psychology

A condition of conflict or anxiety resulting from inconsistency between one's duty as regulator and one's actions

A few months ago, the Germans were very resistant to the notion that Germany would also suffer greatly in this global downturn. Yet, as the months have past, it has become increasingly apparent that exports from Germany and retail spending…

Economics and finance are slowly coming to grips with the fact that human beings are simply not rational. The boom-bust cycle that we are now living gives us a front row seat to that irrationality. Below is a video by Dan Ariely that is…

We are in a secular bear market. What this means for many pensioners or for many about to become pensioners is great uncertainty about the quality of their retirement. I expect this uncertainty to translate into anger regarding the move…

As we head into the final stretch leading up to the U.S. presidential election, I wanted to throw a thought out there about experience and judgment. I have long been of the view that natural bias toward one or the other has a lot to do…

In a recent post I said that I was selectively scanning for value plays at this level. A reader asked me the legitimate question: "Why would anybody buy anything in this market?" Basically, he was questioning my sanity.I am entirely sane…

You have probably heard people bandy about the term pro-cyclical as it has become a key concept for economists as we enter a downturn. The crux of pro-cyclicality is that some things rise with an upswing, but fall with downswings --…

Given the fact that the regulatory authorities in the U.S. and the UK have taken the unusually manipulative step of banning all short sales of financial institutions outright, it bears remembering that all actions have consequences, both…

When the housing mania was in full bloom, many first-time home buyers were understandably panicked about being locked out of home ownership and missing the boat to get onto the property ladder. This was the case in both the UK and in the…

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…