Shift to Stocks Before ‘Rigor Mortis’ Sets In
    “Remember that you will never catch the low,” wrote Grantham, one of the co-founders of GMO. He expects stocks to return 10 percent to 13 percent after inflation in the next seven years.
  • Dispelling Myths About Stocks in the 1930s
    The Depression was awful, but it wasn't as bad for stocks as many think. As long as everyone is focused on the 1930s, let's take a look at the facts.
  • Leuthold Says U.S. Stocks Will Surge, Depression Avoided (Video)
    Watch short seller & stock market historian Steve Leuthold explain why U.S. Stocks may surge, and why a real depression is unlikely.
  • Short Seller Steve Leuthold Says Stocks Will Surge, Depression Avoided
    Steve Leuthold, whose Grizzly Short Fund returned 74 percent last year betting against U.S. stocks, said now is the time to buy equities because investors are too fearful about the economy.
  • Absolute Return or Absolute Nonsense?
    Absolute-return funds use a wide variety of hedge-fund strategies intended to deliver attractive (not super) returns while limiting risk. But whether their strategies actually work is not so clear.
  • Analogy with the 1930s doesn't have to spell doom
    If we choose to compare the current bear market and the Great Depression, we owe it to ourselves to carefully analyze what that analogy holds. And, as awful as that analogy is, it also contains some welcome and surprising silver linings.
  • Beware prophets of doom the numbers don't stack up
    While the financial news may seem unremittingly bleak, medium- to long-term investors should remember that the experts who predict gloom today did not see the current crisis coming – and may not see the recovery, either.
  • New lessons from the crash
    Finally, stocks are cheap. Really. So it may be time to break the rules - just a little - to take advantage of this opportunity.
  • What is the Market Really Worth Now? (Video)
    An analysis from Morningstar analysts on what stocks are really worth today.
  • Train to get in financial shape
    Bear markets like this demonstrate that you need to be emotionally "fit" to invest for the long run.
  • Cramer's Star Outshines His Stock Picks
    According to Barron's, stock picks featured on Mad Money don't live up to the host's hype.
  • Buffett's metric says it's time to buy
    According to investing guru Warren Buffett, U.S. stocks are a logical investment when their total market value equals 70% to 80% of Gross National Product.
  • Brother Of Bernard Made Florida Real Estate Moves That Raise Questions About How Much Family Knew
    Accoring to CBS News, Madoff and his brother, along with their wives, took steps two years ago -- around the time that federal regulators started probing Madoffs business activities -- that could help prevent their Florida homes from being taken away from them, something possible under Florida state law.
  • Gross: No Recovery Until Asset Prices Bottom
    Bond king Bill Gross said in his latest monthly missive that it's easy to end "this deflationary delevering and mini-depression" -- stop the ongoing decline in asset prices.
  • High unemployment doesn't have to be bad for stocks
    As nutty as it sounds, over the last six decades, it turns out, the stock market on average has performed better when the nation's unemployment rate was higher than when it was lower.
  • Mr. President, Suspend Mark-To-Market
    Mark-to-market accounting existed in the Great Depression and, according to Milton Friedman, was an important reason behind many bank failures. In 1938, Franklin Delano Roosevelt called on a commission to study the problem and the rule was finally suspended. Rather than waiting eight years as we did in the 1930s, the new president could fix this problem immediately.
  • Six Errors on the Path to the Financial Crisis
    The answers, I believe, are yes and no. Our capitalist system did not condemn us to this fate. Instead, it was largely a series of avoidable yes, avoidable human errors. Recognizing and understanding these errors will help us fix the system so that it doesnt malfunction so badly again.
  • Finding Treasure in a Spooky Bond Market (Video + Article)
    Opportunity abounds in a market forsaken by investors. Here's a peek at some promising bond plays--from junk to bank loans, high-quality corporates, munis, and emerging markets.
  • What Really Lies Behind the Financial Crisis?
    What was the true cause of the worst financial crisis the world has seen since the Great Depression? Was it excessive greed on Wall Street? Was it mark-to-market accounting? The answer is none of the above, says Jeremy Siegel, a professor of finance at Wharton. While these factors contributed to the crisis, they do not represent its most significant cause.
  • Historical Perspective-Just how bad has it been?
    In several significant ways, believe it or not, the tech experience early this decade was even more traumatic than what has transpired since mid-2007.
  • Geithner Pledges Prolonged Effort to Stabilize Banks
    Timothy Geithner, President Barack Obamas nominee for Treasury secretary, pledged an expanded and prolonged government role in everything from stabilizing banks to ensuring credit for small businesses.
  • What if Uncle Sam Takes Over Your Bank?
    With all of the problems that banks are now facing, here is a primer on bank collapses and the impact of possible bank nationalization.
  • Don't Let the Recession Get You Down: Values Abound in Munis
    Historic opportunities have been available to municipal investors of late.
  • Bill Gross says worst may be over for banks' balance sheets
    The worst of the credit crisis may be over regarding harm to bank balance sheets, Bill Gross, manager of the world's biggest bond fund, said on Friday.
  • U.S. ‘Bad Bank’ Plan Gets Momentum to Revive Lending
    Renewed questions about U.S. banks’ viability are pushing regulators toward a new plan that would remove toxic assets from bank balance sheets, in what may become the biggest effort yet to unfreeze lending.
  • Obama proposes facility to backstop muni market
    NEW YORK, Jan 8 (Reuters) - President-elect Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden are proposing that the Federal Reserve and Treasury create a facility to backstop the municipal bond market as part of their broader plan to revitalize the U.S. economy.
  • Buffett put $20 bln to work amid market panic
    While most investors panicked or were forced to sell, Berkshire Hathaway Chairman Warren Buffett put more than $20 billion to work last year, positioning his insurance-focused conglomerate to profit if the economy and markets recover in coming years.
