At first, when I heard that the government is considering to buy so-called “commercial paper,” my reaction was rage. But I’ve calmed down and thought things through a little bit. This might be a needed action on the part of the Fed.
But first, a brief tutorial:
Commercial paper is basically an unsecured loan that businesses make to each other. It’s like when you get out the credit card toward the end of the month to smooth things out as they get a little tighter. Basically, a company says, “I need $500 million to make payroll this week, but income has been …read more

Yes, things are looking serious.
No, the bailout plan isn’t some magic cure-all.
This is stuff we’ve seen coming for weeks now.
So now is not the time to start panicking.
Nor is it time to give in to fear-mongering. (I’m talking to you, CNN! Compare these two photos — thanks markzero — and see that far from being in a panic, the guy is just talking into his microphone: CNN cropped photo vs. Yahoo! full photo.)
Take a look at your investment portfolio and at your personal finances. Do what you can to get things in order.
Investment portfolio
Look at your allocation. Is it weighted …read more

With stock market going fairly strong right now, some investors are wondering whether the party will continue. Consider this on the October stock market from MarketWatch:

October has the reputation as being the scariest month of the year and not because it is the home to Halloween. All of the really big market plunges — 1929, 1987 and even the mini-smashes of 1989, 2000 and 2002 — all happened in this month so investors are understandably concerned.
But all is not lost. It is also worth considering that in the yearly stock market cycle, the best time of the year is …read more