Challenge Time
The markets have enjoyed a nice move up from mid-August. This rally has been disbelieved most of the way up. We are just about at key...
Chart of the Week: SPX
The S&P500 has been stuck in a broad trading range since late 2003. A close over 1130 would mean that this range has been broken....
Half a Million Hits!
Wow! 500,120 hits, between the two sides of this blog: The Big Picture:     347,283 essays & effluvia:...
Customer Acquisition versus Retention: A case study in costs
versus Is your contract up with your cellular carrier? Don’t renew it, cancel it. That’s how you can get the best deal from your...
Accelerated Depreciation of Capital Spending
One of the questions which has been puzzling me for quite a while is this: Why have Economists been so wrong — and by so much, and...
Will Wage Pressure Persist in 2005?
“Hoping for a big boost in pay next year? Forget about it.” That’s the thinking of the Chicago Suntimes, which noted...
Post 9/11’s Hobson’s Choice
I normally do not address anything 9/11 related on this day. I said my piece on it the day after, and prefer to leave it at that....
Budget Imbalance
CBO projections that this election-year’s federal deficit are for $422 billion. These figures don’t include making permanent...
Expectations lowered for GDP & Jobs
The WSJ reported that “Economists continue to pare their forecasts for hiring and economic growth as high oil prices and other...
Bush vs Kerry: Technical Breakout?
My friend Gary B. Smith is a technical analyst and trader. He also writes a very popular column for TheStreet.com, and is the Chartman on...