  • Cash at 18-Year High Makes Stocks a Buy at Leuthold
    There’s more cash available to buy shares than at any time in almost two decades, a sign to some of the most successful investors, including short seller Steve Leuthold, that equities will rebound after the worst year for U.S. stocks since the Great Depression.
  • Yes, History Has Much to Say About This Market
    Right now, it’s tempting to think that this bear market is so unusual that history’s lessons are of little use, and that the types of investments that are weakest now will keep dropping indefinitely. No two market environments are identical, of course, but there is plenty of precedent for the credit crisis of the last 18 months — and for its profound effects on the stock and bond markets.
  • How to Steer Clear of Shady Advisers
    Bernard Madoff's alleged Ponzi scheme took a devastating toll on scores of victims. But any investor can draw important lessons from the tale of the disappearing $50 billion. Here's a guide to protecting yourself when you choose a financial adviser.
  • How and why the TARP switched to a bank stock purchase program- The untold story. (Audio)
    Many Americans are wondering how and why the TARP bailout, which was sold to America as a program to buy up distressed assets from banks, brilliantly switched course to a preferred stock injection of capital program within hours after being passed. Listen to this audio for the back story on how and why this happened
  • White House Philosophy Stoked Mortgage Bonfire
    There are plenty of culprits, like lenders who peddled easy credit, consumers who took on mortgages they could not afford and Wall Street chieftains who loaded up on mortgage-backed securities without regard to the risk. But the story of how we got here is partly one of Mr. Bushs own making, according to a review of his tenure that included interviews with dozens of current and former administration officials.
  • Made Off (With the Money)
    The Madoff affair in many ways par for the course in the hedge fund industry.
  • Investing against the tide
    In November 1974, few people thought it was a good time to invest. The Dow had lost more than 40% from its high in January 1973. Jim Fullerton, former chairman of the Capital Group, however, offered some perspective by recalling an even darker period in our nations history April 1942. His remarks follow.
  • After the Crash: How Software Models Doomed the Markets
    The causes of this fiasco are multifold, the Federal Reserve's easy-money policy played a big rolebut the rocket scientists and geeks also bear their share of the blame. After the crash, the quants and traders they serve need to accept the necessity for a total makeover.
  • Be Smart, but Don't Think That You're Special
    Alternative investments can contain unpredictable levels of risk. But all too often, people are willing to overlook those risks because, well, everyone else is doing it or because of snob appeal. When the pitch is "Youre special, you can get something that other people cant get" watch out.
  • How Bernie Madoff Made Smart Folks Look Dumb
    Of all people, sophisticated investors like Mr. Madoff's clients should know that if something sounds too good to be true, then it's not. But they believed it anyway. Why?
  • Nouriel Roubini, Market's prophet of doom has a secret: He likes stocks
    As he explained in an interview with Yahoo Finance, despite his dreary short-term views, Mr. Roubini still believes stocks are the place to be long term. The man who called the Great Financial Panic of 2008 has his entire 401K retirement plan invested, not in U.S. Treasury bills, gold or certificates of deposit, but in ... stocks.
  • Testing a Popular Market-Timing Approach
    Using moving average systems to time big bets on the stock market is popular among investors. Despite recent successes, these systems have basically been a bust for the past 20 years and are unlikely to work in the future. Read this article to learn why.
  • Hedge funds haven't done all that well hedging
    Harvard's endowment has lost an estimated 30% just since mid-year. There no doubt are lots of lessons that could be drawn from Harvard's unfortunate experience, but I want to focus on the unfavorable light it sheds on the downside protection that hedge funds were supposed to provide.
  • The S&P's dividend yield now higher than the 10-year T-note's
    For the first time since 1958, the dividend yield on the Standard & Poor's 500 index has risen above the interest rate on the 10-year Treasury note. Why has this happened and what does it mean?
  • Recession or Depression?
    The National Bureau of Economic Research said Monday that the U.S. has been in a recession since December 2007, making official what most Americans have already believed about the state of the economy. But how bad will it get?
  • Why no direct bailout to consumers?
    Amid populist discontent about financial bailouts targeting Wall Street and banks, government relief programs announced Tuesday also appear at first glance to take a trickle-down approach, with the financial system first in line for help. But a closer look reveals the new programs are aimed squarely at Main Street. Unlike Sunday's bailout of Citigroup Inc., this time the money is expected to flow to average people, through less expensive and more readily available consumer and automobile loans as well as new or refinanced mortgages.
  • John Paulson Buys Mortgages After U.S. Drops TARP Purchases
    John Paulson, the hedge-fund manager who generated sixfold returns last year with the help of bets against subprime mortgages, has started buying debt backed by home loans, investors said.
  • More Old Masters See a Buying Opportunity
    These are indeed difficult times, and the outlook is bleak. At times like this it is worth knowing what investors who have been around a long time with a record of success are doing with their money right now.
  • Defusing the Credit-Default Swap Bomb
    AS THE GLOBAL CREDIT CRISIS GRINDS ON WITHOUT seeming relief, worries grow that a mishap in the once obscure credit-default swap market could trigger an even more lethal financial meltdown. But changes in the marketplace, including Friday's agreement among regulators to create a central clearinghouse for these swaps, are reducing the dangers they pose.
  • Joe Investor, the Markets Are All Yours Now
    For the past couple of decades, the markets have been dominated by institutional investors who devoured bargains so fast and in such bulk that individual investors were usually left, at best, with a few scraps.But pension funds, hedge funds, mutual funds and other institutions are under siege as their portfolios implode and investors redeem their shares, forcing the fund managers to raise cash. This creates are rare opportunity for individual investors.
