It's hard to find something not impacted by our current financial crisis. Here are 12 examples of what the recession means for specific things, from Spam to sex addiction. 1.... READ ON
On October 29th, the Fed "slashed rates" again, reducing the key interest rate to a low 1%. Here's some information about what it all means. What is the Fed? The Fed is the Federal Reserve System, the central banking system in the US. Currently Ben Bernanke is the Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Fed. The Fed has a dual mandate: to promote stable inflation and maximum employment. To do so, it controls the Federal Fund Rate. This is the interest rate at which banks lend money that they... READ ON
1. United... READ ON
There's so much talk of the markets crashing, the Dow dropping, then rising, then dropping again. Under 9,000 today, over 9,000 tomorrow. But what do these numbers even mean? What is this "˜Dow' on which investors and the media fixate themselves? And is it really comprised of only 30 stocks? The Dow is a market index, which is a listing of stocks that share some similar characteristic; they could belong to the same industry or they could all have similar market cap (how much a company is... READ ON
Ever wonder about the stories behind the products you use daily? While baking recently, I noticed my chocolate was made in 1780. Not the chocolate itself, but the brand, Baker's Chocolate. Here are some of the oldest, most recognized names, their stories, and the reasons they've lasted so long. 1. Baker's Chocolate... READ ON
Ever order the second-cheapest wine on the menu while dining out? You don't want to spend very much, but you also don't want to look like a cheapskate ordering the cheapest bottle on the whole menu. Well, one in four diners do (in the UK, at least). In the marketing world, we can define this as a choice set effect with respect to reference pricing—using the cheapest bottle of wine as a standard of comparison against which the other wines are compared. But did you know that the second-cheapest... READ ON
The Federal Reserve plans to spend $700 billion (adding to our current $10.6 trillion deficit) to buy up mortgage-related debt from our ailing banks so the banks will be able to lend again. Credit is, after all, what America runs on. As Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke put it, this plan is "the last wrench in the toolbox" to fix our financial crisis. But how did we get here? Here's where the blame game leads... READ ON
Perhaps you've read about the ban on short selling. Many believe it is one of the main causes of the current financial crisis and the fall of Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers, and AIG. But what exactly is "short selling"? How and when can you do it? And why is it so frowned... READ ON
First of all—what is AIG? AIG is American International Group, the largest insurance company in the world. It's not just an insurance company, however; its business is divided into four divisions: general insurance, life insurance and retirement services, financial services, and asset management. It was started in 1919 in Shanghai. How did it (almost)... READ ON
The big bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac has been big news this week. But what does it mean to you? GSEs —> TSEs? Well, the Government Sponsored Entities just became Taxpayer Sponsored Enterprises. The Treasury "bailed" them out, changed their leadership, and is putting Fan & Fred under the management of the Federal Housing Finance Agency. It's the most radical regime change in global economic and financial affairs in decades, and as economist Nouriel Roubini states... READ ON
5 Questions: Now with "Wings"
How Many Vice Presidents Can You Name in 10 Minutes?
In 1865, six-year-old Teddy Roosevelt watched Abraham Lincoln’s funeral procession in NYC.
