Expert View

Partisan bickering is not the solution for fostering economic growth

Prieur du Plessis — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 03:39:00 -0500

The main theme of the opinion piece by Representatives Hensarling and Ryan in the Wall Street Journal is poor economic policy choices of the current administration. "Economic history paints a very different picture from the opinion piece. Should political leaders be engaged in partisan rhetoric or in a serious discussion of how to make policy choices that will foster sustained economic growth?," asks Asha Bangalore in this guest contribution.

Prieur’s readings (November 21, 2009)

Prieur du Plessis — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 03:25:00 -0500

This post provides links to a number of interesting articles I have read over the past few days that you may also enjoy. Please also add the links to any other worthwhile articles you would like to share to the comments section.

“So, What Do You Want for Christmas?”

Trent Hamm — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:00:00 -0500

Over the past few weeks, I’ve heard this question several times from various people who find me on their Christmas gift list this year. I’m guessing they’re all thinking more or less the same thing: what do you get for a guy who doesn’t really want anything? So they ask me, and then [...]

Big FHA loans are easy

Tim Iacono — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:58:00 -0500

It's a good thing that the folks at the FHA (Federal Housing Administration) know what they're doing. Otherwise, their tiny capital reserves as compared to the nearly $700 billion in home loans they guarantee might be cause for concern, especially after reading a story like this one that, if you were to change some of the names and dates, sounds a lot like the stories you heard a few years ago when the housing bubble was fully inflated.

With F.H.A. Help, Easy Loans in Expensive Areas
By DAVID STREITFELD

SAN FRANCISCO — In January, Mike Rowland was so broke that he had to raid his retirement savings to move here from Boston.
read more

Gross: Anything but .01%

Prieur du Plessis — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:28:00 -0500

Bill Gross, co-founder and co-CIO of PIMCO, is to my mind one of the shrewdest money men around. His monthly newsletter, this month entitled "Anything but .01%", therefore always makes for thought-provoking reading. This post features a few excerpts from the report.

Congress grows a pair

Tim Iacono — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:34:00 -0500

Edmund L. Andrews 11/20/business/20regulate.html?ref=business">reports on how Ron Paul's "Audit the Fed" amendment got tucked into the new House bill on financial market regulation, maybe as a result of a growing number of elected officials having read Paul's new book End the Fed.

At the House Financial Services Committee, which was working on a sweeping bill to overhaul financial regulation, Mr. Frank had argued that Mr. Paul’s amendment went too far and would damage the Fed’s credibility.
read more

10 Tactics for a Cheaper (and Saner) Thanksgiving Dinner

Trent Hamm — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 09:00:00 -0500

By this time next week, most Americans will have gathered with friends and family and eaten the traditional Thanksgiving meal. I’ll be gathering for three separate Thanksgiving dinners during this holiday weekend. Quite often, I’ll see people spend exorbitant amounts of money on lavish Thanksgiving spreads. While I completely understand the reason for doing [...]

Should I invest in ETFs or Conventional Mutual Funds

Tushar Mathur — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 08:54:00 -0500

Investors seeking an index investment nowadays can choose to put their money into either conventional fund shares or exchange-traded funds (ETFs), but deciding which to pick may seem perplexing. Many similarities—and important differences

In many respects, index funds and ETFs seeking to track the same indexes are much alike. Characteristics such as risk and return attributes and portfolio holdings should be nearly the same. In addition, both ETFs and conventional index fund shares are entitled to distributions of income and capital gains.

But there are some important differences, primarily involving their trading features and pricing structures. So before you invest, you should ask yourself both how much you value flexibility—such as the ability to trade throughout the day—and how much you are willing to pay for it.

ETFs offer trading flexibility

Velocity of US money supply at long last edging up

Prieur du Plessis — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 07:52:00 -0500

This post discusses the trend in the velocity of US money supply and the implications for the economy.

Fifteen investment lessons from Jesse Livermore and John Paulson

Prieur du Plessis — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 06:32:00 -0500

Hopefully these lessons from Jesse Livermore and John Paulson will add to your success as an investor.