  • Don't Try to Time the Market, Either (Video)
    Henry Blodget asks Darthmouth finance professor Kenneth French if market timing now makes sense given that global stock markets have plummeted 40% this year. Of course not, says French. The only thing you can be sure of about market-timing is that most people who try it lose.
  • Why Stocks Are Dirt Cheap
    The case for equities at these levels is compelling. The last time we have seen prices this low was more than 30 years ago, when the US economy was in far worse shape than today.
  • 'Perma-Bear' Backs Other Value Investors: Buy Now
    A longtime stock market bear, Jeremy Grantham of investment manager GMO sees opportunity in the cheap prices created by the recent turmoil
  • The Buying Opportunity of a Century?
    Years of harboring a gloom-and-doom outlook gave Jeremy Grantham, chairman of Boston-based asset manager GMO, the reputation of being a perma-bear. Talk to him now, though, and the 70-year-old is almost gleeful. Stocks, he says, are cheaper than they've been since 1987.
  • Deleveraging Driving Stock Sell-Off (Audio)
    Listen to this audio file from NPR to learn about how deleveraging is driving stock market action.
  • What's Behind the Volatility? (Video)
    This video explains why the market has been so volatile.
  • Fears about Lehman CDS deadline overstated
    Tuesday's deadline to settle an estimated $400 billion in credit default swaps on Lehman Brothers failed to trigger feared havoc in the market, and derivatives analysts said the concerns had reflected misunderstandings about the process.
  • As Everyone Exits, Insiders Arrive
    Insiders are scooping up cheap stocks -- even in retailing and financials.
  • Take a Deep Breath, Turn Off the TV, Calm Yourself
    With Stocks Swinging Wildly, It's Easy to Panic; Some Advice for Fighting the Herd Mentality.
  • There Is a Silver Lining
    The crisis has forced the United States to confront bad habits developed over the past few decades. If we can kick those habits, today's pain will translate into gains.
  • Warren Buffett Says ''Buy American. I Am.''
    In the near term, unemployment will rise, business activity will falter and headlines will continue to be scary. And Warren Buffett is buying stocks. Find out why...
  • Why You May Want To Keep Your Money in the Market
    Just because stock markets have panicked, investors should not. The best position for investors today is not "fetal and 100% in cash." We are not going to have a depression, and we have survived financial crises before. A century of investing experience, as well as insights from the field of behavioral finance, suggest that investors who bail out of equities during times like these are almost always making the wrong decision.
  • Grantham: Stocks Haven't Been This Cheap since 1987
    Market seer Jeremy Grantham predicted financial debacle, and now he's buying.
  • Jim Cramer's hysterics do investors a disservice
    Whether or not his sell signal is justified, it was irresponsible to use "Today" to make the biggest market call of his life.
  • Longleaf Leaders See Sunny Days after the Storm
    Don't panic, urge veteran Longleaf Partners managers Mason Hawkins and Staley Cates. Rather, they stated in a special conference call to clients and shareholders on Oct. 7 that there's every reason to think that the stock market is close to a bottom.
  • Shorting Cramer
    A comprehensive and careful review of his stock picks by Barron's finds that his picks haven't beaten the market.
  • Why Cramer Should Be Suspended
    At a time when a seasoned market veteran should be preaching the benefits of diversification and patience to overcome the tough times, this guy sounded more like a rookie -- telling everyone to sell out after the S&P 500 had already dropped 30% for the year.
  • Levered Investors Sell Anything Easy
    Leverage once padded bank and hedge fund profits and helped fuel recent bull markets. Now new capital must be raised to repair sagging balance sheets, so institutions have had to unload stocks and other assets.
  • No Depression-This Time, Uncle Sam Has Got Our Back
    Recapitalizing the banks and working out mortgages will take time, but the financial system will not collapse -- the government won't let it.
  • Those With Sense of History May Find It’s Time to Invest
    Investors have again convinced themselves that this time is different, that the credit crisis will push economies worldwide into the deepest recession since the Depression. Fear runs even deeper today than greed did a decade ago. But in their panic, investors are ignoring 60 years of history.
  • Nursing the Market Back to Health (Video)
    PIMCO's McCulley on the medicine the market needs.
  • What's Behind the Relentless Selling (Video)
    Understanding the sell-off.
  • Bill Gross on the Rescue Plan and the Market (Video)
    Watch Bill Gross discuss the bailout plan.
  • Opportunity in a Dysfunctional Bond Market (Video)
    Dan Fuss of Loomis Sayles on the Bond Market
  • Switching to Cash May Feel Safe, but Risks Remain
    Its a question weve all asked in our darker moments of late: Why not just put all of our investments in cash, 100 percent, just for a little while, until things calm down?
  • As Dire as the Times May Seem, History Isn't About to Repeat Itself
    Why today isn't likely to be a repeat of 1929.
  • Forget logic; fear appears to have edge
    The market has become a case study in the psychology of crowds, many experts say. In normal times, it runs on a healthy mix of fear and greed. But fear now seems to rule, with investors often exhibiting a Wall Street version of the fight-or-flight mechanism — they are selling first, and asking questions later.
  • How to Unfreeze Bank Lending
    The government should guarantee interbank activity.
  • U.S. may take ownership stake in banks: NYT
    In another attempt to loosen credit markets and restore confidence in the financial system, the Treasury Department is considering a plan to take ownership stakes in many U.S. banks, both healthy and troubled, according to a media report Wednesday night.
  • Is This a Replay of 1929?
    Unlike during the Great Depression the government is now a huge part of the economy. And officials have moved quickly, if clumsily, to contain the crisis.
