Where is My Father’s Money?

As some of you know, I’ve been working on a book for the last few years. Here is a sneak peak.

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Breaking Investment Theory

The global financial saga continues. Once Greece is cooked, Italy will follow, then maybe Spain and Portugal. Europe’s problems, much like America’s, are partly financial. There is legitimate concern that the banking system itself is overextended. There’s additional worry that these countries have too much debt, which is why the bond markets are punishing them. During times like this, you’ll notice the stock market (or your mutual fund) is losing money. However, your financial advisor is trained to tell you one thing: stay the course. They will continue to say it no matter how bad it gets.

Voting Out of Spite

When it happened, it probably caught you off-guard too. The Conservative and Liberal ads that were played this past week were oddly out of place. The change was that both parties are spending their final campaign dollars to attack the NDP. While I’m not an expert on running a campaign, I’m pretty sure that by attacking the NDP, or more importantly, acknowledging that the NDP even exists, was a mistake for both parties.

Strictly Monetary V: Run on the bank

This story was originally reported by Milton Friedman. While he was renowned for his theoretical accomplishments in economics, I admired him most for his ability to reach the general public through stories. A bank run, inspired by people demanding their money all at once, demonstrates the original purpose of the Federal Reserve and also serves to provide insights into the anatomy of crisis. While most bank run stories end poorly, this is my favourite example of how to successfully avert crisis.

Strictly Monetary Part I: A Primer

The global system of money is going through some drastic changes. It is one of the more complicated economic topics, but it is worth a deeper look as the dynamics of this change will have a tremendous effect on our lives. This is the first piece on the topic of money, covering how the monetary system works. Each piece will build on the knowledge from the previous one.

Globalization: If he really loves her, he’ll be back

If Globalization is like dating, Canada has some gorgeous features that make some countries jealous, and other countries eager. This allows her to get away with a lot. If he shows his desire openly, she makes him prove it. When he gets fed up, she’ll wait until they’ve both had time to cool off and then send a coy text message: how r u feelin?

Small Town Syndrome

People that live within two kilometers of a wind farm complain of mysterious symptoms. Known as Wind Turbine Syndrome in medical circles, it is described as “infrasound and low frequency noise.” This isn’t like getting used to the hum of a refrigerator; it’s a persistent vibration that hums inside you. Victims complain of frequent migraine headaches and sleep disruption.

However, there is nothing conclusive about the medical evidence that would stop Ontario’s investment in Wind Farms. This is the biggest problem in protecting ourselves from unintended consequences – inconclusive medical evidence. At this stage of being a developed nation, we’re smart enough to recognize that there’s a problem, but we don’t know how to account for it in our decision-making.

Investment Advice

I just found THE best investment advice article. It’s not written in a prophetic way, it’s just stating some observations, but personally I find facts more useful than predictions when it comes to investments. The author, Jason Zweig, touches broadly on the economy as a whole, market history, and for me, no investment advice column would be complete without some psychological bias that investors commonly fall victim to.

Death Bonds

One evening at the dinner table, my father told me that he would probably die before my mother. He was much older than her, and he explained how he no longer needed to pay premiums on his life insurance now that all of us kids had grown up and made lives of our own. He and my mother would be comfortable for the rest of their retirement without this policy. He said that the insurance companies would refund some of his money, but it’s a rip-off. If you’ve paid ten grand in premiums, they’ll give you back two.

Accounting Shame

The Financial Accounting Standard’s Board in the US decided that it would relax the rules on Mark-to-Market accounting. I touched on this concept only briefly in a previous piece (Toxic Plan), but given what has transpired since, it is worth a more in-depth look.