When you were growing up, did you ever hear stories like this? "If you swallow gum, it will stay in your stomach for seven years." "If you keep making that face, it will freeze that way." "If you drink coffee, it will stunt your growth." "If you watch too much TV, your eyes will turn square." In [...]
America’s first personal finance expert
WITH THE FOURTH OF JULY JUST AROUND THE CORNER, I thought it would be appropriate to revisit the wisdom of America's first personal finance author — and an author of the Declaration of Independence — Ben Franklin. Franklin lived in the 1700s, but it turns out that virtually everything he had to say [...]
Eight ways to ignore the stock market
“Stock Market Hits New High” Have you noticed headlines like this lately? Since March of 2009, when the S&P 500 Index hit a low of 666, the market has more than tripled. And it keeps going higher. In fact, headlines like this have become so frequent that they are no longer remarkable. The [...]
If you must…
Anyone who follows my work knows that I am a staunch advocate for index funds and believe that stock-picking is a very difficult road. That said, there are some undeniable facts about stock-picking: All of the great fortunes -- Rockefeller, Carnegie, Gates, Buffett -- were earned by way of owning [...]
Does the market “know” anything?
Yesterday saw an odd juxtaposition. In Washington, the Senate conducted hearings into allegations of misconduct inside the White House, with potentially serious implications. Meanwhile, on Wall Street, no one seemed to mind very much. In fact, the market hit a new all-time high on Thursday [...]