  • Pimco Manager Calls for More Fed Action
    The manager of one of the world's largest bond-focused mutual funds warned Monday that the economy is on the brink of a lengthy recession if the Federal Reserve doesn't take further action.
  • Words to Calm the Woozy Investor
    Take a Breath, Apply Some Perspective and Ignore the Frenzy
  • Bright Spots for Investors (Video)
    Watch this video for market advice from Wall Street Journal reporter Brett Arends.
  • Buffett's Financial Bet
    From auto sales to manufacturing to the job market, the economic news was grim this week. But the past few days also offer signs of hope -- both political and private -- that we finally have a chance to stop the financial panic of the last 14 months.
  • Lessons From the Market Fall
    Successful investing is counterintuitive. Want proof? Consider how some "risky" and "safe" securities have recently performed.
  • Summon Your Courage and Buy Stocks
    Investors Who Conquer Stock-Phobia Have an Edge Over Those Too Focused on Their Rearview Mirror.
  • How We'll Know if the Rescue Plan Is Working
    Watch this video to know what to look for.
  • Why You Shouldn't Bail on Stocks Now
    To many panicky investors, it feels like financial Armageddon. But decades worth of investing precedent suggest otherwise. And investors who bail on stocks now might come to regret it.
  • Herd mentality rules in financial crisis
    Herd mentality rules during a financial crisis because people are wired to follow the crowd when times are uncertain, experts say.
  • The Depression of 2008? Don't Count on It
    The financial future is no more uncertain now than it used to be; in fact, it's far less uncertain than it was in the summer of 2007, when the Dow shot above 14000, the future seemed bright, and utterly no one foresaw the disaster that would befall the financial system. The absolute certainty of blue skies ahead was an illusion then, and the notion that we all know that worse misery lies in store is an illusion now.
  • Don't call it a bailout. Or a depression
    This is not a bailout of anyone, not Wall Street, not Main Street, and certainly not the so-called "fat cats." It's an infusion of liquidity, designed to unclog the financial markets. In doing so, it will benefit everyone, business and consumers alike.
  • Why Barron's Thinks the Bailout May be a Big Winner
    Despite the public outcry over the bailout bill, taxpayers and the Treasury are likely to come out ahead.
  • Bush, Buffett Right, U.S. Bank Plan May Cost Nothing
    President George W. Bush, billionaire Warren Buffett and BlackRock Inc.'s Laurence Fink are ``absolutely'' right to say a $700 billion U.S. plan to buy assets from financial firms may cost taxpayers nothing even with purchases at above-market prices, a top-rated analyst said.
  • The Paulson Plan May Make Money For Taxpayers
    Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson (a former investment banker, no less, not a trader) may pull off the mother of all trades, which could net a trillion dollars and maybe as much as $2.2 trillion -- yes, with a "t" -- for the United States Treasury.
  • How Main Street Will Profit
    Bill Gross of PIMCO's view of the bailout.
  • The bailout- Why it could actually make taxpayers money
    CNBC interviews Pimco's William H. Gross about the math behind the 700 billion dollar bailout and why it should make money for taxpayers.
  • Markets' problems haven't deterred corporate insiders
    The potential of the financial sector's woes to infect the rest of the market are now plain for everyone to see, especially in the wake of the past week's momentous developments. Even so, insiders, on balance, continue to behave bullishly.
  • Will the Rescue Package Protect Your Savings?
    If Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, the Bush administration, and responsible members of Congress succeed in enacting this comprehensive new rescue package in short order, the good news is: Yes, you should be safe.That is not the same as saying values will rise, the economy will prosper, and happy days will be here again. But it is very, very different from the dangers that we faced at midweek.
  • Guarantee All Bank Deposits
    When investors fear that their "safe" assets, such as money-market mutual funds, are not secure, the entire financial system could face a rush to liquidity that would precipitate a crisis of equal or greater magnitude to the 1930s. If such a run recurs, the government must go further and unconditionally guarantee the value of money-market funds and bank deposits so that savers can, at their discretion, obtain U.S. Treasury securities or currency up to the full amount of their deposits.
  • How to Save the Financial System
    Ideas from William M.. Isaac, chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. from 1981-1985, on how to stabilize the financial system.
  • Street Scenes: The Players
    History has thrown a handful of men together this week with a task that they themselves might have brushed off as unthinkable just days ago: Give the U.S. financial system its biggest makeover since the 1930s. And do it quickly.
  • Time to Buy Stocks -- Not Sell
    "The time to buy is when blood is running in the streets." Baron Nathan Rothschild issued that famous dictum in the early 19th century, but it holds equally true today.
  • Need a Job? $17,000 an Hour. No Success Required.
    Are you capable of taking a perfectly good 158-year-old company and turning it into dust? If so, then you may not be earning up to your full potential.
  • Note to Investors: Don't Play Games with Asset Allocation
    Advice from Wharton Professors on what to do now.
  • Ten Reasons Not to Sell Your Stocks
    But if you are panicking and getting ready to sell everything and hide under a rock, here are ten reasons why you shouldn't.
  • Resurrect the Resolution Trust Corp
    Crisis times require stern measures. America has done well in the past to face up to economic turmoil, take strong measures, and put our problems behind us. RTC-like mechanisms have worked well in past crises. Now is the time to take a similarly forceful step.
  • It's a 'Triple OhmyGad' for the Market
    Few things prepare us for the kind of extraordinary developments that took place last night. The collapse of Lehman Brothers. The federal intervention. The sudden takeover, or rescue, of Merrill Lynch. It is tempting at times like this for people to think of developments like the Crash of '29 and to panic.
  • Tony Crescenzi on Lehman
    10 points on the Lehman crisis from Tony Crescenzi, chief bond market strategist at Miller, Tabak & Co.
