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Bailout Breakdown
Markets were in a free fall after the House rejected the controversial $700 billion bailout plan. Though both President Bush and Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson strongly backed the plan as crucial to preventing even more widespread economic problems, the vote was 228-205 against the comprehensive package.
So what made the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 so controversial? Here are the basics of the arguments on each side.
Pros
- Prevent Recession: Clearly, the financial industry is in big trouble. Bush and congressional leaders have warned that, if the government doesn’t step in to shore up these financial institutions, the economy could slide into a serious recession. Read More »
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Understanding the Madness
And Fairy Tales
FiLife Take: The huge downturn in the market last Monday wasn’t the end of the world. The upturn at the end of the week didn’t magically cure anything either. Jason Zweig tells readers to sit on their hands and just try to make sense of the market madness.
What’s Next for the Market
What Happened, What’s Next
FiLife Take: Shaken from the financial turmoil of last week, people are left wondering how it all happened. Gregory Zuckerman and Karen Damato answer questions about how we got to this point, where we will go and much more.
A Market Fix
The Fix Is In for Stocks
FiLife Take: Randall Forsyth is so good at explaining what’s happening in the markets in language you can understand. Want to feel smart? Read his piece about how our financial system is being remade. You may disagree with his conclusion - but it’s still worth a look.
AIG: Too Big to Fail
It’s Good to be Too Big to Fail
FiLife Take: After letting Lehman Brothers file for bankruptcy, the federal government stepped in to save AIG Tuesday. But this bailout isn’t the end of the credit crisis.
Technology Plans of the Candidates
The Candidates and Tech
FiLife Take: Get smart about the presidential candidates and how they might influence the markets. Here’s a breakdown of how each candidate could affect the technology and telecommunications industries if he wins.
Warren Buffet Dishes (and pitches)
What Does Warren Buffett Think About Today’s Market?
FiLife Take: Brett Arends nabbed an exclusive interview with “super-billionaire” Warren Buffett at Boston’s Fenway Park. Read on for Buffett’s thoughts on the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac bailout, as well as his opinion on the upcoming election.
How to Evaluate the Mutual Funds in your 401k
Five Ways to Pick Mutual-Fund Winners
FiLife Take: Sometimes it’s hard to tell whether your mutual funds are doing poorly or whether it’s just the markets that are struggling. Jonathan Burton uses pretty basic language to explain the five things you should consider when evaluating mutual funds in your 401k: fund fees, risk-adjusted returns, relative performance, portfolio yield and the manager’s performance history.
One more thing to keep in mind: be sure to compare apples to apples when evaluating your mutual funds. For example, you want to compare your large cap US stock fund to other large cap US stock funds, your international fund to other international funds, and so on.
It’s Back-to-School Loan Time
Shopping for Back-to-School Loans
FiLife Take: These days it’s nice to hear about people who get the loans they need. In this article, Theresa Carey tells us about a mother who is successfully paying for her college education and her daughter’s college education at the same time.
Are you still looking for ways to pay for the upcoming school year? Carey also suggests websites that can help you find funding. See them here.
Struggling Student-Lenders Blame UBS
UBS Accused of Auction-Rate Fraud
FiLife Take: Student loans are drying up. Who’s to blame? New Hampshire regulators say that UBS is partly responsible. They say UBS advised student-lenders to enter the crumbling auction-rate-securities market so that the bank could reduce its own position in the market. Student loan officials in Vermont and Illinois are making similar accusations. Read the article by Jennifer Levitz here.