Euro: If It’s Broke, Don’t Fix It?

Hedge Funds Try ‘Career Trade’ Against Euro Here’s the deal. Hedge funds are betting the Euro will crash against major currencies. The “short-Euro” trade, however lucrative to the gods of Greenwich, raises three scary questions with one...

Computer Disaster Story

Not for the Squeamish That’s right. Today, it’s Worst Case Wednesday. And here’s a true story. Several years ago, I was working late on a monstrous spreadsheet with 50,000 cells of data. Don’t ask. As I reached for my coffee, I inadvertently...

Fraud—Spoils of Democrats and Republicans

Groups Sued Over Funds From Stanford According to The Wall Street Journal, the receiver for R. Allen Stanford’s Ponzi scheme is suing Democratic and Republican political groups for return of funds. The proverbial clawbacks: A spokesman for the Democratic...

Bailout Strategy—Rip Off the Little Guy?

Who needs TARP to bail out financial institutions? Your local supermarket carries a retail version at the checkout counter. We know the program as “gift cards.” Last week while I was grocery shopping, the gift-card display piqued my curiosity. So I took a...

Wall Street Tips from Mark Twain

October: This is one of the particularly dangerous months to invest in stocks. Other dangerous months are July, January, September, April, November, May, March, June, December, August and February. —Mark Twain

Stockbrokers—Three Steps To Build Trust*

Hint: Lose The Jargon About Fiduciaries Congress and the usual suspects, according to The New York Times, are debating legislation that requires stockbrokers to act in their customers’ best interests. Excuse me? These laws don’t exist? At issue are legal standards:...