February: What's New

Thank you everyone who has been reading my blog!

Liberal Finance has now been up for an entire month and has been receiving on average almost 4 views per day! I would like to thank everyone once again.

I also wanted to address some new features. Other than cosmetic changes, there is also a very important new page called 'Works Cited/Bibliography' in the top right hand corner. This page will serve as just that for content posted in blog posts on the website. So if any information is needed on where information is collected, please feel free to reference that page.

Also I want to remind everyone to comment, comment, comment. I would love to hear feedback from all Liberal Financiers.

Future Site Additions:

1. Possibly an added web show.
2. Memberships and membership incentives.

Thanks again Liberal Financiers and thank you for reading my blog!

People You Should Know: Jeff Macke

"Finance is life, these are just guides. Everyone thinks finance is this totally dorky thing—and it is cause you put a bunch of numbers on it— but it’s egos and hubris and all the seven deadly sins in one big money pit. We specialize in greed…but beyond that it’s fun, it’s an interplay, it’s cool." – Jeff Macke 2009 IAWTV Red Carpet.

About:

Meet financial journalist, former hedge fund manager, and cable/web news anchor Jeff Macke.

Jeff Macke  is a renowned financial expert. Not only is Macke known for his benevolent charisma, but he is also notorious for being a restless businessman, having worked in all aspects of the finance sector. Whether that title be CEO, manager, entrepreneur, anchor, analyst, or journalist— Jeff Macke has done it all.

Bio:

On April 7th, 1969 Jeff Macke was born to humble beginnings. Macke would follow a long line of academic success. Macke graduated from Edina High School in Minnesota in 1987 and later would attend Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. Graduating with a bachelor's in psychology in 1991— Macke would continue to even further his education, earning himself an MBA from Stanford University in 1997.

Bear, Bull, or Hype?

Bear, Bull, or Hype? What exactly does this year have in store? Interestingly enough, this question appears to be Wall Street's 2013 it-question. This comes as a surprise however from analyst buzz of the past couple years.

 A year, or even two years prior, a bull market was out of the question; preposterous in fact. In 2009 the DJIA reached tremendous lows—some months treading in the 6,000 percentile. 2008 and 2010, the years prior and post of 2009, also were not the greatest. 2008 saw mostly between 7,000-8,000 and 2010 ranging from 9000-10,000.

 However due to market indicators, Q4 reports coming in from last year, analyst-chat, and solid Dow and S&P increases, a bull market just maybe on the horizon. As of today (timestamp: 1/23/2013 6:17pm) the Dow is at 13,799.33 which is much more attractive than 6,000. A good investor knows the market's song and dance— dancing accordingly; so good news is always taken with a pinch of salt.

Not even one full month has passed, yet the analyst bees are buzzing. So are we going to see influx in the 2013 markets? Are the surfacing Q4 reports gilded? Or is it all hype and should we still buy in moderation?

Liberal Financiers I say ride the hype, and here's why.

Should Congress Raise the Debt Limit?

Let me start this argument off by saying: (excuse the language) Hell no!

Absolutely not! Congress should not raise the debt limit, they shouldn't even think about raising the debt limit, not even for one trillionth of a milli-second. The debt ceiling has been raised countless times and as shown by our $16,000,000,000,000 debt, raising the debt ceiling fixes nothing—and that may be an overstatement. The "debt ceiling" at this point doesn't even exist—it's an imaginary word, used in reference of an imaginary concept to fixate the mind on an imaginary number—used solely for media and headline purposes only.

I'm not sure about anyone else, but I know I (for one) am completely sick of hearing about this topic. This topic is a cliché now. At this point, everyone knows a couple things about the government:

Bonds Vs. Stocks

Bonds vs. Stocks . . . or maybe perhaps this battle really is: Washington vs Wall Street . . . or how about, the Treasury vs the Reserve . . . . (I am taking that one back. That title sounds a little too apocalyptic) For this article we'll just stick to Bonds vs. Stocks.

Hi fellow Liberal Financiers, I'm here to talk to you today about Bonds and Stocks. There has always been debate circling these two investment options. Are Bonds the smarter investments or is Stock the smarter investment? Are Bonds more lucrative or is Stock more lucrative?  Here is a breakdown as to why, in the year 2013, Stocks are superior to Bonds. 

*DISCLAIMER* (Note however, no one option is mutually or exclusively superior to the other. They both have similar and different functions which together make a diverse and satisfying portfolio. Also, this post is in reference to the year and 365 day period, of 2013. For the year 2013 stocks would be preferable to bonds, this article should not be taken into past date or extended contexts.)

Happy Wall Street New Year!

Happy Wall Street New Year Everyone!!

(Am I the first person to dub this term?) Today is what I would like to hereby declare Wall Street New Year! Why? Even though it isn't January 1st,  even though it's just an ordinary Tuesday, even though businesses have already closed their accounts and dissolved them into income summaries? Well because $AA Alcoa, has blessed us with their Q4 earnings report today, kicking off 2013's first Earning Season.

People You Should Know: Timothy Geithner

About:

Timothy Geithner is most certainly a man we should all be familiar with. Whether you are from the USA, Canada, Europe, China, India, South Africa, Argentina, or anywhere else on the globe, indeed Geithner impacts your life in one way or another. Many will not know this man and even I a couple of months back can attest to this. Certainly Geithner is a powerful man, and a very powerful man indeed. 

Actually, Timothy Geithner very well may be one of the most powerful men on our planet. Here is a breakdown on Mr. Geithner.