I think that one of the most disappointing things about the TARP, and the various other bailout plans – is the lack of effort; by those in power – to explain the rationale behind the bailouts.
Very few people realize – the full scale of repercussions – if huge banks like Citi are allowed to fail. The whole bailout process should have been a bailout of ordinary tax-payers; with bad bankers getting bailed out as a by-product of it. However that doesn’t seem to be the case at all.
Here is an excellent example of what I mean – this Wall Street Journal story talks about – goats getting jobless because of the bad bets Lehman made.
There is a whole lot of other interesting stuff that I read this week and I present a few of them here:
1. Do it yourself Debt Consolidation by Moolanomy: A very insightful article about debt consolidation, and how you can get in control of your debt.
2. Is Market Linked Certificates of Deposit good for you by Money Ning: Pros and Cons of this little known product.
3. Book Review: New Rules for Retirement by Canadian Capitalist: Canadian Capitalist reviews this book and has a book give-away on his website. It is only valid for Canadian residents though.
4. Dividend Yield for Major US Indexes by Dividend Growth Investor: A look at the indices which have the most – dividend paying stocks in the US.
5. Teaching Delayed Gratification Skills by My Wealth Builder: Delayed Gratification is a fancy term for saving now and spending later. My Wealth Builder has taken a very nice example of how he is teaching this to his four year old daughter.
6. Why 2008 was an awesome year for dividend investors by Dividend Guy Blog: This is the first time I hear someone talking about how great 2008 was.
7. Wondering what happened with oil prices by The Penny Daily: An interesting video about the speculation in oil prices and the resultant volatility. I have written about the topic oil speculation myself.
8. Can Risk Tolerance Change by The Oblivious Investor: A short and sweet article about how risk tolerance is not something static, and changes with time.
9. Want to be a Millionaire, Ways to Become Rich by The Smarter Wallet: Tips to become a millionaire.
10. Setting up a Budget and Entertaining Friends: Vilkri talks about the evolutionary process, i.e. Setting up a Budget.
