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October 1999
October 2 -
October 9 -
October 16 -
October 23 -
October 30
Couples and Money
with Ruth Hayden
October 2, 1999
It may be easier for some couples to talk about sex than about money. Ruth
Hayden understands the difficulty of sitting down with a partner to work
through the nuts and bolts of managing the household's money, but she
believes that such meetings are crucial for their financial well-being. Hayden's latest book is For Richer, Not Poorer: A Money
Book for Couples (Health Communications, September 1999), and she'll join
Bob Potter and Chris Farrell for this edition of Sound Money.
- The NEWS & VIEWS of Chris Farrell: Gold Loses Its Luster
To paraphrase Karl Marx's Communist Manifesto, the specter of inflation is
haunting the financial markets. The dollar is weakening and, with the OPEC
cartel showing some unexpected backbone, oil prices are surging higher. The
U.S. stock market is down by more than 10% from its July peak, and bond
investors are clearly troubled. Perhaps most striking, in the waning days of
September the price of gold soared by some $40 to around $300 an ounce.
Investors should be wary of studying gold to divine inflation's future course.
The ancient form of wealth is less an international currency and stable store
of value than ever before. It's just another commodity that swings to the
global rhythm of supply and demand. No, the forces constraining inflation
remain strong. With the glaring exception of Japan, most central bankers have
painfully learned over the past three decades what it takes to maintain a
stable value of their paper currencies backed only by the full faith and
credit
of governments. Instead of a gold standard, we have the Greenspan-standard,
the
Bundesbank-standard, the Bank-of-England-standard, and the money management
policies of other central banks, all backed in their vigilant inflation watch
by the $78 trillion global capital markets."
- THE FARRELL INTERVIEW: Social Security
Chris talks with Social Security Administration
official James Roosevelt about the agency’s decision to send annual
statements to American workers. (View a sample
letter at the SSA's Web site.)
- YOUR MONEY MANAGER: [File not found]Here's Your Correction
Erica Whittlinger says that if you're holding out for a big correction, you could be in for a long wait.
- SMART CHOICES: Couples and Money
Is one of you a spendthrift, while the other has difficulty parting with a
dollar? Is it impossible for you and your partner to agree on your
long-term financial goals? How do you each feel about supporting
charitable causes? Author Ruth Hayden can help answer these questions, and she joins Chris Farrell and Bob Potter on this week's show
- BUYER'S MARKET
Your Money Manager
with Erica Whittlinger
October 9, 1999
Sound Money's resident money manager, Erica Whittlinger, takes calls on
this edition of the program. She's the president of Whittlinger Capital
Management in Minneapolis and has been advising listeners about ways to
achieve their financial goals since 1985. From retirement planning to
stock picking, she's a fountain of information on all things financial.
- The NEWS & VIEWS of Chris Farrell: Thinking About Time and Risk
The road to riches has never seemed easier with entrepreneurs, mavericks, and
young high-tech wizards coining money starting Internet companies. Lost in all
the excitement are legions of failed companies and dashed dreams. Similarly,
more people are dismissing as quaint the idea that stocks are risky, thanks to
the potent combination of a long bull market and statistical archeology
showing
that stocks appear as safe as default-proof U. S. government debt over the
long
haul. Yet the essence of investing is uncertainty. "You have a pretty
good idea of what is going to happen a minute from now, the rest of today,
tomorrow, and possibly the rest of the week," says Peter Bernstein, economist,
investment advisor, and philosopher of risk. "As the time horizon expands,
uncertainty increases because the range of possible outcomes widens as we look
further and further into the future."
- THE FARRELL INTERVIEW: Credit-Card Debt
Gerri Detweiler visits with Chris about credit card
debt. Her new book is Slash Your Debt - Save Money and Secure Your
Future, with coauthors Marc Eisenson and Nancy Castleman (Financial
Literacy Center 1999).
- YOUR MONEY MANAGER: Feddy Did a Bad, Bad, Thing
Erica Whittlinger questions the Fed's interest-rate policy.
- SMART CHOICES: Your Money Manager
Sound Money's resident money manager, Erica Whittlinger, takes calls and gives information on all things financial.
- BUYER'S MARKET
Investment Real Estate
with Allen Cymrot
October 16, 1999
Financial planners advise clients to diversify their investments. For most
people this turns out to be a mix of foreign and domestic stocks, taxable
and non-taxable bonds, and perhaps cash or cash equivalents. What about
real estate? Joining us is Allen Cymrot, president of Cymrot Real Estate Advisors in
Mountain View, California, and he believes that there are many ways for
individuals to include real estate in their investment portfolios, from
owning single-family dwellings to buying shares in real estate investment
trusts.
- The NEWS & VIEWS of Chris Farrell: Check Out "Real" Rates
Today's nervous bond investors should recall the memorable quip of James
Carville, President Clinton's first campaign manager: "I used to think if
there was reincarnation I wanted to come back as the President or the pope or a .400
baseball hitter. But now I want to come back as the bond market. You can
intimidate everyone." Yes, the stock and bond markets cratered last week on
fears that the economy is running too hot for the Fed. Yet Wall Street's
incessant chatter over whether the Fed may or may not hike rates obscures a fundamental shift in
economic policy making: the Fed matters less than before when it comes to
managing the economy, and the bond market matters a lot more. Like other elite
institutions that occupied the economy's commanding heights during the post
World War 11 era, the Fed is losing some of its power to millions of investors
and their portfolio decisions. Carville got it right."
