BLOOMBERG VIEW COLUMNS (UPDATED 9.17.15)

LET GREECE GO

The status quo is torture for all concerned with no end in sight. Read more

RITHOLTZ’S READS: BULL MARKETS ARE ALIVE

Markets were in rally mode yesterday, recovering almost all of the downside from Friday’s bloodletting. Futures look like they might make that happen today. Oh, and morning train reads. Read more

SUPPLY-SIDE DOOM IN KANSAS

Cutting taxes is often sold as a way to stimulate the economy at little or no cost to government revenue. It doesn’t work. Read more

RITHOLTZ’S READS: IT’S NOT 1999

It’s a “mixed” batch of news this morning, but we never let that stop us from curating the best damned morning train reads in the business. Read more

MASTERS IN BUSINESS: CHARLEY ELLIS

Barry Ritholtz interviews Charley Ellis, former chairman of the Yale Investments Office and CFA Institute and founder of Greenwich Associates. Read more

LOW RATES? GET USED TO IT

Those who predicted a rise in interest rates in the past were wrong, and there’s no reason to think rates will rise soon. Read more

APPLE IS A LAGGING DOW INDICATOR

The addition of Apple to the Dow Jones Industrial Average shows the keepers of the index are late again to keeping track of the market. Read more

FED GIVES COVER TO BUMBLING CONGRESS

By helping to prevent a depression after the financial crisis, the Federal Reserve gave the Republican-controlled Congress cover to shirk its duties. Read more

WAL-MART’S MINIMUM WAGE BREAKDOWN

Wal-Mart plans to raise the wages of hourly workers because it didn’t have much choice as minimum-wage rates rise and the labor market tightens. Read more

BREAKING WITH BOGLE

John Bogle’s investing philosophy needs some updating to reflect new findings. Read more

THE JOY OF GROWTH

What the pickup in the economy means for stocks, bonds and the Federal Reserve. Read more

BE SMART ABOUT CHARITY

Giving to charity is personally fulfilling and it helps those in need, but some charities are better than others in channeling donations to where they are most needed. Read more

MASTERS IN BUSINESS: LAKSHMAN ACHUTHAN

In the latest “Masters in Business” podcast, Barry Ritholtz speaks with Lakshman Achuthan, co-founder and chief operations officer of Economic Cycle Research Institute. Read more

THE GOLD FAIRY TALE FAILS AGAIN

The stories devised to explain why gold will rise, even though it has fallen for four years, are exercises in valuing narrative over analysis. Read more

BLACK FRIDAY’S GUESSWORK GLOOM

There’s lots of gloom about the latest Thanksgiving holiday weekend retail sales, though the truth is that the surveys don’t give an accurate picture of how retailers performed. Read more

RITHOLTZ’S READS: A DROP OF OIL

I’m back from the holiday and five pounds heavier. Our morning train reads, however, are the same lean format you’ve come to know and love. Read more

RETAILING’S BLACK FRIDAY HOAX

Forecasts for large increases in holiday retail sales, designed to get consumers into stores, are highly inaccurate and should be ignored. Read more

MARKETS, LIES AND GARBAGE

Too much of what passes for debate about financial markets is massaged and manipulated to support biases. Read more

TRADE AGAINST A SELF-HELP GENIUS

Self-help guru Tony Robbins may help people realize their personal potential, but his financial advice won’t do anyone much good. Read more

RITHOLTZ’S READS: BUFFETT’S CASH TRAIN

The markets are in record territory, there are very few signs of inflation and this remains an unloved equity rally. Commodities, bonds and factors, all make it into our morning train reads. Read more

MASTERS IN BUSINESS: MARK CUBAN

Barry Ritholtz talks with Mark Cuban, owner of Dallas Mavericks, co-founder of Broadcast.com and a regular on ABC’s ‘Shark Tank,’ in this week’s ‘Masters in Business’ podcast. Read more

MONEY BUYS HAPPINESS UNTIL IT DOESN’T

It looks as if you can buy happiness, after all.At least, in limited amounts, and up to a point.That seems to be the conclusion based on a recent survey by … Read more

CROSSING OFF THE RED CROSS

New revelations about how the Red Cross mismanaged the Hurricane Sandy relief effort should be troubling to anyone who donates to the charity. Read more

STOP FEARING THE WRONG THINGS

We irrationally fear small risks while ignoring those that are much more likely to do harm to our health and investments. Read more

