Chancellor: Pensions are a bubble waiting to burst
Bubbles are essentially illusions of wealth. So look no further than the gap between what pensioners have been promised and the assumptions about returns on their inadequate savings for a glimpse…
Review: Stop blaming the world’s central bankers
That’s the message of a new book, “The End of Alchemy”, from the former governor of the Bank of England, Mervyn King. It doesn’t completely wash. Low rates bear much responsibility for seeding the…
Chancellor: Lessons from the Mississippi Bubble
This year marks the 300th anniversary of the start of John Law’s ambitious, and ultimately failed, economic experiment. Much like today’s central bankers, Law thought printing banknotes and forcing…
Chancellor: Buffett’s U.S. optimism long-term valid
In his annual shareholder missive, the Oracle of Omaha rejects arguments, by Larry Summers and others, that America has entered a period of “secular stagnation.” However, the Berkshire Hathaway…
Chancellor: Negative rates, negative implications
The latest weapon brandished by central banks is supposed to boost economic growth and ward off deflation by punishing cash hoarders. In practice, this radical policy damages credit creation, fuels…
Chancellor: Heed the threats to globalization
As the woes of emerging markets increase, 1930s-style protectionism and exchange controls are back on the agenda. A warning from the Bank for International Settlements of an “epoch-defining seismic…
Review: Another “Minsky moment” may be on the way
Hyman Minsky didn’t just predict the global financial crisis 10 years in advance, a new book on him argues. The maverick economist also explained how the cure – bailouts by the Federal Reserve and…
Chancellor: The illusion of debt-fuelled earnings
Low borrowing costs enabled acquisitive drugmaker Valeant to ratchet up EPS with leverage. Earlier episodes of financial engineering – like Japan’s zaitech and the 1960s conglomerate boom – came…
Review: Fed founders wouldn’t recognize their baby
In “America’s Bank,” Roger Lowenstein shows how the Federal Reserve was created to act as lender of last resort and little more. Since then, there’s been mission creep with many ill consequences. A…
The Devil’s Dictionary of Post-Crisis Finance
Ambrose Bierce wrote “The Devil’s Dictionary” a century ago, ranging acerbically across government, commerce and life. Breakingviews’ original re-use of the form for finance – in 2007, when the…
Chancellor: Bernanke’s courage hides bigger error
The Fed chairman did what was necessary to hold the financial system together after the 2008 Lehman bust. Yet his memoirs reveal that he still doesn’t understand the dangers posed by low interest…
The Devil’s Dictionary of Post-Crisis Finance
Ambrose Bierce wrote “The Devil’s Dictionary” a century ago, ranging acerbically across government, commerce and life. Breakingviews’ original re-use of the form for finance – in 2007, when the…
Review: Regulation won’t stop bad banker behaviour
Wall Street’s growing abuse of conflicts of interest is exposed in John Kay’s “Other People’s Money: The Real Business of Finance.” But the remedy is simple. To put an end to these shenanigans, and…
Review: Ben Bernanke and a global monetary plague
Ever since the collapse of Lehman Brothers, the Federal Reserve has engaged in financial experimentation that has delivered the weakest rebound on record while spreading deleterious effects around…
Edward Chancellor: The cost of China’s devaluation
Forget about currency wars and global deflation. The true impact of the yuan’s sudden decline will be felt by China’s dysfunctional credit system, where domestic borrowers and foreign lenders…
Review: The misbehaviour of behavioural economics
Richard Thaler’s “Misbehaving” is the story of a supposedly new approach to people’s economic decision-making. The great insight is that we’re often funny about money. Entertaining anecdotes have…
Review: The virtual bubble of bitcoin
The digital currency fits well in the inglorious history of finance. Nathaniel Popper tells the story in “Digital Gold”. Bitcoin’s hot idea, limited supply and uncertain value helped spawn a price…
Review: Some of what is wrong with economics
Meghnad Desai mocks his fellow economists for not seeing trouble ahead during the early 2000s credit bubble. The retired professor wisely calls for more study of history and a less narrow…
Diversified Asset Allocation Portfolios For Your Plans
Featured Brokerage Plans
| Vanguard ETF: | 10%* |  |
| Diversified Core: | 11%* | |
| Six Core Asset ETFs: | 10%* | |
*:5 Yr Annualized Return of TAA Moderate Portfolio
Bogleheads Latest Posts
- Re: U.K. gilts March 31, 2023baron_greenback wrote: ↑Thu Mar 30, 2023 3:38 pm Valuethinker wrote: ↑Thu Mar 30, 2023 9:46 am duca2102 wrote: ↑Thu Mar 30, 2023 6:56 am I have an ISA account with about £40k and would like to invest in UK short term gilts (which have about 4% annual yield). is there any way I can do […]duca2102
- Re: McQ’s Law of Cherry Picking March 31, 2023This is why I use tell-tale charts to make comparisons. Much easier to see both periods of outperformance and periods of underperformance. Cheersdcabler
- Re: Money Market Funds and the Fed March 31, 2023How did an original post about yields morph into a post about risk? This seems to happen a lot around here.UpperNwGuy
- Re: Vanguard run-around on Fixed Income questions March 31, 2023Beensabu wrote: ↑Thu Mar 30, 2023 9:09 pm grok87 wrote: ↑Thu Mar 30, 2023 3:46 pm it's a good thought but i don't think it works. this calc would help you get "inflation-adjusted par". I didn't realize that. Thank you! Is the "face amount" in the annual report also inflation-adjusted? Or is that the original […]grok87
- Re: Help with contractor issue March 31, 2023What exact work did the contractor do? You say he created 2 smaller bathrooms, but did he newly build the area that's warped/cupping in the shower area and floor? What was the total cost of the job? If the area that's experiencing the warping/cupping was newly built by the contractor, I would personally pursue the […]RobLyons