How Does a City Go Bankrupt?

If you haven’t heard, the California city of Vallejo filed for bankruptcy protection this week after they were unable to come up with over $17 million to balance the budget. The story prompted me to ask, “How does a city go bankrupt?”
The short answer is: just like the rest of us.
Sometimes there are extenuating circumstances […]

Is a Countrywide Bankruptcy Imminent? Investors Think So!

Countrywide Financial (CFC), one of America’s largest home-loan lenders, tried as hard as they could today to deny the rumor that the company is filing for bankruptcy. However, as today’s stock performance shows… nobody seemed to be listening.

But today’s press announcements and market reactions brings up a few interesting observations about investing:
1. Sometimes market […]

Is a Flat Tax Fair For Americans?

As I become more actively involved in watching the presidential debates and following various candidates, one of the topics that is at the top of my list of concerns is the economy. Specifically I worry about the rising cost of health care, the state of social security, and of course… taxes. Most candidates […]

America’s Budget Crisis

A friend of mine recently recommended listening to the Commonwealth Club of California’s podcast. The Commonwealth Club is the nation’s oldest and largest public affairs forum, bringing together its more than 18,000 members for over 400 annual events on topics ranging across politics, culture, society and the economy.
The most recent podcast was entitled America’s […]

What Does $456 Billion Buy?

While there is some disagreement on the idea of troop deadlines for US soldiers in Iraq (and I’m not going to make any sort of political statement), all sides seem to be on board with the amount included in the bill to fund the war.
The total cost of the Iraq war will reach approximately $456 […]