The Gadfly (monthly column)
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What the heck, it's only debt
Coming Wednesday, 12-17-03 at CBS MarketWatch:
One of the great things about Christmas in Washington is you don't have to worry about your budget.
The free market versus tort reform
12-17-03
Why are politicians who call themselves "conservatives" pushing for laws to limit legal damages?
The
heart of healthcare financing
9-30-03
The Gadfly's been on medical leave for the summer, and learning first hand why so many people are so confused about the economics of health care in America.
Psychologist has our number
5-31-03
The Gadfly has a new investing hero. As far as I can tell, he's never recommended a single investment and never told anyone how to get rich. But he can explain why both individuals and professionals make so many bad investment decisions. He's the Psychology 101 professor who won the Nobel Prize for Economics.
Restoring CONfidence in Wall Street
5-1-03
The big investment firms -- and the self-regulatory organizations that are supposed to keep them honest - think this week's $1.4 billion settlement with regulators will restore investor confidence in Wall Street. Let's hope not.
Full listing of Gadfly columns at MarketWatch here (free registration required)
Beware market forecasts
4-29-02 at CBS MarketWatch
A look back at the 1991 year-end issue of Money magazine shows how wrong the market "experts" can be. So who should you trust?
Let ideas, not money, have a political voice
3/1/02 - CBS MarketWatch
Forget a law on campaign finance reform -- the politicians on both sides have too much to lose, and they'll find a way to cheat anyway.
But maybe there's a free market solution. Perhaps we can convince the corporations, unions and other interest groups so eager to buy influence that political contributions are a poor investment.
BP has apparently decided just that, and halted political contributions. It seems like a good idea.
Time for a shareholder revolt
1/31/02 - CBS MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS.MW) -- While we'd hate for the regulators and politicians to think they're off the hook, it's time for shareholders to take matters into their own hands.
Without waiting for Washington, we need to insist that companies in which we invest tell us honestly and clearly how they do business and how much money they make. And we need to insist that the companies where we work run 401(k) plans that adhere to sensible investment principles.
After The Boom: A project of KTVU-TV with the San Francisco Chronicle:
Dec. 23, 2001: The real face of layoffs
There are officially 176,000 unemployed workers in the Bay Area. More layoffs are announced every week. It's easy to think of unemployment as a statistic, until you meet some of the 176,000 real people who make up the total.
We introduce you to the Mexican-American hotel worker and her husband, trying to support five children and a grandchild on less than $1,000 a month. And then there is the Web developer, out of work for more than a year. She's doesn't fit the stereotype of the rich, young, dot-commers some people loved to hate during the boom. She is 53 years old and sharing a one-bedroom apartment with her elderly mother.
And it's not just the unemployed that feel the economic effects of layoffs. Because the unemployed don't go out to dinner or movies, there's what economists call a multiplier effect on the rest of us. We'll hear from an expert who says for each unemployed person, the income of 1.5 to 2 other people falls.
More Gadfly (my regular column for CBS MarketWatch)
12-20-01 - Lessons for investors from 2001
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS.MW) -- This is the time of year when we look for wise men (and women), bearing investment tips. Magazine covers promise to tell us "Where to invest in 2002!" and investment bank strategists proclaim the proper asset allocation and soon-to-be-hot sectors.
It's hard to believe we're still buying this stuff. Don't we realize that these fortune-tellers have no bright star to guide them?
So, because I lack the wisdom and the self-confidence (and the crystal ball) to present my picks for 2002, the Gadfly instead takes an annual look back at some of the lessons investors can learn from the past year. Astute readers may note some amazing similarities with the lessons we should have learned from 2000.
Investing In Russia: A CBS MarketWatch special report (11-30-01)
MOSCOW (CBS.MW) -- After three years on the "do not touch" list of most money managers, Russia is suddenly one of the world's hottest markets.
Foreign investors have taken an active interest in the past month, and Russia has been one of the world's hottest emerging markets for mutual funds this year.
Is Russia finally ready to take its new role in the world economy?
Or are Western investors setting themselves up for another disappointment?
Also: Commentary on Russia
It's still one of the world's riskiest investment markets. Not many understand it - and that could be hazardous to your investment.
See "The Gadfly" by Michael Collins