ZOMBIE IDEAS THAT KEEP ON LOSING

Bad ideas take on a life of their own because of think tanks financed by the rich designed to perpetuate them — even though they have been proven wrong or invalid. Read more

JUST TRY TO REFINANCE. I DARE YOU

The difficulty homebuyers and owners have had in getting mortgages or refinancing existing loans offers insight into why economic growth has been so disappointing. Read more

WHAT I SUSPECT AND FEAR FOR THE STOCK MARKETS

The stock market has had a significant retreat this month, but whether it’s a modest pullback or the start of a true bear market is anyone’s guess (the author fears and suspects the later). Read more

YOUR FIVE-YEAR FORECAST IS A JOKE

Forecasts about where the stock market will be in 2019 are likely to be about as accurate as forecasts made in 2009 were about today’s stock market. Read more

MASTERS IN BUSINESS: JACK SCHWAGER

Barry Ritholtz interviews Jack Schwager, the author of ‘Market Wizards: Interviews With Top Traders,’ in this week’s ‘Masters in Business’ podcast. Read more

HOW LOW CAN GOLD GO?

Gold has declined to its lowest price in more than four year, yet that doesn’t seem to have sunk in with many of its devotees. Read more

BIGGEST LOSSES START WITH BRILLIANCE

When the Fed bailed out the hedge fund Long Term Capital Management in 1998, it set the precedent for the Wall Street bailout almost 10 years later.   Read more

MASTERS IN BUSINESS: JEFF SAUT

Barry Ritholtz chats investment strategy with Jeff Saut, chief strategist at Raymond James, in this week’s Masters in Business podcast.  Read more

WHY HEDGE WITH A HEDGE FUND?

The big takeaway from the decision by California’s public employees pension fund to end its investments in hedge funds is that there is no reason for long-term investors to bother with hedge funds. Read more

THE BIGGEST LIE OF THE NEW CENTURY

The list of wrongdoing by banks is too long for senior executives to credibly claim that they were unaware of what was going on within their companies. Read more

THE REASONS BANKERS WEREN’T BUSTED

There is ample evidence of wrongdoing in the run-up to and during the financial crisis, though no senior bankers have been charged with committing a crime. Read more

FORECASTING FOLLIES

Today’s economic news proved, once again, the foolishness of thinking that anyone can make forecasts about the future with any degree of reliability. Read more

THE HYPOCRITICAL ATTACKS ON WARREN BUFFETT

There are valid criticisms of billionaire Warren Buffett, but the claim that he advocates for changes in tax law while trying to maximize gains for his shareholders is baseless.  Read more

MASTERS IN BUSINESS: SHEILA BAIR

Barry Ritholtz interviews Sheila Bair, the former chairman of the U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, in this week’s ‘Masters in Business’ podcast. Read more

GLOOM AS AN INVESTOR’S BEST FRIEND

There are invaluable lessons to be learned in events from the past, including the notion that moments of great pessimism can offer ideal opportunities for investors. Read more

YOUR CREDIT SCORE MAY NEVER BE THE SAME

The Consumer Finance Protection Bureau has pressed Fair Isaac Corp., the company that developed the modern credit-scoring system, to revise the information that goes into its calculations   Read more

DOING THE RIGHT THING

Doing the right thing in investing may seem harder in some ways, but the payoff is often more rewarding. Read more

THE MURDOCH MARKET INDICATOR

Can the actions of any one person, in this case Rupert Murdoch of Twenty-First Century Fox, ever signal anything meaningful about financial markets? Read more

ARE YOU READY TO BE A MUPPET?

Why would a small investor be interested in any of the vehicles that offer ‘hedge-fund-like’ investments? These tend to underperform real hedge funds, which tend to underperform the broader market. Read more

THE THREAT OF RISING RATES

One of the oldest rules on Wall Street is, don’t fight the Fed. When the Federal Reserve is cutting rates, you want to be long equities, and when it … Read more

GETTING OVER HEDGE FUNDS

Big public pensions funds might be losing their unaccountable fascination with hedge funds after many of them underperformed while charging high fees. Read more

THE INFLATION TRUTHER CRANK INDEX

Quirks in the model for measuring inflation lead critics of President Barack Obama to mistakenly think inflation is much higher than it really is. Read more

THE U.S. CORPORATE TAX DODGE

There are ways to lower the incentives for U.S.companies to shift the location of their incorporation overseas to avoid paying U.S. taxes. Read more

IS THIS THE WORST CONGRESS EVER?