  • Hedge fund's Chanos: financials have seen the worst
    BOSTON (Reuters) - Hedge fund manager Jim Chanos, who makes money betting that companies' stock prices will fall, said financial stocks have probably seen the worst and his fund has fewer short positions now than it did in the past.
  • Jim Rogers Says He'd Prefer GSE Bankruptcy
    Read why Jim Rogers thinks the government should have just let Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac go bankrupt, and discover why it may be best to ignore almost everything he says almost all the time.
  • Study links oil prices to investor speculation
    Speculation by large investors — and not supply and demand for oil — were a primary reason for the surge in oil prices during the first half of the year and the more recent price declines, an independent study concluded Wednesday.
  • Long-Term Capital: Its a Short-Term Memory
    The Long-Term Capital fiasco momentarily shocked Wall Street out of its complacent trust in financial models, and was replete with lessons, for Washington as well as for Wall Street. But the lessons were ignored, and in this decade, the mistakes were repeated with far more harmful consequences.
  • Bank Insiders Purchase Own Stock at Fastest Pace in Two Decades
    Sept. 8 (Bloomberg) -- Bank and savings and loan insiders spent more money buying shares of their companies in May, June and July this year than in any previous three months in at least two decades, betting that financial institutions are bouncing back from the credit-market crunch.
  • Why It's Wrong to Hold too Much of One Stock
    This article makes a strong case for diversification away from a large single holding.
  • Do Q2 GDP Figures Debunk Recession?
    ECRI's Lakshman Achuthan discussing why the Q2 GDP figures are a head-fake, and do not change ECRI's view that the U.S. is in recession.
  • Munis Gain as Tax Cuts Expire in Shift to 40% Bracket
    Aug. 28 (Bloomberg) -- Wall Street has some election-year advice for its customers: load up on municipal bonds because income taxes for the wealthy are bound to rise.
  • Europe's Gloom Is Boon to Dollar
    As the economic picture in Europe darkens, the U.S. dollar is proving to be the main beneficiary.
  • Short Sellers: Quit Whining and Follow The Rules
    The government just wants short sellers to play by the rules, the way everybody else has to. If shorts could just get over this crazy idea they have of themselves as noble, disinterested truth-seekers, they might realize that, and adapt. In the meantime, a lot of us would appreciate it if they could just tone down the whining.
  • Revisiting Some Funds with Big Commodity Bets
    During much of the past year, commodity-related stocks were one of the few bright spots amid all the market turmoil.Of course, this party wasn't going to last forever, and the past couple of months have been a rude awakening for many commodity investors. These funds illustrate the perils of performance-chasing.
  • Meet Dr. Doom
    NY Times Magazine profile of controversial NYU economist Nouriel Roubini.
  • Oil Seen Dropping Under $90 by Year End (???)
    First Global also sees it falling to $50 within 12 months. They could be right or wrong, but what they say can't be dismissed...
  • Goodbye, Bear Market????
    History argues most of the damage is behind us. So don’t sell your stocks until you have read this column..
  • California's Discount Foreclosure Sales Point to Housing Bottom (?)
    July 31 (Bloomberg) -- California led the U.S. into the worst housing recession since the 1930s. Now the most populous state may be the first to find the bottom.
  • Bush Signs Measure for Homeowners, Fannie, Freddie
    July 30 (Bloomberg) -- President George W. Bush signed into law legislation that helps 400,000 homeowners facing foreclosure and extends a lifeline to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
  • Four big banks to kick-start covered bond market
    Appearing alongside Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, representatives of the four largest U.S. banks agreed Monday to kick-start a market for covered bonds - an alternative way to provide mortgage loans - in the United States.
  • Why the Bear Market Doesn't Matter
    Market downturns are no fun, but don't let the labels concern you.
  • The Market's Down, Not Doomed
    AN INTERVIEW WITH LEE COOPERMAN AND STEVEN EINHORN: The ingredients for a bottom are in place -- but any significant upside will require help.
  • A return to $80 oil? (???)
    "Americans do respond to oil price signals. It takes a lot, but we got a lot," says Federated Investors' chief investment officer, Steve Auth, who's looking for crude to drop to as low as $80 a barrel in the medium term, on slowing consumption and easing geopolitical tensions.
  • In a Downturn, Buy and Hold or Quit and Fold?
    Except in bad times, selling is a topic that long-term investors rarely consider. In fact, classic buy-and-hold investing calls for investors not to sell stocks now, but rather to add to their distressed holdings in a process called rebalancing.
  • Levitating annuities' living benefits
    In case you haven't heard about "living benefits," they are the newest wrinkle in variable annuities, magically providing income guarantees while you are living rather than a minimum value guarantee when you are dead. The bottom line is incredibly high fees (generally pushing 3 percentage points a year)
  • How to Control Your Fears In a Fearsome Market
    Scientists Are Showing How to Erase Your Fright So Your Portfolio Survives.
  • Shorts on the run
    Last July, just a few weeks before the Wall Street credit crisis erupted, the SEC changed a seven-decades-old rule that prohibited short sellers from selling a stock short if the last trade was lower -- on a downtick. Almost overnight, financial stocks started getting punished.
  • The Silver Lining
    Analysts at T. Rowe Price looked at the last ten recessions and found that the median increase in stock prices (using the benchmark Standard & Poor's 500-stock index) six months after the market hit its low point was 24%. Twelve months after the low point, the median rise was 32%.
  • Calming the Markets
    Veteran banking analyst Dick Bove sees bailouts of Freddie and Fannie as proper steps toward ending financial crisis.
  • Behind the Fannie and Freddie panic
    Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac may need to get bailed out, and there's no question there will plenty of pain to follow. The nation's balance sheet would take a sizeable hit and you can count on higher interest rates. But make no mistake. It won't mean a complete collapse of the housing market.
