The transition to retirement—rather than being an occasion for scaling back and becoming less engaged—can be the occasion for renewed productivity and creativity. The inspiration for today’s blog post is Norman Maclean, who at age 74, published his first novel, A River runs through It. Maclean said, “I started to write to fill a gap
Turn over your iPhone and you can read Apple’s eight-word business plan: “Designed by Apple in California. Assembled in China.” Apple is the largest company in the US; it also is the most profitable. Apple has been successfully riding the two great forces of our era—technology and globalization. Consumers have embraced technology and globalization heavily
Few people understand the impact of inflation in their lives because it happens slowly. When inflation is high, budgets get stretched. When wage growth is flat inflation sinks hopes. Today, economic data suggests prices are rising very, very slowly. Yet, surveys suggest that the average American’s daily experience with inflation may be quite different than
Economic dissatisfaction is a pervasive theme in this year’s Presidential primary season. This week’s articles focus on jobs, particularly manufacturing jobs; the state of the middle class; and globalization. The real jobs issue that nobody is debating. This year’s narrative is about the tragic decline of American manufacturing, but Ed Marsh, editor of Manufacturing Strategy,
The first weekend in May each year the shareholders of Berkshire Hathaway make a pilgrimage to Omaha, Nebraska. This annual rite is as much to pay homage to Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger, Chairman and Vice-Chairman, as it is a shareholder meeting. This week’s articles shine a light on the habits that helped Buffett and
Today I consider myself one of the luckiest men alive. Birthdays and anniversaries are occasions for reflection—today is my birthday, and it’s also time to complete the Annual Minutes for the corporation. The satisfaction of working as an independent advisor has been more than I could imagine when I threw caution to the wind and
Presidential elections almost universally encompass economic issues—the electorate “votes with their pocketbooks.” This Presidential primary season has been no different than most, aside from the unusually distasteful rhetoric on the campaign trail and the pervasiveness of economic dissatisfaction. This week, we present thoughtful articles and viewpoints on policies to help spur a growth-oriented policy program.
Speculation about Peyton Manning’s retirement from the NFL is this week’s inspiration. We share a few thoughts on preparing for an early retirement. Live below your means. One rule of thumb holds that you need to save 25 times your annual budget by retirement. Generating a nest egg of that size involves years of frugality
Being an intelligent consumer of financial news is harder than it sounds. The day-to-day market is a barometer of investor sentiment more than anything else; it would be wrong to assume that a poor start to the year reflects the current economic trend. Staying calm during market declines can be difficult, but reacting emotionally is
Losses in financial markets since the year’s start have engendered fears of a replay of the 2008 financial crisis. Justin Lahart of The Wall Street Journal explains the crucial differences between then and now. Paul Krugman of The New York Times dissects China’s problems and discusses the potential for psychological contagion. Finally, Liz Ann Sonders