Personal Finance
The agricultural trade war between the United States and China has exacerbated American farm bankruptcies to levels unseen since 2011. According to the American Farm Bureau Federation, the country’s largest farm advocacy organization, around 580 farms filed for Chapter 12 bankruptcy from January 2019 to September 2019. Businesses must repay creditors within five years of […]
Having a place that you can call home is a quintessential part of the American dream. Not everyone, however, can afford to buy a home any time they want, even when the economy is good. Not only do you need to qualify for a mortgage. You also have to make a considerable down payment in […]
Many people who shop on Amazon view the online retailer as if it were a uniquely American Internet department store, a place where the products for sale meet U.S. regulatory guidelines for consumer safety. The latest revelations are but another example of why big tech companies are no longer going to be given free rein […]
An incredible 42% of people go over their intended budgets whenever they buy something. This is an untenable way to maintain a family budget. Yet you can buy almost anything cheaper with a coupon — sometimes up to half-off! Couponing isn’t a fringe practice for extremist frugal types either. You can save hundreds or thousands […]
When a company’s coffers are flush with billions in cash, they usually use such funds to buy back their own stock. Stock buybacks is the practice of a company actively buying its own shares on the public market. David Kostin, chief equity strategist for Goldman Sachs, estimates that corporations trading on the S&P 500 spent […]
Price movement in stock markets is not driven by economic fundamentals and computer algorithms alone. In large part it is a function of human behavior, which is by nature erratic. Millions of stock traders and investors make their buying and selling decisions based on their emotions and intuition. This can make the stock prices unreasonably […]
Your spending habits can make or break your financial future. If you keep your spending in check, you can save, invest, and eventually become financially independent. If you are reckless with your spending you could get caught in a debt trap and ruin your financial future. So, how do you get rid of the habits […]
During a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Seth Klarman, one of the most successful investors in the world, raised concerns about a number of factors that could adversely impact the direction of the world economy. He also suggested that undue investor optimism, particularly in the United States, might not be warranted […]
Gary Shilling, a highly admired financial analyst and commentator, argues that the millennial generation should be pleased they have been forced into a position where they must rent instead of purchasing a home. In an Op-Ed, he writes, “millennials spend a lot of time bemoaning their inability to buy a home, forcing them to keep […]
For investors seeking higher yields in a dismal low interest rate environment, master limited partnerships (MLPs) of midstream energy companies are one viable alternative. These MLPs are involved in the business of transporting oil, primarily though pipelines, as well as storing and processing various other commodities related to the production of petroleum or for the […]