We have a Congress that seems incapable of carrying out its most basic duties and you, the American citizen, are to blame by failing to vote. Read more

HOW TO PROFIT IN THE SECOND HALF

The first half of 2014 turned out very different from what the experts forecast at the start of the year. What will the second half hold for investors? Read more

RED CROSS NEEDS TO TELL ALL

Until the Red Cross discloses how it spent the donations received after Hurricane Sandy, I’m not giving it more money. Read more

WHEN CORRELATIONS LIE

If you work in finance, you will invariably come across an example of single-variable analysis. Almost daily, we see terrible examples of this sort of … Read more

THE SHAME OF ALTERNATIVE INVESTMENTS

University endowments and corporate and state pension funds are underperforming because of putting too much money in so-called alternative investments. Read more

EMBRACE YOUR MISTAKES

Owning up to your mistakes pays off; it has for Ray Dalio,head of the world’s biggest hedge fund. Read more

FINING BANKS IS ONLY HALF THE JOB

Since 2008, the U.S. authorities have meted out $87.53 billion in fines to global banks. That number comes from data complied by the Financial Times. Some … Read more

GEITHNER’S STRESS TEST FAILURE

Fornmer U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner argues that the bailouts were the best response to the financial panic. His claims don’t stand up to close scrutiny. Read more

THE PARASITES OF FINANCE

I am always amazed at how some business models manage to hang on despite overwhelming proof of their lack of purpose or value added. Read more

HARSH REALITY OF HOME FLIPPING

Home flippers bought houses that needed some TLC, fixed them up, then sold them for a profit. They mostly went extinct during the housing crash.  Read more

HATING HOMEOWNERSHIP

The perception that housing is a bad investment is influenced too much by recent events. Read more

BANKS TAKE THE ECONOMY HOSTAGE

Prosecutors are considering bringing criminal charges against two overseas banks for charges ranging from perjury and fraud to laundering money.  Read more

U.S. ON HIGHWAY TO FLUNKING OUT

Roads are crumbling, bridges are collapsing, and what was once considered one of the greatest achievements of any government anywhere has fallen into embarrassing disrepair.  Read more

DO YOU SEE A BUBBLE?

Newsletter writer Mark Hulbert recently raised the question of what the rate of initial public offerings means for the stock market.  Read more

BEAR MARKET EXCUSES

Stock market investors have many theories about why the market has slumped. None of them are satisfactory. Read more

THE BEST SEC MONEY CAN BUY

The retirement speech from a Securities and Exchange Commission lawyer sums up much that is wrong with the agency. Read more

BULLS AND BEARS IN ROLE REVERSAL

After large gains in the stock market, bulls and bears seems to have switched places — bulls are pessimistic, while bears act as if they have been vindicated.  Read more

TECH STOCKS IN RETREAT

New high-stocks have taken a beating this year, while old tech stocks that are profitable and pay dividends have held up. Read more

ATTENTION SUCKERS: PLEASE SEND US YOUR MONEY

With Facebook acquiring virtual-reality company Oculus, one of the all time great sucker plays — the “Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act,” signed by President Barack Obama on April 1, 2012 — has been revealed as the massive bait-and-switch it is.  Read more

SOCIAL NETWORKS THAT BREED ANONYMOUS STUPIDITY

 Venture capitalist Marc Andreessen is none too happy these days. The inventor of the Web browser and co-founder of Netscape is miffed at the latest Silicon Valley fad: Anonymous sniping from within the tech industry. Read more

HOW MARKET TOPS GET MADE

With all the bubble chatter and talks of over-valued stock markets, I thought it was time to have a discussion with someone expert on the subject.  Read more

GOODBYE POLAR VORTEX, HELLO MARKET BEARS

Perhaps the market’s ongoing rally is a testament to the evolutionary intelligence of market’s bears. The ursine crowd seem to have disappeared, but do not be fooled.  Read more

NO, MARKET HIGHS ARE NOT A BAD SIGN

The day’s trades had barely closed, when the Johnny one-notes began their usual litany of complaints. The market is long in the tooth, we are told; the bull cycle is Fed-driven, it’s temporary, its “toppy.” Read more

GEORGE SOROS IS NOT A GANGSTER

This weekend, I found myself in the rather unusual position of defending hedge funds. Before I explain why that is so unusual, allow me to explain what I was defending them against. Read more

YOUR NEW 2014 FOMC!: RITHOLTZ CHART

Perhaps it is time to review all the players in the FOMC, given upcoming personnel changes. Michael Hanson at Bank of America Merrill Lynch notes some of these changes. Read more

