Join the conversation on a variety of economic and finance discussions.
DiscussEconomics is celebrating our 1000th comment! We wanted to spend special attention to this occasion because part of 'DiscussEconomics' is the 'discussion' and that includes you the reader! Thanks for being a participant and cheers towards another 1000!
Our 1000th post located in this post on printing money.
Did you know you can check your credit score for free? You can get instant copies online by paying a fee. However, a government mandate on privacy means you can check your credit score for free, you just have to jump through some hoops and send in some documents. It's not easy to find all the necessary information so we've compiled the forms, instructions, and lists here at DiscussEconomics for your review.
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*Updated June 9th, 2011*
Here is a list of resources online that are in the midst of the discussion regarding the role of speculators in driving the price of oil sky high. Let us know if we've forgotten some important / useful articles. We'll be continually updating this post with new articles so check back frequently.
Here are core definitions when discussing the topic of inflation (courtesy of the Bank of Canada)
CPI inflation
A measure of price movements, produced by Statistics Canada and obtained by comparing the retail prices of a representative "shopping basket" of goods and services at two different points in time. Learn more
Core inflation
Year-over-year growth in a variant of the CPI that excludes the eight most volatile components —which account for 19 per cent of the CPI basket—(fruit, vegetables, gasoline, fuel oil, natural gas, mortgage interest, intercity transportation, and tobacco products) as well as the effect of changes in indirect taxes on the remaining components.
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Here is a list of five major categories of capital markets and some corresponding investment instruments. Capital markets include the likes of the stock and bond markets and consists of companies or the government raising money for themselves.
(List of Typical Securities Traded)
1) Bond Market (ideally holdings for 3 yrs and up)
Mortgage bond: secured
Debentures: unsecured
Convertible bonds/debentures
Retractable Bonds: end bond early
Extendable Bonds
Real Return
Stripped Zero Coupon Bonds: just face value of bonds, low discount
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The reason domestic currencies drop may baffle some newbie FOREX investors since many movements are rooted in what are called 'expectations'. You see, currency movements move up or down (depreciate or appreciate) based on expectations and/or real announcements. Here is an article to help you track currency movements because predicting currency movements is a skill that can be learned to some degree.
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There are two types of monetary standards, one far more prevalent in developed economies than other. Monetary standards refer to the 'system' or 'framework' that controls or facilitates the movement of money.
The two monetary standards are:
1. Commodity Standard.
2. Inconvertible 'managed' paper standard.
This standard exists where the value of monetary units equal the value of specific amounts of commodity (for example gold).
Are you in the habit of buying things that look nice and might give you some sense of joy? Do you find yourself struggling to meet larger financial goals? Maybe you struggle with the age old dilemma of needs vs. wants. Here are a couple of stories on how to approach financial decision making.
The first story involves a couple in their early 30s has a mortgage balance below the average for their stage of life due to prepayments. They have no other debt other than the mortgage (YES mortgage is a debt), They have worked hard to pay off debts as they wisely used a financial gift, and at present have only one vehicle. The lower mortgage balance, wise use of a little extra money, and only one vehicle by choice makes them unusual in their peer group. Continue reading this article »
This post continues a discussion about cash flow, net present value, interest rates and NPV, and IRR, which you can read by clicking on the specific links. This post deals with the topic of project evaluation.
The main methods used for project evaluation are the NPV method and the IRR method. According to them, an investment project is viable if the NPV is positive or if the IRR is higher than the cost of capital. In most cases these two methods will yield the same conclusion regarding the profitability of a project, and when not, the NPV method is more accurate.
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When California sneezes the rest of the country, and sometimes the world, feels it. A State with over 30+ million people rivals in population to some G8 countries like Canada. (Actually California has about 3 million more people.)
When the Californian economy is in trouble the rest of the nation takes notice. It's not a far cry to suggest that the state of America's economic recovery will hinge on the ability for California to pull themselves out of their current crisis.
This brief macroeconomic outlook of California was compiled by a San Diego Bankruptcy Attorney, Cecilia Chen using data from RAND California.
