Indices is a plural of index, unfortunately for the English language, so is indexes.  I’ll use both so you can be familiar with both terms.  I like indexes though because it’s easier to say.
We’ve talked about index funds in the mutual fund courses.  Index funds seek to mirror the return on a specific index.  The [...]

Weakon 206 and 207 covered asset allocation and diversification.  The problem with what I did is the terms aren’t quite right.  The two terms have merged definitions, with people referring to diversification when they mean asset allocation and vice versa.  Confusion ensues.  But instead of adding to it I’m trying to offer clarification outside of [...]

Yesterday we learned about asset allocation, where you decide which asset classes are right for you.  Today, I’ll help you decide what investments are right for you inside a specific asset class.  Again the name of the game is managing risk, this time by diversifying within an asset class.
It wouldn’t do you much good to [...]

Welcome to class my friends, we have class today and tomorrow, with some extra credit coming after that.
Personal finance and investing advocates preach many terms.  Perhaps none are as important as asset allocation and diversification.  Today we’re going to talk about asset allocation and tomorrow I have a course on diversification.
For the sake of argument, [...]

Normally a highly advanced topic which would require some prerequisite courses, recent events and a reader request have pushed Short Selling to the front of the College of Weakonomics agenda.
Short selling is the exact opposite of buying stock.  You purchase stock because you expect the price to go up.  Let’s say I buy Wachovia stock [...]

Welcome to the first of many installments of Economic History.  The series will focus on history during a specific political period, as often times economic cycles coincide with politics.  We will start the series with Bill Clinton.
The Clinton years started before he took office in January of 1993.  There may never have been any Clinton [...]

 
 What is FDIC Insurance and how does it work?  Why do my tax dollars pay for FDIC Insurance?
FDIC stands for Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.  It was formed in 1933 by the Glass-Steagall Act.  Don’t confuse corporation though, you won’t find them on the New-York Stock Exchange.  They are a government entity, but remain independent.  Similar [...]

Previously, I talked about how the mortgage industry works.  Today I want to talk about how mortgages work.
We must start by making a few distinctions.  A mortgage is not a loan.  A mortgage is a legal instrument for the transfer in ownership of a piece of land or property.  The transfer is completed once the [...]