If you need to be brought up to speed on what the debt ceiling is, CNN Money has a quick slideshow to explain. It’s a little biased, using words like “unrealistic”, but the basics are the same. (CNN Money…

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According to a Bloomberg poll, 61% of Americans believe that it is right to require spending cuts when raising the debt limit. (Chart is featured at the top of the post.)(Bloomberg)

The SEC continues to consider its options …

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According to a recent Pew Research survey, 69% of Americans believe the government’s post-recession policies have benefited large banks and financial institutions the most. “Roughly seven-in-ten say government policies have done little or nothing to help the poor (72%), the …

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“What Has Your Equity Hedge Fund Manager Done For You Lately?” A great question posed over at the always entertaining Zerohedge. The chart above shows how hedge funds have become more and more correlated with the S&P 500 as the …

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More US Citizens are turning in their passports before the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (a law that requires all international financial institutions to report all assets own by Americans to the IRS) goes into effect. As you can see …

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August was a rough month for the S&P 500. (Yahoo Finance)

Here’s a great article from the CFA Institute’s blog, the Enterprising Investor that reframes the dilemma about strategic oil assets and energy independence. (CFA Institute)…

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Steve Ballmer CEO of Microsoft, is to retire within the next 12 months. (CNN Money)

Here’s a link to the infographic above, that charts the CEOs of Microsoft (Gates and Ballmer) tenure versus the stock price. (CNN …

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Bank of America moves to dissolve Merrill Lynch. The bank plans to keep the name of the firm for its retail brokerage arm. The move is cited to be part of a plan to reduce costs by $8 billion per …

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Japan’s debt just hit one quadrillion yen. That’s a thousand trillion yen, about $10.5 trillion in US Dollars. That comes out to 245% of their GDP. (Businessweek)

A bill to end the mandatory arbitration clauses that big brokerage …

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For the average American, wage income accounts for only 75% of total earnings. The remainder is made up of “business income; interest, dividends, and capital gains; alimony; and taxable Social Security benefits and pension distributions.” (Tax Policy Center)…

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