This holiday season, a leaner budget might clarify which people truly make a difference in your life. The challenge will be figuring out how much to tip them.Determining what to give during the holid

In the job market, age may bring experience, but it also brings higher salary requirements and the possibility the candidate is out of touch with the latest technological trends.As unemployment climb

This week’s review comes to you in a shortened format as I don’t have access to my normal research resources while on the road in Europe. Although very little commentary is provided, a fu

“Inspiration, move me brightly. Light the song with sense and color; hold away despair.”- Grateful DeadThere are moments in life you never forget; sometimes they arrive rather unexpectedl

Remember the good old days when bands made money from album sales? As a reasonably successful bassist who goes by the name Paul McCartney once said, “John and I literally used to sit down and s

The 2009 Financial Reality Show has been nothing short of surreal.We sidestepped cataclysmic dysfunction in the first quarter.A furious chase followed, taking the S&P back towards the flat-line a

You buy your sister a $100 general-purpose gift card. It's for her birthday, but it might be the bank that has reason to celebrate.Despite your good intentions, such gift cards often come with a tang

Everything we know about classic economic theory suggests the US economy should be experiencing Zimbabwe-like hyperinflation right now, thanks to the nearly $2.2 trillion the US Federal Reserve has p

I've been absolutely astonished by the number of comments I've seen in the past few days to the effect that right now is an excellent time to initiate new long positions on VIX options.I'm still not

When the NBA rolled into Atlanta in 2003 with its All-Star Week events, so did “The World’s Famous Players Ball,” an annual gathering of some of the country’s most notorious p