  • Bottom's Up: This Real-Estate Rout May Be Short-Lived (?)
    This real-estate rout has been more painful than prior ones, but it may be shorter-lived. Indeed, there are early signs of recovery.
  • What to Do in a Stock Selloff
    Are you terrified about putting more long-term money into this market? Good. So is everyone else.
  • Commentary: No reruns of the 1970s here in the U.S.
    Inflation in the U.S. simply isn't near what it was in the bad old 1970s, when it approached 10% at its peak -- and it's not likely to get there. The real rerun of "That '70s Show" is playing in the once-highflying economies of Asia and other emerging markets.
  • ATM breaches more likely at stores than banks
    Experts say an ATM's safety depends on where it is.
  • Adding Commodities to Your Portfolio? Not So Fast
    A lot of investors clearly have the same idea: Mutual funds in the natural-resources category, which houses energy- and commodities-focused funds, raked in $4 billion of new assets in May 2008 alone, the second-largest haul of any fund type. And we've seen a rush of new investment options--mainly exchange-traded funds--coming to market. Should you?
  • U.S. Future Inflation Gauge Falls
    NEW YORK, July 3 (Reuters) - U.S. inflation pressures fell in June to more than a four-year low, driven by disinflationary moves in measures of jobs, loans, interest rates and commodity prices.
  • Buy the Dow -- And Other Mega Caps
    Mega caps -- stocks with the largest market capitalizations -- have performed so poorly for so long that they're now among this difficult market's most enticing stocks.
  • Is There Any Retreat in Sight For Oil?
    The sharp rise in the price of oil, which has jumped about 46% this year to more than $140 a barrel, has been the most important financial story of 2008. But is there any relief coming?
  • What to Do to Survive This Market
    As stocks flirt with bear-market territory, most investors, long schooled in the buy-and-hold philosophy, have ridden the market down. There's a decent argument to be made for buy and hold. Aside from the absurdity of liquidating an entire equity portfolio -- the tax headaches would be epic -- investors ultimately end up better off than if they had tried to sell at the top and buy at the bottom. "It's hard to time the market, so stay in and benefit from the inevitable turnaround," says David Dreman, chairman of Dreman Value Management.
  • Bond Skippers Say Worst of Credit Crunch Behind Us
    Given all the uncertainty that has plagued bond markets this past year, we find it comforting that these three managers have more to agree than disagree about--a sign that some clarity has returned to what, for many, has been a frustratingly fuzzy climate.
  • Morningstar's outlook for the market
    Morningstar's outlook for the market-Still bullish, even if a recession is under way.
  • Gas could fall to $2 if Congress acts, analysts say
    The price of retail gasoline would fall by half, to around $2 a gallon, within 30 days of passage of a law to limit speculation in energy futures markets, four energy analysts told Congress on Monday.
  • The Price of Oil May Be Peaking
    IT'S PERILOUS TO CALL THE TOP IN A BOOMING MARKET, but the price of oil may be peaking in the current range of $130 to $140 a barrel.
  • The Saga of Bear's Fund Chiefs
    Since last summer, when two Bear Stearns hedge funds imploded, things have been rough for the funds' managers, Ralph Cioffi and Matthew Tannin. In a Jail Cell, One Asks, 'How Did We End Up in This Spot?'
  • Credit Crisis Interview: Jeremy Siegel on Ignoring Risks
    The subprime crisis "was a wreck that could have been predicted," Wharton finance professor Jeremy Siegel says in this interview.
  • Brokers threatened by run on shadow bank system
    A network of lenders, brokers and opaque financing vehicles outside traditional banking that ballooned during the bull market now is under siege as regulators threaten a crackdown on the so-called shadow banking system.
  • Issue is Recession, not Inflation
    Lakshman Achuthan, a managing director at Economic Cycle Research Institute, talks with Bloomberg's Carol Massar in New York about the outlook for the U.S. economy, inflation and consumer prices. The consumer price index increased 0.6 percent in May, the Labor Department said today. So-called core prices, which exclude food and energy, rose 0.2 percent.
  • Dive into the Dow's (Cheap) Valuation
    Assessing the forecasts behind Morningstar's bullishness on high-quality stocks.
  • Why oil prices will tank (Eventually)
    The oil bulls are correct in their explanations of why prices have jumped. But if you stick to basic economics, it's clear that the only question is when - not if - prices will succumb.
  • Ten rules to remember about investing in the stock market
    Rules may be meant to be broken, but with investing ignoring the rules can break you. Especially now.
  • Oil’s Not Well in the U.S.
    What seemed virtually impossible just six months ago has turned into a harsh reality. Oil has crossed $130 a barrel and could be headed much higher. We know that oil price increases benefit oil producers and hurt oil users. But how does this all balance out and what is the overall impact of this spectacular rise in the price of crude oil on the US economy?
  • Oil Can't Rise Forever, So It Stops
    The late Herb Stein's dictum seems to be playing out in the crude pit."IF SOMETHING CAN'T GO ON FOREVER, IT WON'T." So said the late Herb Stein, the wise economist who served as Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers under Richard Nixon.
  • The yawning gap between fund returns and shareholder returns
    During the 25-year period 1980–2005, when the S&P 500 Index rose at a 12.3 percent annual rate, the return of the average fund averaged 10.0 percent annually, or 2.3 percentage points less. But the returns earned by fund investors fell far short of that 10.0 percent return. We can't be sure of exactly how far short, but an analysis of the past decade suggests that the gap was huge.
  • Auditor: Supervisors Covered Up Risky Loans
    A big unanswered question is whether the Wall Street investment banks that were packaging certain mortgages knew they were selling garbage loans to investors. One former worker whose job was to catch bad loans says her supervisors covered them up.
