Investing & Markets
Militarization of the Economy; Retired Generals "Advise" the Pentagon as Paid Consultants of Defense Contractors
It’s widely known that retired military officers frequently move into private industry at the end of their military careers. However, few realize these “generals-for-rent” are often hired back as a pentagon consultants. The potential for fraud is massive. Direct industry representatives get inside information about military programs and budgets. Then in a massive conflict of [...]
Continue reading...Sunday Funnies 2010-12-26 Bernanke and Kucinich Discuss the Need for Paper
26 December 2010 – 11:06 am PDT
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In other news Bridgewater, New Jersey spends $17K to defend $5 fee it charged resident A Somerset County town spent more than $17,000 defending a $5 fee it charged a resident for a compact disc of a council meeting. Tom Coulter filed a complaint with the New Jersey Government Record Council in October 2008, saying [...]
Continue reading...Roth IRA Contribution Limits For 2011
26 December 2010 – 5:06 am PDT
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The IRA contribution limits will stay the same in 2011 as they have been over the past three years. The Roth IRA contribution limits and the limits of traditional Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) have not changed since 2008. Investors under the age of 50 can contribute up to $5,000 per year, and couples can contribute [...]
Continue reading...Prosperity, The Sneaky Side of Discontent, Part 1
26 December 2010 – 3:24 am PDT
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For those of you new to Free Money Finance, I post on The Bible and Money every Sunday. Here’s why. The following is an excerpt from the book Christ-Centered Contentment . “There’s nothing to eat,†I murmured to myself as I stood staring endlessly into my kitchen pantry. You know the position—arms braced on each side [...]
Continue reading...Pensions Eat 70% of Decatur, Illinois’ Budget; New York City’s $76 Billion Shortfall; Houston Mayor Wants Pension Benefit Cuts
25 December 2010 – 11:48 pm PDT
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Public pension woes continue to escalate. Here are three more stories highlighting problems at various cities in Illinois, New York, and Texas. Pensions Eat 70% Decatur, Illinois Budget Please consider Pensions eat up growing portion of city of Decatur’s property tax revenue As the Decatur City Council prepares to convene Monday to discuss setting its [...]
Continue reading...Barron’s confidence back at October ‘07
25 December 2010 – 11:48 pm PDT
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The Barron’s Confidence Index is an indicator worth monitoring. This Index is calculated by dividing the average yield on high-grade bonds by the average yield on intermediate-grade bonds. The discrepancy between the yields is indicative of investor confidence. As shown below, there has been a solid improvement in the ratio since its all-time low in [...]
Continue reading...James Montier: In defense of the “old alwaysâ€
25 December 2010 – 11:42 pm PDT
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James Montier needs no introduction to the readers of Investment Postcards. Prior to joining as member of GMO’s Asset Allocation Team in 2009, he was co-head of Global Strategy at Société Générale. Montier is the author of several books, including “Behavioural Investing: A Practitioner’s Guide to Applying Behavioural Finance“, “Value Investing: Tools and Techniques for [...]
Continue reading...Technical Talk: S&P 500 remains in upward channel, for now
25 December 2010 – 11:24 pm PDT
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The comments below were provided by Kevin Lane of Fusion IQ. As seen below the S&P 500 Index is clearly well above the April/May peak (red lines). Additionally, the index remains within the confines of a large bullish upward channel (green lines). Lately that upward trend has accelerated and a small channel (purple lines) has [...]
Continue reading...A poetic look at 2010
25 December 2010 – 11:24 pm PDT
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John Murphy is not only the top charting honcho at StockCharts.com, but he has also just produced an excellent summary of 2010’s investment happenings – written very admirably as a poem. Twas the night before Christmas And on the street they call Wall Traders and investors were having a ball, Stocks and commodities were ending [...]
Continue reading...Global debt monitor – in pictures
25 December 2010 – 11:18 pm PDT
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Moody’s Analytics Dismal Scientist provides a handy set of charts for monitoring the global debt situation, as shown below. In short, not a set of pictures investors should become complacent about any time soon. Deficits Debt Risk rankings Source: Moody’s Analytics Dismal Scientist Did you enjoy this post? If so, click here to subscribe to [...]
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26 December 2010 – 12:36 pm PDT
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