9
POPSWhere to Put Your Money From an article on the author of Unconventional Success: A Fundamental Approach to Personal Investment , a summary of professor and star investor David Swensen's advice for how individuals should be investing in markets driven by full-time professionals like him. While perhaps unconventional, Swensen would certainly seem to have the authority to advise on such matters. Yale University recently announced a 23 percent return on its investments, swelling its endowment to a whopping $18 billion. The man behind that investment success is David Swensen, one of the most gifted investors in the world. He's made an average 16 percent annual return over 21 years — better than any portfolio manager at any other university.
12
POPSA Brief History of Economic Time The underlying expectation -- that the present is supposed to be better than the past -- is a new phenomenon in history. No 18th-century politician would have asked "Are you better off than you were four years ago?" because it never would have occurred to anyone that they ought to be better off than they were four years ago. (Also see Living in the Age of Abundance .)
18
POPSLiving in the Age of Abundance Puts the marvel of modern American life in perspective. Review by George F. Will of Brink Lindsey's new book, The Age of Abundance: How Prosperity Transformed America’s Politics and Culture . Ever since mass affluence, a phenomenon without precedent in the human story, exploded upon postwar America, social and political theorists have wondered, and worried, about the moral and even the spiritual consequences of material conditions. Putting scarcity behind us has been pleasant, but has it been good for us — meaning good for our souls? (Also see How Rich are You? )
4
POPSEnron, intelligence, and the perils of too much information - Malcolm Gladwell Malcolm Gladwell on the qualitatively different natures of "mysteries" and "puzzles" from an information theoretic point of view. Among other things, Gladwell implies that entities like Enron and Al Qaeda were allowed to thrive not despite the public nature of their operation but because of it. If things go wrong with a puzzle, identifying the culprit is easy: it’s the person who withheld information. Mysteries, though, are a lot murkier: sometimes the information we’ve been given is inadequate, and sometimes we aren’t very smart about making sense of what we’ve been given, and sometimes the question itself cannot be answered. Puzzles come to satisfying conclusions. Mysteries often don’t.
2
POPSTotal Federal Spending Per Household, 1962-2006 This chart from the Heritage Foundation's 2006 Federal Revenue and Spending report shows the sudden increase in federal spending unleashed as soon as the Republicans took over Washington in 2002. It hasn't slowed yet. (Via the Daily Dish .)
1
POPSDilbert's "Unified Theory of Everything Financial" "Everything you need to know about personal investing," according to Scott Adams, from his book "Dilbert and the Way of the Weasels." What do you think? Everything else you may want to do with your money is a bad idea compared to what's on my one-page summary. You want an annuity? It's worse. You want a whole life insurance policy? It's worse. You want to invest in individual stocks? It's worse. You want a managed mutual fund instead of an index fund? It's worse. I could go on, but you get the point.
5
POPSThe 400 Richest Americans (2006) Google Guys, Sergey Brin and Larry Page, shot to #12 and #13 this year with no signs of slowing down. Watch out, Wal-Mart heirs: The Google Guys are zeroing in on a few of your spots in the Top 10 of The Forbes 400. Both Brin and Larry Page has seen his net worth soar 250% in 2 years; meteoric rise in wealth far outpaces early years of Bill Gates, Larry Ellison. Both have sold off more than $2 billion worth of shares in past 2 years. Full list .
6
POPSKill-the-penny bill introduced The move is in part a reaction to the rising cost of zinc - the penny's main ingredient - which at current prices brings the cost of making the coin to 1.4 cents each. Last time I clipped this, the cost of making a penny was only 1.23 cents . Pennies are spiraling out of control! :)
9
POPS US 'could be going bankrupt' It's like the elephant in the room that no politician wants to mention. Expecting a fix now is probably asking too much of short-sighted politicians who have no incentives to do so.
8
POPSBrain-Damaged Traders Prevail in High-Risk Investing Situations Dramatic studies show human emotions can get in the way of profit maximization. As the rounds progressed, the "normal" participants passed, becoming cautious and concerned about conserving their winnings. Those with lesions did not, and ended the game with an average of $25.70, almost $3 more than the "normal" group.
2
Clips
Latest Pops
Latest Comments
Most Pops
Tags
Print
Save
Turn on live update