  • Cheerleaders in Lab Coats
    Every few years, it seems like the marketplace produces a "study" of variable annuities that makes the product look too good to be true—a creative fusion of research and PR. Here is the latest...
  • The paradox of investing in alternative assets
    Hedge-fund and private-equity managers could argue that they can exploit market anomalies and produce returns that are not correlated with those of traditional asset managers. But is this argument valid?
  • Rare Recession Buy Indicator Signal Just Flashed
    MARKET timing — trying to jump into or out of the stock market just before rallies and declines — is notoriously difficult. Most investors would probably be better off sticking with a buy-and-hold strategy. Nevertheless, anyone trying to beat the odds may be interested in a market indicator with an excellent track record — and it has just flashed a buy signal.
  • Bad Mix: Oil Spike & Weak Leading Indexes
    ECRI’s Lakshman Achuthan spoke with CNN’s John Roberts about how we may be near a tipping point towards a more severe downturn as a result of the latest oil price spike.
  • TIPS Show Bonds See Bubble Burst for Commodity-Driven Inflation
    Treasury bond traders are telling Americans to stop fretting about inflation. Consumers expect prices to rise 5.2 percent in the next 12 months.Treasury Inflation Protected Securities, or TIPS, show traders anticipate inflation of about 2.9 percent by January, in line with its average of 3.1 percent the last 20 years.
  • Pimco's El-Erian: Fed tools won't solve housing crisis
    Bond fund leader Pimco's Mohamed El-Erian on Wednesday said the Federal Reserve does not have the tools to deal with the U.S. housing crisis and rapidly rising consumer prices, leaving it to lawmakers to avert a severe recession.
  • When Should the Fed Crash the Party?
    The onset of the credit crisis last summer could have led to a replay of many features of the Depression. Was it worth the risk of taking no action, and the resulting social and political consequences, in order to clean house and start fresh?
  • Muni Bonds Make Sense Even Without the Insurance
    Municipal bond insurance provides investors with a guarantee. If the issuer defaults, the insurer will cover the interest and principal payments as they come due. But the cost isn't worth it, since muni bonds hardly ever default.
  • The risk of redefining recession
    If this is indeed a recession, policy makers would be remiss in assuming that this is an economic slowdown rather than a recessionary vicious cycle.
  • The Housing Crisis Is Over (???)
    Whether it proves to be right or wrong, this analysis of the housing crisis is worth reading...
  • Buffett Says Credit Crisis Ebbs for Wall Street Firms
    ``The worst of the crisis in Wall Street is over,'' Buffett said today on Bloomberg Television. ``In terms of people with individual mortgages, there's a lot of pain left to come.''
  • Gold May Glitter, but It Doesn't Stack up as a Long-term Investment
    No substance of value has held its allure longer than gold. In fact, gold has not been a good long-term investment.
  • Help- My financial adviser is losing me money!
    Don’t lose faith in your planner just because he keeps you invested in a down market. Ask yourself these questions first.
  • Why Life Insurance Isn't A Great Retirement Investment
    Why using variable and equity-indexed universal life insurance policies as retirement vehicles is expensive and complicated, and probably not worth the trouble.
  • Inside Citi, a Hedge-Fund Push Blows Up
    Brokers' Pitch to Investors Was One of Low Risk; Now, a Suit and a Move to Compensate for Big Losses.
  • Clip job-Still bashing annuities after all these years, with good reason
    An article which summarizes why, despite some exceptions, these products may be something most investors can mostly live without, most of the time.
  • Stupid Investment of the Week
    New fund designed to protect and serve investors does neither.
  • Brazil Oil Finds May End Reliance on Middle East
    April 24 (Bloomberg) -- Brazil's discoveries of what may be two of the world's three biggest oil finds in the past 30 years could help end the Western Hemisphere's reliance on Middle East crude, Strategic Forecasting Inc. said.
  • Numbers don't add up for faddish 130/30 funds
    An analysis by Investment Week magazine recently noted that 130/30 funds are "largely failing to outperform their long-only peers since they started coming to market last year."
  • Corporate insiders on balance are betting on a rising market
    Many pay close attention to what the insiders are buying and selling, since there is a significant body of research showing that insiders are usually more right than the rest of us. And, right now, the insiders are sending a very bullish message.
  • Are Hedge Fund Managers Talented, or Just Good at Fooling Investors?
    New research by Wharton statistics professor Dean P. Foster and Brookings Institution senior fellow H. Peyton Young argues that it's easy for hedge funds to fool their investors into believing the managers are better than they really are. If so, investors cannot distinguish good managers from bad.
  • Choosing Recession
    There is a raging debate about how the economy got into recession, and who is to blame. Many have concluded that the housing and credit bubbles guaranteed recession.But if fiscal stimulus had reached consumers quickly, it would have forestalled a recession, helping to stabilize the housing market. Such a soft landing would have bought some breathing room in which to resolve the credit crisis until the lagged effect of monetary policy kicked in.
  • Should retirees switch from stocks into bonds?
    CONVENTIONAL wisdom recommends that investors start with a high allocation of stock in their portfolios when they are young and reduce it as they approach retirement. But a recent study of real-world portfolio returns, which fluctuate significantly from month to month and year to year, has found that there is no particular advantage in this approach. You would do just as well, with no greater odds of doing poorly, by simply picking an allocation of stocks and bonds that you can live with for a long while and sticking with it.
  • Dear Watchdogs: Rein In Wall Street
    The markets are in a genuine credit crisis, on a scale rarely seen. This came about for a variety of factors, but one was a nearly total lack of regulation of certain aspects of bank speculation.
