New social media, like many relatively recent offspring of the internet, are in some ways an invention in search of a need. One thing that social media can be useful for is as a means to support and encourage your favorite charities. Read the full article ... Read the full post ... Read more

Although I’m not a true “foodie,” I do enjoy a good meal. I enjoy saving money, too. Restaurant Week enables me to do both simultaneously. Now in its ninth year in Boston, Restaurant Week offers an opportunity for locals to sample the offerings of pricey restaurants at a discount ... Read more

Several weeks ago I found time to read Nassim Nicholas Taleb’s Fooled By Randomness . This book, entertaining and eminently readable, is something between a memoir and a treatise on the pervasive human tendency to discern patterns in places where they don't actually exist. Among many examp ... Read more

Last May I attended a talk by Yale economist Robert Shiller in which he indicated that his company, MacroMarkets, was seeking SEC approval for a derivative product tied to home prices . Finally, this week the new “housing ETFs” are available. What are they about, and who should buy t ... Read more

I noted last week that the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has warned brokers that inverse and leveraged ETFs are inappropriate for many retail investors. Having discussed the workings and problems of inverse ETFs, I’d like to continue by taking a look at leveraged exchange-t ... Read more

The Financial Times reported yesterday on a United Kingdom Financial Services Authority ruling that will eliminate commissions paid by fund managers and life insurance companies to financial advisors. Read the full article ... Read the full post ... Read more

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) recently notified brokers who sell complex Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) that “inverse and leveraged ETFs typically are not suitable for retail investors who plan to hold them for more than one trading session.” The warning is long ov ... Read more

Scott McCartney, who writes a travel column for the Wall Street Journal, noted yesterday that there are signs that airlines appear to be replacing their summer sales with fare increases. His travel blog, The Middle Seat, discusses some of the indications that fares are on their way up and includ ... Read more

Although early summer in the Boston area has been unseasonably cool, it probably won’t stay that way. Coupled with some of the highest electrical rates in the nation, warm weather provides plenty of motivation for energy conservation. Here are some suggestions for cutting your electric bill ... Read more

Yesterday I noted that the Treasury Department has posted the Obama administration's proposals for financial regulatory reform. In the midst of all the information that's there, I missed an important detail. The administration's white paper, Financial Regulatory Reform: A New Foundation , calls ... Read more