Thrillerfest Best First Sentence Winner
In recent years Thrillerfest, which is kind of like spring break for thriller enthusiasts even though it takes place during July, has sponsored a Best First Sentence Contest. The contest is exactly what it sounds like: Write your best opening line to a novel. Seven...
He Versus She
Dr. Seuss invented the term “nerd.” Geoffrey Chaucer coined “twitter.’” Vladimir Nabokov gave us “nymphet,” which is probably what you would expect from the author of Lolita. I have no idea who said “selfie” the first time, but clearly the English language has a long...
How “Robos” Can Know Their Clients
This column is about robo advisers. But let’s start with an ugly truth about the advisers, humans included, who are held by law to the fiduciary standard. They don’t always behave like fiduciaries—that is, always putting the client’s interest first—no matter what the...
Ron Insana
If you can't trust someone with a few dollars, don't give them more! (Also, check the fees!) About Ron Insana Ron Insana is a contributor to CNBC and MSNBC, where he discusses the most pressing economic and market issues of the day. He also delivers The Market...
Andy Posner
When your incentives, be they emotional, financial, or otherwise, are aligned.
Paul Sullivan
I’m skeptical of everyone I meet and only grow comfortable with a person when I feel that I know what he or she is after in life. Once I know their objective, even if it is far from noble, I can trust them to be who they are. Pessimistic, perhaps. But it’s my version of trust but verify.
Tales From the Dark Side of Prospecting
Whatever happened to all the cowboy stockbrokers who relied on chutzpah and grit to lasso clients? Their stories made us laugh even as we cringed at the shameless antics. Like Prospector Cat: Years ago, a broker drove to posh neighborhoods and released his cat to...
Bicycle Love
Norb Vonnegut
The New York Times describes my novels as “money porn,” “a red-hot franchise,” and “glittery thrillers about fiscal malfeasance.” Through fiction I explore the dark side of money and the motivations of those who have it, want more, and will steamroll anybody who gets in their way.