There has always been an underground economy, sometimes referred to as a shadow economy, and more recently described as the Gig economy, with the rise of such relatively new activities, such as home and ride sharing. Investopedia defines the underground economy as illegal economic activity. Transactions in the underground economy are illegal, either because the … Continued
It is probably difficult to overstate the importance of financial prudence and personal responsibility. We were well advised regarding the importance and practicality of not paying more than absolutely necessary in the book “The Millionaire Next Door: The Surprising Secrets of America’s Wealthy”, by Thomas J. Stanley and William D. Danko. However, there are times … Continued
This is a Latin phrase that means, “first do no harm.” Non-maleficence, which is derived from this maxim, is one of the principal precepts of bioethics that all healthcare students are taught in school and is a fundamental principle throughout the world. This approach to the practice of medicine enjoys widespread support and seems to … Continued
Wikipedia defines investment as the allocation of money (or sometimes another resource, such as time) in the expectation of some benefit in the future. Wikipedia defines education as the process of facilitating learning, or the acquisition of knowledge, skills, values, beliefs, and habits. The foregoing suggests that, before investing a great deal of time and … Continued
The economy is continuing to add jobs and the U.S. April jobs report was generally positive. On the plus side, the unemployment rate of 4.4% would suggest that the country is at, or near, full employment. However, as noted previously, the labor force participation rate remains near record lows at 62.9%. This is troubling, as … Continued
Ford Motor Company recently fired its CEO, Mark Fields. Its decision to do so was based on the stock’s poor price performance and belief that the company was not agile enough in addressing structural changes occurring in the auto industry. Personally, I have no opinion as to whether Mark Fields was the source of the … Continued
Currently, U.S. jobs data suggests that overall unemployment is relatively low, underemployment remains an issue, labor force participation is relatively low and there appears to be a significant skills mismatch, which is likely to get worse. Anecdotal evidence suggests that millions of jobs stand empty because employers are unable to fill jobs that are in … Continued
According to Wikipedia, bitcoin is both a cryptocurrency and an electronic payment system invented by an unidentified programmer, or group of programmers, under the name of Satoshi Nakamoto. Bitcoin was introduced in October 2008 to a cryptography mailing list, and released as open-sourced software in 2009. The system is peer-to-peer, allowing users to transact with … Continued
It is generally accepted by economists that for every new job, some additional jobs are a natural consequence. However, not all new jobs are created equal. The oil industry has been advertising that every new energy job creates two more positions in the economy. Volvo Car Group’s new factory near Charleston SC, may do much … Continued
In a recent Wall Street Journal article, Martin Zweig posited that ETFs, often dirt-cheap to own, can still be costly to buy and sell. Mr. Zweig cites a study by Antti Petajisto, a portfolio manager at LMR Partners, a London based hedge fund, who looked at about 1,800 ETFs from 2007 to 2014 and concluded … Continued
PAYGO (Pay As You Go) is a Federal budget rule requiring that new legislation, affecting revenues and spending on entitlement programs, taken as a whole, does not increase budget deficits. That sounds constructive but, as we all know, the Federal budget continues to reflect deficit spending and the national debt continues to increase. Endless deficit … Continued
Investors typically look at quarterly and annual reported operating results on a year-over-year basis. In other words, what was the percentage change compared to the prior year period. It is important to also consider sequential change. That is, what was the change compared to the previous quarter. Obviously this is not particularly helpful in looking … Continued
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