Fallible Forecasts
February 26, 2010In 2007, the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change surprised scientists when it declared in its seminal report on global warming that certain huge Himalayan glaciers might melt away completely by 2035. “It’s physically impossible to kill the ice that fast,” Jeffrey Kargel, a professor at the University of Arizona who studies glaciers, told The Washington Post. A recent letter to the editor in the journal Science noted that the …
Jonathan Bergman in Fidelity Interactive Content Services
February 25, 2010Fidelity Interactive Content Services, Feb. 25, 2010Jonathan Bergman emphasizes the importance of identifying your goals prior to retirement.
Jonathan Bergman in BusinessWeek
February 25, 2010BusinessWeek, Feb. 25, 2010Jonathan Bergman explains the temporary absence of the estate tax this year and lays out an innovative solution that could save business owners a lot in gift and estate taxes.
Good Intentions, Unintended Consequences
February 25, 2010When it comes to making good health care policy, good intentions are not enough. That is something President Obama and lawmakers should remember as they meet today to discuss health care reform. And, if they find that maxim slipping their minds, they need only look to New York for a reminder. In 1992 then-Gov. Mario Cuomo signed a state law regulating the health insurance industry which he predicted would be …
Jonathan Bergman in AOL’s Daily Finance
February 24, 2010AOL’s Daily Finance, Feb. 24, 2010Jonathan Bergman advises new ETF investors to avoid funds with low trading volume.
GOP Has A Good Shot At Control In House
February 24, 2010
If my calculations are correct, Republicans have a decent chance of taking control next year in the House of Representatives, reversing the Democratic landslides of 2006 and 2008. This is not a lock. As the party out of power, Republicans stand to benefit from this year’s strong anti-incumbent mood, as well as from continuing Democratic efforts to pass health care and climate-change legislation that is unpopular in much of the …
What A Friend
February 23, 2010Greetings, American shareholders. Your friend, Rep. Barney Frank, has a plan to help you — by giving your competitors a guide to your firm’s very best talent and how to poach it. Frank, a Massachusetts Democrat who chairs the House Financial Services Committee, said in an interview with Bloomberg earlier this month that the Securities and Exchange Commission should require companies to publicize how much they pay their top-earning employees. …
Next Bailout Candidate: The Letter Carrier
February 22, 2010“Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds,” reads the inscription on the James Farley Post Office in New York City. But, while weather and darkness may not halt the movement of the mail, economic realities might. The U.S. Postal Service is supposed to run itself as a self-supporting business, but the political powers that be in …
Health Care Summit Theatrics
February 19, 2010The health care “summit” that President Obama proposed for next week will be mainly theatrics, assuming it actually happens. But, probably unintentionally, the White House maneuvering has illuminated the issues at the heart of the dispute. On one side, Obama and congressional Democratic leaders are doing everything in their power to extend health coverage to the roughly 15 percent of Americans who do not have it. This is going to …
Just Smile And Nod, Guys
February 18, 2010As many observers and bloggers have noted, this year’s Super Bowl commercials featured an unusual number of henpecked men. In an ad for Chrysler’s Dodge Charger, a male voiceover recites a long list of husbandly duties, including putting down the toilet seat and carrying his wife’s lip balm, while blank-faced men stare mutely at the camera. At the end, the speaker concludes that, after doing so many good deeds, he …
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