investing

The Dow Jones Industrial Average has just fallen below 10,000 for the first time since 2004. Breaking through the 10,000 barrier was a huge deal on CNBC when we were partying like it was 1999, nine years ago. Essentially, we are back to…

Apparently Lehman not only failed, it left a gaping hole its accounts. The UK pension scheme is missing £100 million. UK regulators certainly need o investigate whether the shortfalls are the result of criminal activity.However, pensions…

I am a contrarian by nature. That has its pluses and minuses. As a contrarian, I am constantly thinking to myself, "but, is that really true?" As a result, I often find myself recognizing a trend before it catches on or standing…

Last week, I showed two charts on returns on the Dow Jones Industrial Average that had two seemingly contradictory messages. In the first chart measuring 10-year returns, one could clearly see that long-term returns have been declining…

Five-year returns almost never exceed 100% (denoted by the dotted red line in the chart). There are three notable bubble periods in stocks above 100%: pre-1929, pre-1987 and pre-1999*. This is not one of those periods.

'Buy and hold' is a myth that I hope dies an ugly death just like the Efficient Market Hypothesis. When one looks at the numbers, it is as plain as day that the stock market moves in sweeping trends that take decades to unfold.

What has the housing bubble told us about market efficiency, social psychology and economics? Quite a lot, I believe.In the aftermath of the housing bubble, one thing is for certain: we can throw out the inane "Efficient Market…

In psychology, cognitive dissonance is an uncomfortable feeling or stress caused by holding two contradictory ideas simultaneously. The theory of cognitive dissonance proposes that people have a fundamental cognitive drive to reduce this…

I've been thinking a lot about unrealized gains and their effect on the global economy. if you remember, I wrote a few weeks ago about a new debit card that lets people tap the money from their 401(k) plan. I think these cards are a bad…

In further proof that we're back to the Great Depression again, everyone is talking about unsecured bank deposits. Basically, if you have less than $100K at an FDIC institution, you're good to go. If you have more, you'll need to spread…