Archive for February, 2010
« Previous Entries Next Entries »Unemployment Rate vs. the S&P 500 Index – Part 2
Wednesday, February 17th, 2010Okay, after my last post, I went back and gathered data going back to 1960. I then ran the calculations and built the following charts. While working on this, I sent an email to AFM reader, Don, and asked him about using the log of the S&P 500 Index (which is supposed to smooth out [...]
Unemployment vs. the S&P 500 Index
Tuesday, February 16th, 2010Maybe it’s just me but it seems as though the rebound we have seen in the S&P 500 Index might be a bit premature. Granted, my chart only goes back to 1990 (I’m working on a longer chart) but based on what I see, there seems to be a nice inverse correlation between the S&P [...]
A Student Loan From Hell…
Monday, February 15th, 2010From this weekend’s WSJ comes this unbelievable tale of student loan stupidity: When Michelle Bisutti, a 41-year-old family practitioner in Columbus, Ohio, finished medical school in 2003, her student-loan debt amounted to roughly $250,000. Since then, it has ballooned to $555,000. It is the result of her deferring loan payments while she completed her residency, [...]
OT: Stunning…
Saturday, February 13th, 2010This is an awesome piece of music from Chris Botti featuring Lucia Micarelli. The only thing that bugs me about this video is Lucia’s ear sticking out through her hair. Makes her look kinda elf-ish…lol.
Dividends Are Important
Thursday, February 11th, 2010Yesterday, I compared dollar-cost averaging and lump sum investing using the Dow Jones Industrial Average Total Return Index over the last 11 years. The lump sum approach handily beat the DCA approach (read about the particulars here). In the comments to that post, BG wrote the following: “Those dividend payments were probably 99% of that [...]
Dow Jones Industrial Average Lump Sum vs. Dollar-Cost Averaging 1999-2009
Wednesday, February 10th, 2010Suppose on December 31, 1998, I offered you one of two choices: 1. $13,300 lump sum to be invested in the Dow Jones Industrial Average Total Return Index (assuming that you could actually invest in such an index). The lump sum HAD to stay invested through December 31, 2009. or… 2. $100 per month ($13,300 [...]
A Little Humor for the Day
Wednesday, February 10th, 2010Senate hearing canceled today because the snow. To find out which hearing was canceled, click here. Yes, it is winter, but it’s still funny.
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