The Economy

For Mark Roberts' Use: After a particularly difficult winter, we are all enjoying our warm summer weather. But before too long, winter will roll around again. Not to mention, hurricane season is upon us. Even for those of us who live far from areas affected by hurricanes, severe winter storms, or other natural disasters, our [...]

For Mark Roberts' Use: Most of us consider life insurance to be an absolute necessity. In the event of your unexpected death, your family won't be left to suddenly fend for themselves without your income. But what would happen if you become disabled? You could suddenly lose your income, receive high medical bills, and have [...]

For Mark Roberts' Use: Benjamin Graham, considered by many to be the father of value investing, once said, “The individual investor should act consistently as an investor and not as a speculator”. This quote may be simple, but it's a powerful reminder for individuals who are still developing their investing strategies. Speculating involves large risks, [...]

For Mark Roberts' Use: In September 2014, Home Depot experienced a data breach involving 56 million payment cards. This security attack was larger and lasted longer than the December 2013 hacking of Target’s payment system, involving 40 million credit and debit cards. About one in three people who received data-breach notification letters in 2013 became [...]

For Mark Roberts' Use: Did you know that until recently, you had to pay to see your credit score? Luckily, as of February, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau released a new initiative allowing more than 50 million Americans to access their credit scores for free. That access will soon expand to millions more Americans. The [...]

For Mark Roberts' Use: You may have heard that oil prices have dropped in recent months. But what happened to cause prices to plummet? One causal factor was the amount of crude oil produced by the US. In the first quarter of 2014, the United States surpassed Saudi Arabia and Russia to become the world’s largest [...]

For Mark Roberts' Use: It has been six years since the official end of the Great Recession. And yet, many of us are still wondering when we'll see a true, dramatic improvement in the economy. Good news: Several key indicators, commonly used as predictors of economic activity, are giving us good reason to feel hopeful about [...]

For Mark Roberts' Use: Our society is growing increasingly litigious, and anyone with considerable assets could be vulnerable to lawsuits. From legal fees to the actual judgment, just one liability lawsuit can wreck your financial life. Since it's not uncommon these days for plaintiffs to sue everyone involved in a particular incident, almost everyone is [...]

For Mark Roberts' Use: For the fourth consecutive month, the May jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) demonstrated the addition of over 200,000 new jobs. Total non-farm employment has reached 138.46 million, which surpasses the record set in January 2008 as the recession began. So does this mean the lost jobs are [...]