- THE FARRELL INTERVIEW: Car-Buying
Chris talks with Jack Gillis about auto purchases.
Jack Gillis is director of public affairs for the Consumer Federation of America, and the consumer correspondent for NBC's Today show. Jack’s book,
The Ultimate Car Book 2000 (Harper Resource), will be out in December.
- YOUR MONEY MANAGER: Greenspan Breaks the Punchbowl
Erica Whittlinger believes that Fed chairman Alan Greenspan doesn't want to raise rates, so he's beating up the stock market instead to cool things down a bit.
- SMART CHOICES: Investing in Real Estate
Allen Cymrot joins Bob Potter and Chris Farrell to talk about the
advantages and disadvantages of owning investment real estate on this
edition of Sound Money.
- BUYER'S MARKET: Best Credit Card Rates This Week
Job Search
with Amy Lindgren
October 23, 1999
American workers are on the move. Company loyalty is a thing of the past,
with employees of all ages on the lookout for a better job. From high tech
workers to older employees, people are feeling free to shift from one
company to another more often than they did a few years ago. Amy Lindgren,
employment columnist at the St Paul Pioneer Press, believes that leaving a
job too soon can shortchange not just the employer but also the employee.
She'll tell us why on this edition of Sound Money.
- The NEWS & VIEWS of Chris Farrell: A Look at the Wealth Effect
The numbers are staggering.
Since the end of 1995, household stockholdings have doubled to more than
$12 trillion dollars. And, for the first time, equities are the most
valuable asset of the typical American household, not the home. Little
wonder most Wall Street economists believe the stock market wields more
influence than ever on consumer attitudes and spending habits. Indeed,
underlying the current bout of investor nervousness over rising inflation
is the deep-rooted fear that a steep stock market decline will chill
consumer spending and send the economy tumbling into recession. There is a
lot of hand wringing surrounding the twelve-year anniversary of the stock
market crash of October 1987, and the disturbing parallels to today. But
that experience also suggests treating the wealth effect cautiously. The
30% fall in the stock market in the final four months of 1987 was followed
by four quarters of 3.5% economic growth, after taking inflation into
account. And that's not bad--not bad at all."
- THE FARRELL INTERVIEW: Buying Bonds
Chris talks with Jane Wyatt about bonds.
- YOUR MONEY MANAGER: The Biggest Blessing in Life
Erica Whittlinger is grateful for the weekends, when she doesn't have to think about the stock market.
- SMART CHOICES: Investing in Real Estate
Allen Cymrot joins Bob Potter and Chris Farrell to talk about the
advantages and disadvantages of owning investment real estate on this
edition of Sound Money.
- BUYER'S MARKET: Best Credit Card Rates This Week
Let's Talk Money
with Dee Lee
October 30, 1999
What's your biggest money worry? How to pay off your credit card debt?
How to put away enough money to pay for a comfortable retirement? How to
pay for a college education for yourself or your children? In her book The
Complete Idiot's Guide to 401(k) Plans (Macmillan), Dee Lee led individuals
through the complexities of their 401(k) plans in plain language. In her
new book, Let's Talk Money (Chandler House Press, 1999), she covers a wide
spectrum of financial topics, and she'll join Bob Potter and Chris Farrell
to talk about how to deal with those nagging money fears.
- The NEWS & VIEWS of Chris Farrell: Fees and the New Finance Law
"You almost wouldn't know it for all the obsessive talk about the markets
short-term outlook, but finance history was made last week. After some two
decades of debate, the House, the Senate, and the Administration favor
sweeping away the outdated depression-era laws that kept separate the
banking, insurance, and securities businesses. True, each industry has been
invading the others turf for years, but in a haphazard, piecemeal fashion.
Regulation will finally recognize that all three are essentially in the
same business: managing society's savings. But I want to focus on something
that matters deeply to consumers right now: Fees. Will fees go higher as
the financial services industry rapidly consolidates? After all, fees have
soared during the bank mergers of the 1990s, and mutual fund companies have
managed to hike their fees year after year during the Great American Bull
Market. Or will fees fall, thanks to new efficiencies and heightened
competition? My guess is that most management intends to raise fees, but
the marketplace won't let them. The trend is toward a world of low everyday
prices."
- THE FARRELL INTERVIEW: Mortgages Online
Chris talks with Roger Harrington about mortgages on
the Internet.
- YOUR MONEY MANAGER: How Now, Revised Dow?
Erica Whittlinger discusses the Dow's new additions
- SMART CHOICES: Let's Talk Money
Author Dee Lee joins Bob Potter and Chris Farrell to help you figure your way out of your biggest money worries.
- BUYER'S MARKET: Best Credit Card Rates This Week
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