As I have been talking about the stock market over the last few days, you may have had some questions about how the stock market works or wondered about some terms that were used. Please feel free to post your questions and I would be happy to answer them.
Another great resource for digging deeper is Yahoo Finance. On the top, you will see the tab "Investing". When that drops down click on "Education". There they go over a lot of basics and even further if you wish. The "Personal Finance" tab also gives a lot of good advice.
This is also a great website if you are interested in tracking specific stocks or reading articles about the financial markets.
Showing posts with label investing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label investing. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Economic Downturn: Part II
Following the government rescue of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in early September was the collapse of some of our largest investment banks in the country. On September 15th, Lehman Brothers, a global financial services firm, filed for bankruptcy. This was the largest bankruptcy filing in U.S. history. The biggest factor contributing to Lehman Brothers' collapse was the increasing number of failed home loans that I discussed in yesterday's post. Because of the incredible size of this company and the large effects it had in the financial market, stock prices fell dramatically on that Monday morning. Not only the stock price of Lehman Brothers, but a lot of other financial firms as well. If Lehman Brothers went under, who could be next?
And because the stock market's ups and downs are largely determined by the optimism or pessimism of where the economy is headed, the entire market took a huge hit that day and the days to follow. Every morning for two weeks I was looking at the paper to see which bank might be the next to go.
One financial firm that was suffering was AIG, one of the largest insurance companies in the world. You might ask how an insurance company is involved in mortgages and investments. Good question. In order for an insurance company to maximize its profits, (besides mailing you little pamphlets on how to be a safer driver) they invest the money they receive from their insured clients in many different ways - mortgages being one of them. Apparently, AIG could not find private funding to help them through their hard times, so the government loaned them up to 85 billion dollars for an 80% stake in the business. This is why you, as a taxpayer, now own an insurance company, and why it should bother you that a lot of wasteful spending is going on within the business.
Don't get me wrong. I'm all for private business and for the right of those businesses to pay their employees any salary they choose. But if you don't play by the rules, you're going to get kicked out of the game.
Next time, I will talk about the 700 billion dollar proposed rescue plan and what that means for us as taxpayers and citizens.
And because the stock market's ups and downs are largely determined by the optimism or pessimism of where the economy is headed, the entire market took a huge hit that day and the days to follow. Every morning for two weeks I was looking at the paper to see which bank might be the next to go.
One financial firm that was suffering was AIG, one of the largest insurance companies in the world. You might ask how an insurance company is involved in mortgages and investments. Good question. In order for an insurance company to maximize its profits, (besides mailing you little pamphlets on how to be a safer driver) they invest the money they receive from their insured clients in many different ways - mortgages being one of them. Apparently, AIG could not find private funding to help them through their hard times, so the government loaned them up to 85 billion dollars for an 80% stake in the business. This is why you, as a taxpayer, now own an insurance company, and why it should bother you that a lot of wasteful spending is going on within the business.
Don't get me wrong. I'm all for private business and for the right of those businesses to pay their employees any salary they choose. But if you don't play by the rules, you're going to get kicked out of the game.
Next time, I will talk about the 700 billion dollar proposed rescue plan and what that means for us as taxpayers and citizens.
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
The Dollar Dance
Whether you had one of these at your wedding reception or not, I don't really care. There are many other blogs that will debate the etiquette and/or audacity of them.
I am here to discuss the post-nuptial dollar dance. The wedding is over and the honeymoon bliss is a fading memory. Two bank accounts have now become one. In this blog I will talk about the many different questions and issues that arise not only for new marriage relationships, but for anyone who wants to do it right.
It's time I put my finance major and love of this topic to use. As we go, please email me any questions you would like me to answer regarding banking, investing, credit, budgeting, and the like.
The purpose of this blog is to stop dancing around the subject of money and to start making educated decisions that will lead to a brighter, more financially independent future.
Let's go!
I am here to discuss the post-nuptial dollar dance. The wedding is over and the honeymoon bliss is a fading memory. Two bank accounts have now become one. In this blog I will talk about the many different questions and issues that arise not only for new marriage relationships, but for anyone who wants to do it right.
It's time I put my finance major and love of this topic to use. As we go, please email me any questions you would like me to answer regarding banking, investing, credit, budgeting, and the like.
The purpose of this blog is to stop dancing around the subject of money and to start making educated decisions that will lead to a brighter, more financially independent future.
Let's go!
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