Category: Thought-Provoking
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The Truth About Investing in Fractional Shares: Marginal Thinking Explained
You may have seen the ads from banks suggesting investors should buy fractions of a share of a company. Normally, I applaud anybody who thinks on the margin. This post applies marginal thinking to this suggestion and argues that, with one exception, buying a fraction of a share displays ignorance or narrowness of thinking.
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Three Quotes that Define True Education Success
As students return to classrooms, it is good time to think about what is worth learning. Many facts could be learned but, if that were the goal of an education, graduation ceremonies should be replaced with trivia contests. The real goal is wisdom, because wisdom overcomes ignorance and guides applications.
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What HBC’s 355-Year Journey Reveals about Opportunity Cost
Recent news about the end of the Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) emphasizes financial and related numbers: HBC lost about $330 million during the last 12 months; it owes at least $1 billion; 9,300 employees plus contractors will lose their jobs (income, benefits, …); 74 stores and 40 million sq. ft. of retail space will become…
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Careless Economics: A Trillion Dollar Math Problem
On April 2, 2025, President Trump displayed a poster which listed countries and the “reciprocal” tariffs to be imposed on their imports quickly. Reporting by CNN and others shows that the numbers are justified by this formula. Many media noted how amazingly stupid this formula is. Arithmetic errors are embarrassing, if you are in Grade…
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Why All-You-Can-Eat Restaurants Survive and Thrive: Economic Insights
An all-you-can-eat restaurant seems like an obvious exception to the rules of basic economic logic, until you dig beneath the surface.
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Navigating Tariff Uncertainty using Inventories
People in Canada are thinking about the tariffs, retaliatory tariffs, reciprocal tariffs and threats of more from the US. There was a time before and, eventually, markets will adjust to the time after. The challenge is to manage the time in between. The media focus on layoffs and, until other buyers can be found, production…
5 Basic Principles of Economics 