October 29, 2009 – 11:27 am
Imagine you’re standing on a street corner in New York City, hand raised to hail a cab. Two cabs pull up to vie for your business; a beat-up late 60s sub-compact with no air conditioning, and a brand new mid-size sedan, with working air conditioner and an electronic meter. It’s not hard to pick which [...]
October 22, 2009 – 3:10 pm
In the news today is AT&T’s decision to sue a number of major producers of liquid crystal displays (LCDs). These ubiquitous displays are used in televisions, cell phones, and – most likely – the computer screen you’re using right now. AT&T is alleging something called “price fixing” in the market to buy and sell these [...]
October 9, 2009 – 11:51 am
National Save for Retirement Week is coming up (October 18-24) to urge Americans to beef up their savings accounts for the long haul. Those who have the longest amount of time before retiring stand to gain the most by investing early (thanks to the wonders of compounding interest), so it’s particularly important that young people [...]
September 22, 2009 – 4:55 pm
The nonprofit Corporation for Enterprise Development (CFED) just put out its 2009-10 Assets & Opportunity Scorecard, which ranks all 50 states and the District of Columbia according to the job, education, wealth-building, and homeownership opportunities afforded to families. Each state was assigned a letter grade based on their performance on 92 policy and outcome measures [...]
August 18, 2009 – 4:26 pm
Today we hosted our first webinar: What is a Credit Default Swap Anyway? The Financial Crisis for Capitol Hill Staffers. We had a great group for the presentation (check out the presentation here). For those that were interested and unable to attend we will be hosting a make-up session on Tuesday, September 1, 2009 at [...]
August 14, 2009 – 3:08 pm
Suffice to say, a trillion of anything is a lot. Since most people we’ve talked to aren’t entirely clear on how big it really is, for visual learners (like myself) we put together these graphics to illustrate the enormity of a trillion dollars. Want more visualizations? MightyBargainHunters.com has even more ways to wrap your head [...]
As the recession continues, consumers and businesses alike are trying to find innovative ways to live and operate cost-effectively. Most consumers have had to sacrifice some quality of life in order to live within their (new) means. A recent Wall Street Journal blog post notes that “cash-strapped Americans are trading down and giving up nonessential [...]
Personal finance site Mint.com has a great new video illustrating how much money a trillion dollars really is, and what you could buy with it. My personal favorite: With a trillion dollars, you could buy a $3 latte every day for 900 million years. [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=at3MNu8BRwQ[/youtube]
With banks and credit card companies collecting more money than ever from customers, the Center for Economic and Entrepreneurial Literacy reminds consumers that “economic illiteracy is at the heart of our current economic crisis.” A CEEL survey conducted in December of 2008 found that a majority of those surveyed were unable to answer simple questions [...]
Wall Street Journal columnist James Stewart has a great piece this week, about how fleeting good fortune can be, and how important it is to manage your money responsibly. I really recommend reading the whole thing, but here’s a few highlights (emphasis added): Our culture often glorifies financial success, but it is an illusion to [...]
