Tag: News
-
Improving your Financial Literacy: Fear, Greed and Investing
November is Financial Literacy Month. When reading financial news recently, you see that many commentators worry that stock prices are too high but the advice is often vague. So, you may wonder, how can “I” become literate if the “experts” appear confused? You should learn what to focus on when making decisions in a market.
-
Surprising Insights and the 2025 Nobel Laureates in Economics
The 2025 Nobel Laureates in Economic Science are being recognized for their contributions to understanding the determinants of economic growth. Growth is generally seen as a good thing and the work being recognized was done more than 30 years ago. So, what was the surprising insight and, more importantly, what do others not understand about…
-
An important question to ask yourself when investing
You might have heard the news that stock price indexes are hitting record highs. So, many people are asking: is now the time to sell or is now the time to buy? My goal in this post is to explain why that is the wrong question and that the answer to the better question depends…
-
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.
-
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…
-
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…
5 Basic Principles of Economics 