Archive for April, 2009
« Previous EntriesWatching President Obama…
Thursday, April 30th, 2009I’m watching President Obama’s speech right now.
He just talked about taking steps to help Americans gain access to credit so that they can buy cars.
Has auto financing been a problem? Are people who can afford to purchase new cars being denied credit? Don’t people need jobs before they can buy cars?
Are you guys [...]
Scott Burns Starts a Six-Part Series Today on Retirement Saving
Wednesday, April 29th, 2009I noticed Scott Burns’ column in today’s Houston Chronicle (you can read the article here) is the first in a series on reforming retirement saving. This particular article talks about the fact that many employers are no longer offering their employees a 401(k) match. Scott references a study done by Hewitt Associates that [...]
What’s Good Computer for a 14-Year Old?
Wednesday, April 29th, 2009I got an email this morning from Stacey (a frequent reader and commenter here) asking me if I had any recommendations for a laptop computer for her 14-year old son, who will be starting high school this fall. I told her I had no idea but that I would post this as a question [...]
Magazines Are Hurting Too
Tuesday, April 28th, 2009I was in standing the checkout line at Kroger last night and I reached for a Time magazine. I kid you not, the magazine almost felt like a newsletter. I didn’t check the page count but it was extremely thin. The Newsweek sitting next to it was almost as thin. Then [...]
A Brief Look at the 2009 Fortune 500
Tuesday, April 28th, 2009I had to do a double take when I saw this but check this out:
The 2007 Fortune 500 had total profits of $785,134,700,000.
The 2009 Fortune 500 had total profits of $98,881,100,000.
An 87.4% DECLINE over those two years (I can’t find my 2008 Fortune 500 issue).
Interestingly, the revenues of all 500 companies were up [...]
Pontiac’s Gone…Are You Sad?
Monday, April 27th, 2009I read over the weekend that GM was about to announce that it was closing its Pontiac division. Dumping Pontiac will leave GM with Chevy, Cadillac, Buick, GMC, Hummer, Saturn, Saab, and some other foreign companies. There’s talk that Hummer and Saturn are next to get the ax.
I’m not sad that Pontiac is [...]
I Think I Owe Price Pfister an Apology
Thursday, April 23rd, 2009Remember my rants (here and here) about my Price Pfister kitchen faucet? Well, let me bring you up to speed.
A vice president from Price Pfister must have seen my rant because he sent me an email and apologized for my troubles and offered to send me a new faucet. I accepted and replaced [...]
The Regulations Are Reasonable…The Thoughts That Go Along With Them Aren’t
Tuesday, April 21st, 2009Saw this in today’s Wall Street Journal and just had to mention it:
Policy Makers Take Aim at Credit-Card Practices
Credit-card companies are going to have to start adhering to the followin rules, which take effect in July 2010:
• Banks can’t treat payments as late unless consumers have a “reasonable amount of time” to make the payment; [...]
Reader Comment on My Asset Management Post
Monday, April 20th, 2009AFM reader, Chris, left this comment on my post from last week:
What is the profit margin on a bag of cheetos, 50%?? The margin on the gel for my hair is over 100%. Why do we quibble over 1%? Do we expect money managers to work for free? I know it sounds like a lot [...]
OT: One of the ONLY Videos I Have Ever Put Together
Friday, April 17th, 2009My how the time flies. It’s hard to believe that I shot this video nearly FIVE years ago. The music is called “First Youth” from Philip Aaberg’s CD, “Cinema.” I thought the title was appropriate. The music brings tears to my eyes nearly every time I hear it. I’m a [...]
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