Gold Loses Luster
smartertimes.com

"Gold, Long a Secure Investment, Loses Its Luster" is the headline on a dispatch in the Times business section. It reports, "concern that the loose monetary policy at Federal Reserve might set off inflation — a prospect that drove investors to gold — have so far proved to be unfounded."

Never mind the subject-verb agreement problem (it should be "concern...has" or "concerns...have"). What about the logic or accuracy of this statement, given that, later down in the article, the reporter concedes that "anyone who bought gold in 1999 and held on has done far better than the average stock market investor. Even after the recent decline, gold is still up 515 percent."

Up 515 percent compared to what, the reader might wonder?

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Untaxed Fortunes
futureofcapitalism.com

The New York Times has an article making the important and under-noticed point that a lot of money in the stock market is tax-exempt:

a dwindling number of investors are subject to the taxes on investment gains that are set to rise at the end of the year, with most stocks held in accounts that are exempt from taxes.

For example, only 14.7 percent of American households have mutual funds in taxable accounts, down from as high as 23.9 percent in 2001, according to data from the Investment Company Institute....

Read More...

Gold Loses Luster
smartertimes.com

"Gold, Long a Secure Investment, Loses Its Luster" is the headline on a dispatch in the Times business section. It reports, "concern that the loose monetary policy at Federal Reserve might set off inflation — a prospect that drove investors to gold — have so far proved to be unfounded."

Never mind the subject-verb agreement problem (it should be "concern...has" or "concerns...have"). What about the logic or accuracy of this statement, given that, later down in the article, the reporter concedes that "anyone who bought gold in 1999 and held on has done far better than the average stock market investor. Even after the recent decline, gold is still up 515 percent."

Up 515 percent compared to what, the reader might wonder?

Read More...

Untaxed Fortunes
futureofcapitalism.com

The New York Times has an article making the important and under-noticed point that a lot of money in the stock market is tax-exempt:

a dwindling number of investors are subject to the taxes on investment gains that are set to rise at the end of the year, with most stocks held in accounts that are exempt from taxes.

For example, only 14.7 percent of American households have mutual funds in taxable accounts, down from as high as 23.9 percent in 2001, according to data from the Investment Company Institute....

Read More...