Trulia, an online residential real estate site for home buyers, sellers, renters and real estate professionals, has recently provided data suggesting that rising housing prices are putting America’s largest metropolitan areas out of reach for teachers and first responders. Trulia’s study defines affordability as a household spending 31% of its monthly income on housing, assuming … Continued
David Livingston was a Scottish missionary and explorer of the Victorian era, now best remembered because of his meeting with Henry Morton Stanley which gave rise to this popular quotation. Having recently had the good fortune to spend two weeks in Southern Africa, South Africa and Zimbabwe, I can appreciate Dr. Livingstone’s lifelong fascination with … Continued
This is the title of a 1977 country music song written by David Allan Coe and popularized by Johnny Paycheck. In January 2017, the number of people quitting their jobs rose to a seasonally-adjusted total of 3.22 million, the highest number since February 2001. The new high in job quitters comes following a number of … Continued
On Sunday evening, April 9, United Continental caused a passenger to be forcibly removed from a flight between Chicago O’Hare and Louisville, KY. By acting in what appears to have been in full adherence to the appropriate rules, United Continental may have saved some money and transported a flight crew to Louisville in order to … Continued
According to Wikipedia, compromise is to make a deal between different parties where each party gives up part of their demand. The statement “politics is the art of compromise” is a misquotation of a comment attributed to Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, who actually said, “politics is the art of the possible, the attainable – the art … Continued
It is clear that there have been significant increases in U.S. household wealth since the depths of the 2009 financial crisis, largely due to substantial increases in stock market and home valuations. In the past, large gains in household wealth have stimulated higher levels of consumer spending. This does not appear to be the case … Continued
The Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) is the official export credit agency of the U.S. federal government. Operating as a government corporation, the bank finances and insures foreign purchases of U.S. goods for customers unwilling or unable to accept credit risk. The bank’s cost and effectiveness are controversial, and, like any policy … Continued
There really shouldn’t be any question that climate changes. The real issues are; what is the rate and direction of change, what is causing it, what can or should be done about it and what makes economic sense? These are important questions. Unfortunately, they would be difficult to answer under the best of circumstances, but … Continued
In the financial markets, change tends to be measured in one of two ways, numerically, that is, the Dow Jones was up 100 points today, or, as a percentage, the Dow Jones was up approximately 0.5%. While both methods of measurement say the same thing, under some circumstances they may not be immediately seen as … Continued
So began a 1923 magazine advertisement that became legendary. The ad was developed to sell a car, the Jordan “Playboy”. Previously, car ads concentrated on practicalities, such as engine size, the number of forward gears and special features. “Somewhere West of Laramie” changed all that, to highlight the automobile as a path to adventure, as … Continued
According to Wikipedia, corporate governance broadly refers to the mechanisms, processes and relations by which corporations are controlled and directed. Governance structures are intended to identify the distribution of rights and responsibilities among different stakeholders, including; boards of directors, management, employees, shareholders, creditors, auditors, regulators and others. Interest in the corporate governance practices of modern … Continued
It’s not a news flash that saving money is hard, really hard. There is plenty of advice around with a wide variety of suggestions. Anything you do to cut back can help. However, the biggest opportunity may lie with your biggest, overall, long term expense, your residence. Some things to consider. How much home do … Continued
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