LOOK OUT BELOW, FOLLOW-THROUGH EDITION

Why the sudden shift, from excess bullishness and exuberant expectations of more double-digit gains, to a recognition that perhaps the party won’t go on forever? Read more

WHY ‘PEAK-EARNINGS MODELS’ ARE NONSENSE

Lately, there has been a spate of research, analysis and commentary telling us that earnings are at a cyclical high that must mean revert. Stock valuations, therefore, are elevated and earnings will soon begin to fall, bringing stocks down with them. Read more

NOBODY LIKES BONDS!: RITHOLTZ CHART

Earlier this week, we noted that “the Consensus Hates Bonds.” That is a small part of the reason we decided to increase our exposure to specific types of fixed income this year after having been significantly underweight bonds in 2013 Read more

WANT TO KNOW JUST HOW RICH YOU ARE?: RITHOLTZ CHART

If you and your spouse have a quarter million dollars in real estate or other real assets, and the same in financial (401k, investments, etc.) and less than $50,000 in debt, this puts you at the 85th percentile in terms of wealth in America. Read more

THE BEST HOUSING PROGRAM YOU’VE NEVER HEARD OF

Of all of the various government housing programs run by various federal agencies — Federal Housing Administration, Federal Housing Finance Agency, Housing and Urban Development and, of course, Fannie Mae — HARP is the most effective and efficient one out there.  Read more

WHERE THE POOR ARE: RITHOLTZ CHART

If you missed it over the weekend, Sunday’s New York Times had an amazing interactive graphic on where poverty is in the U.S. Over the past 50 … Read more

YET ANOTHER HOUSING COVER STORY FROM BARRON’S

Over vacation, I almost missed this cover story on housing last weekend by Jonathan Laing, Betting on the House. In it, they forecast 5 percent annual increases in home prices over the next 3 years. Read more

AM I TOO BULLISH?

John Coumarianos of the Institutional Imperative is a prudent value guy. He wonders aloud in a recent blog post if I am too bullish?. He raises a number of interesting points via (mostly) valid criticisms. Read more

WHY DO FORECASTERS KEEP FORECASTING?

Its that time of year again! All of your favorite prognosticators will soon be trotting out their favorite (albeit worthless) prognostications. You are advised to ignore them with extreme prejudice. Read more

THE FIVE REASONS HEDGE FUNDS UNDERPERFORM

Hedge fund performance — and underperformance — is an area of research I have been intrigued about for several years now. It is a complex, nuanced issue which many folks misunderstand. Read more

FUN WITH CORRECTIONS!: RITHOLTZ CHART

This table is the result of a quick hunt for some data as to how often markets actually dive: Dr. Ed Yardeni’s discussion of “S&P 500 Bear Markets & Corrections.’ Read more

BULL OR BUBBLE?: RITHOLTZ CHART

I find this chart provides great context for the current markets, especially given the amount of bubble chatter we hear these days. Read more

IGNORE THE BLACK FRIDAY HYPE

The media will have blanket coverage of all things retail. The intense focus with be a potent combination of PR hype and wishful thinking that if history holds will be entirely wrong.  Read more

THE BUBBLE IN BUBBLES

If you have been paying any kind of attention to the mainstream media the past few years, you may have noticed quite a bit of bubble chatter. Read more

A CRAZY COOL BLOOMBERG LEADERBOARD

One of the things I am most excited about is working with the Bloomberg Data Visualization crew to bring some interactivity to financial and economic data. Read more

EUROPE’S RECOVERY NOT DEAD YET

Perhaps it’s my bias — my clients own Vanguard’s European ETF (VGK) — but most of you folks now breathlessly declaring Europe’s recovery already over had left them for dead six months ago. Read more

BRITS MAY CAP RETIREMENT-PLAN FEES, SHOULD WE?

One of the dirty little secrets about 401(k) accounts is their under-performance — returns average 3 percent to 4 percent versus 8 percent to 10 percent for comparable 70/30 balanced portfolios. Read more

A FEW WORDS ABOUT VALUATION: RITHOLTZ CHART

The general consensus seems to be that CAPE — the cyclically adjusted price-to-earnings ratio — is elevated, stocks are overvalued, and a crash is imminent. This is a misreading of both valuation measures, as well as causes of crashes. Read more

DON’T SWEAT MARGIN DEBT: RITHOLTZ CHART

One data point that has found a home among the bearish community is the total amount of New York Stock Exchange margin debt. It is at record highs, and this supposedly means the end of the bull market is nigh. Read more

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