by Jim Parker, Vice President Dimensional Fund Advisors The current renewed volatility in financial markets is reviving unwelcome feelings among many investors—feelings of anxiety, fear, and a sense of powerlessness. These are completely natural responses. Acting on those emotions, though, can end up doing us more harm than good. At base, the increase in market [...]

Does anyone think that changing tax law doesn’t change business behavior? Some politicians seem to think their actions won’t change behavior so they can do a simple calculation to get more tax revenue. For example, California thinks that it can simply force on-line retailers to begin collecting sales taxes for on-line transactions and they will [...]

By LAURA SAUNDERS of the Wall Street Journal In a rare show of leniency, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) on Thursday announced new rules designed to make it easier for people struggling with tax debts to climb out of the hole. Among the changes, the IRS said it would place fewer claims on taxpayers’ property [...]

Brian Harris, Senior Editor, Dimensional Fund Advisors Since the financial crisis hit in late 2008, the US monetary base has more than doubled, from about $800 billion in mid-2008 to about $2 trillion in November 2010.1 When the Federal Reserve announced a second round of quantitative easing (QE2), it raised investor concerns that such actions [...]

By Janet Hook and John McKinnon – Wall Street Journal WASHINGTON—Congress passed the most far-reaching tax bill in a decade late Thursday, averting across-the-board tax increases, enacting new breaks for individuals and businesses and laying a marker for how Washington might work in an era of divided government. The bill goes to the White House [...]

by Bob Veres Dealing With US Debt If you want to watch something alarming, look at the U.S. Debt Clock (http://www.usdebtclock.org/), which calculates, second-by-second, America’s rising debt (approaching $14 trillion), federal spending (nearly $3.5 trillion a year) and budget deficit (roughly $1.3 trillion).  Second-by-second the numbers increase, and you can also watch (more slowly) the [...]

The Monopoly board game originated during the Great Depression. At first its inventor, Charles Darrow, could not interest manufacturers. Parker Brothers turned the game down, citing “52 design errors.” But Darrow produced his own copies of the game, and Parker Brothers finally bought Monopoly. By 1935, the New York Times was reporting that “leading all other board games … is the season’s craze, ‘Monopoly,’ the game of real estate.”
Most of us are familiar with the object of Monopoly: the accumulation of property on which one places houses and hotels, and from which one receives revenue. Many of us have a favorite token. Perennially popular is the top hat, which symbolizes the sort of wealth to which Americans who work hard can aspire. The top hat is a token that has remained in the game, even while others have changed over the decades.
One’s willingness to play Monopoly depends on a few conditions—for instance, a predictable number of “Pay Income Tax” cards.

What the new credit card law means for you by Connie Prater – FoxBusiness.com Credit card users can expect the most dramatic changes in credit terms, interest rates and fees in decades now that most major provisions of a new federal credit card law have gone into effect. The new normal for credit cards is [...]

By MARK WHITEHOUSE – WALL STREET JOURNAL America’s baby boomers—those born between 1946 and 1964—face a problem that could weigh on the economy for years to come: The longer it takes for the economy to recover, the less money they’ll have to spend in retirement. Policy makers have long worried that Americans aren’t saving enough [...]

The Financial Impact on You of Renewable Energy Some may wonder why we would be posting a story about renewable energy on a site that is dedicated to Investor Education for Main Street America. It is precisely because there is a huge financial impact on Main Street America if we continue down the current path [...]