From Wall Street to the Great Wall summits are suddenly in fashion. After the S&P 500 climbed to close above 1100 for the first time in over a year and the Dow scaled a fresh 13-month peak, the P

All day and every day, some of the stock market's best and brightest traders and money managers share their ideas, insights and analysis in real-time on Minyanville's Buzz & Ban

Traditional wisdom tells us never to lend money to friends. But traditional wisdom has it slightly wrong. Lending money and property to friends is okay, as long as you feel comfortable with the arran

Old school Minyans might recognize the title of this column. It was used in January 2005 after a spiritual awakening in Arizona. When I walked into the desert that day, I operated from a place of fin

Editor's Note: This article was written by James Quinn, a senior director of strategic planning for a major university. James has held high-level financial positions wit

After six months and five days, my home mortgage refinancing closed this week. Please allow me a moment  to savor the achievement of my latest personal goal! I locked in on a rate of 4.75% for 3

Knight Jumps Queen, Bishop Jumps Queen…! As the bulls Count De Monet and the bears grab a bucket, the question on everyone’s mind is hump or death, hump or death, hump or death?The answe

It seemed like a good idea at the time. Extract some equity to finance needed home repairs and knock $300 off my monthly mortgage payment at the same time. But it’s now five months and counting

Editor's Note: This is part 1 of a multi-part series. See part 2 here.A few weeks ago I first used the term “statistical recovery” to describe the nature of today’s economic environ

1) Housing Staggers Toward a Bottom..."The people who demand pity of you hate you afterward for giving it."- William Gaddis, "The Recognitions"There are some weird ideas on the st