Welcome to the end of the week and another edition of Happy Hour! Just sit back, relax, and enjoy your end of the week roundup of all things interesting in the land of money.
STOCK Act Loophole
The STOCK Act or Stop Trading On Congressional Knowledge Act was passed as an effort to reestablish trust in the government. The law was set to end the chance members of Congress and other government employees could profit from nonpublic information. Which it did, but the STOCK Act has one tiny, little loophole.
The Act doesn’t include spouses and children. Basically a Senator can find out some juicy information and tell their spouse or children who can then trade on the information. Or better yet, access their spouses accounts and just trade themselves. This is all thanks to a last-minute rewrite of the law. At least they were looking out for number one.
The Dream Team
With the start of the London Summer Olympics brings talk of the 20th anniversary of the Dream Team and the need to compare every new Olympic team against it. Michael Wilbon does an exceptional job summing up the impact of the Dream Team back in ’92. Any need to compare this years team to the Dream Team is a waste of time.
I’m a bit biased, having watched all those Dream Team games back in ’92. I was a fan caught up in the controversy of having NBA players in the Olympics. I wanted to watch our team crush everyone and bring the gold back home were it belongs. And they didn’t disappoint. For those willing to risk opining there was/is a better team, I respectfully say…you’re nuts.
Last Call
- The Oracle of Boston – Investors can’t go wrong following Seth Klarman’s long-term value investing principles. A highly recommended read for anyone interested in value investing.
- Taxing the Uninsured: The Latest Estimates – The approval of the HealthCare Tax brings up the question, how much will the tax cost those who choose to remain uninsured. The numbers don’t look good.
- Our Ridiculous Approach to Retirement – Keep in mind it’s an opinion piece. The article brings up some important points on retirement and the flaws in the system.
- The Looming Retirement Crisis and What to Do About It – Another opinion piece responding to the previous article. Bottom line, saving for retirement isn’t easy, especially when nothings being saved.