Do you ever read the financial news and feel that you have no sense of what all these zeros mean? Do you have trouble getting a grip on what those millions, billions and trillions actually represent? John Allen Paulos in his book "Innumeracy" suggests the following thought experiment. Without doing … [Read more...]

Young Chuck moved from New York to Texas and bought a donkey from a farmer for $100. The farmer agreed to deliver the donkey the next day. The next day he drove up and said, "Sorry son, but I have some bad news, the donkey died." Chuck replied, "Well, then just give me my money back." The farmer … [Read more...]

Number of times the S & P 500 closed up or down 5 percent in a single day in 2008: 17 Number of times between 1956 and 2007 it did this: 17 Year that the stock market first regained its 1929 pre-crash peak: 1954 Average number of years after the beginning of a severe economic downturn that … [Read more...]

Thank you, Rick Santelli of CNBC, for voicing the growing frustration of the "silent majority" of many successful Americans.  There are deep philosophical differences between the fundamental values on which this country was established and where the Obama administration and new Congress are rapidly … [Read more...]

Take one part hubris, one part arrogance, one part ego and add $120 billion. What do you get? Iceland! The world's first hedge fund disguised as a nation. … [Read more...]