Second Quarter 2006|Jim Williams| I frequently find myself in conversations about young people and money. Usually a large component of the conversation deals with teaching responsibility with money and preparing young people to handle money appropriately and prudently.
First Quarter 2006|Jim Williams| What causes a trade deficit and why is it so scary? The general perspective is to look at the flow of goods and services, look at the balance/imbalance and then decide whether to start sounding the alarm. But this ignores the other part of the transaction, that is: the money. The money side of the trade deficit is U.S. dollars in the hands of foreigners.
Fourth Quarter 2005|Jim Williams| Identity theft continues to be a significant threat to financial peace of mind. High tech schemes continue to proliferate. Reduce these risks by the following:
Third Quarter 2005|Jim Williams| Energy prices will never again be what they were a year or so ago, so go ahead and reserve your Prius. While as individuals we feel the pain of high energy prices, we will also see that conservation, alternative energy sources, more production from marginal oil & gas properties, and increased exploration will clearly result.
Second Quarter 2005|Jim Williams| One of the most persistent “sky is falling” stories threatening investor’s confidence in the capital markets is the notion that when baby boomers retire, they will liquidate their investments in the equities markets producing a downward spiral of declining prices and increasing redemptions leaving us boomers in a market meltdown with greatly diminished retirement resources.
First Quarter 2005|Jim Williams| Last quarter I aired some of my misgivings about the personal accounts proposal for Social Security system. My greatest concerns center around the potential for poor decisions, mischief and abuse. I expressed concern about the potential for government intrusion into the fundamental capital market decisions. These concerns remain, but I think they are outweighed by the potential benefits of private accounts.