  • What's wrong with Wall St. - and how to fix it
    Bankers fell victim to their love of risk, leverage, and high pay. But after the government moves in to clean up the mess, things will be different - for a while.
  • How to keep your cool in a dangerous market
    With every dip in the Dow, that inner voice urging you to sell gets louder. Here are four reasons you shouldn't listen.
  • Hold the Hysteria (For Now)
    Regarding the economy, it's hard not to notice this stark contrast: The "real economy" of spending, production and jobs -- though weakening -- is hardly in a state of collapse, but much of today's semi-hysterical commentary suggests that it is.
  • Inflation Fears A Red Herring?
    According to one well regarded research firm, the current worries about inflation are likely overblown.
  • Ratings Agencies Weigh Muni Rating Shift on Pressure From States
    More than a dozen states, cities and public agencies said in a March 4 letter to Moody's, Fitch and Standard & Poor's that the current system exaggerates the risk municipal borrowers will default on their debt.
  • Why today’s hedge fund industry may not survive
    Hardly a week goes by without the implosion of a hedge fund. But we should not be surprised. These collapses are inherent in the hedge-fund model.
  • Why The Slowdown Could Have Been Avoided
    Congress and the Federal Reserve missed their chance to keep the country from falling into recession by acting too slowly, according to a well-respected economist.
  • Opportunity in Credit Crisis
    Crisis means opportunity. Here are 10 things to think about if you are trying to manage your investments during these turbulent times.
  • Look Deeper. You’ll See a Bright Side
    Even if the economy is struggling, it’s not clear that long-term investors should dwell entirely on the negatives.
  • Is Bear's Woe a Good Sign for the Market?
    Financial crises don't end until something gets broken. From the evidence of Friday, it looks like the something in question is going to be Bear Stearns. What does that mean for your investments?
  • House Prices in America: 4th Quarter 2007 Update
    According to National City's latest analysis, the incidence of overvaluation is declining sharply.
  • The Quiet Facts
    The "quiet facts" are those without buzz or hype, foisted to the last page by their odd misalignment with the themes of the day. Peter Lynch, the legendary former manager of Fidelity's Magellan Fund, coined this term to describe the investment ideas forsaken by Wall Street, usually in favor of the conventional wisdom and emotion. Lynch said it was by paying attention to the quiet facts -- not to the noise -- that the real money could be made over the long term.
  • Thinking One Step Ahead of a Downturn
    Selling may be the reflexive response by shareholders who have watched the value of their assets decline in step with economic indicators, but investment advisers contend that they should consider buying instead.
  • Buzz Words of the Credit Crisis Defined
    These days, an investor practically needs a financial dictionary to read The Wall Street Journal, since credit problems are occurring in areas most people have never heard of. This article, by Morningstar, provides definitions for the buzz words or abbreviations commonly found in the papers.
  • Top Strategist, James Paulsen Likes U.S. Stocks.
    James Paulsen, chief investment strategist at Wells Capital Management, which oversees $200 billion, is more bullish on stocks than he's been for most of the past decade. Note that Paulsen was one of the few strategists to correctly turn bearish before the 2000 bear market, and turn bullish again in 2002.
  • Credit Default Swaps- What the NY Times Article Got Wrong
    There are definitely problems in the Credit Default Swap market, but their February 19th NY Times article may have gone a bit overboard and may have contained some pretty glaring inaccuracies.
  • Good News: Fund Managers Are Miserable
    When there's an extreme consensus in one direction or another, that's usually a great moment to take the opposite bet. Fund managers are now as nervous as they were just after 9/11, that makes a tempting case for putting some money into the market right now.
  • Stock Returns May Surprise On The Upside.
    Why the Dow could rise more than many expect in the next few years.
  • Buy high, sell low- How Wall Street banks frittered away billions
    The idea of investing is to buy low and sell high, yet Wall Street banks have done exactly the opposite. They bought back their own stocks at high prices when they were loaded with cash, and are now selling them cheap because they need the money.
  • Warren Buffett Says No Economic Bailout Needed
    Warren Buffett says he is confident the U.S. financial sector can get through its troubles without a government bailout and remains bullish about the long-term prospects for the U.S. economy.
  • The Minsky Moment
    Controversial economist Hyman P. Minsky hypothesized that the actions of Wall Street could be counted on to create or exacerbate booms and busts, by encouraging businesses and individuals to take on too much risk. He felt that the only way to rein this in would be greater government regulation. Given the recent dot com and real estate bubbles and now the subprime crisis, it may be time to take another look at Minsky’s hypothesis.
  • Why Stocks May Be A Good Buy Now
    With the Standard & Poor's 500 index down 9.8% this year, to 1325, the index now trades for little more than 13 times projected 2008 operating earnings. That's one of the lowest price/earnings ratios in the past decade.
  • Monoline Insurers Explained
    Bond insurers have come under fire from ratings agencies. This interactive graphic explains how monolines work and what the threat to their triple-A ratings from the credit agencies could mean.
  • Five GOOD Reasons That Stocks Are Attractive
    The further stocks fall, the riskier they seem to investors. But in reality, the decline makes stocks less risky, because they are now almost certainly a better value. Click on the link above to learn more..
  • A Recession’s Impact Is All in the Timing
    History shows that it’s often the anticipation of a recession that depresses stock prices, not the actual experience of a recession. So if we’re out of the anticipatory stage, stocks could start to stabilize sooner than many expect.
  • Fund Performance- Do Winners Repeat?
    Mutual Fund investors will pay close attention to the year-end performance rankings appearing over the next couple of weeks. It’s not clear, however, that anyone should change their portfolios because of them. You can study the lists of top performers as much as you like, but unless you are a risk taker, don’t rely on them for your investments.
Articles From 2007
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