Web metrics are insane
To be precise, trying to find a single set of metrics to compare the audience of different types of websites it insane. That is why Nielson/Netrating’s decision to measure time spent on websites, rather than page views, does not really matter much. Those looking for a single measure across all websites are reducing a mistake of the dotcom boom. (more…)
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Fixed rates will not make housing affordable
I find it hard to believe that encouraging long term fixed interest mortgages, as the government plans to, will really make housing more affordable. Here is why: (more…)
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The end of the housing affordability argument?
The Council of mortgage lenders says that yesterday’s interest rate raise “will leave more households financially stretched“, with an especially marked impact on the two million people close to coming off fixed rates. Are we hearing the end of the argument that housing remains “affordable” thanks to low interest rates, despite the high ratio of prices to incomes?
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You, investor, are a sucker
You think you can out-perform the market do you? Millions of people apparently think they can: anyone who invests actively is implicitly claiming just that. Unless you are one of a tiny handful of people who have proven they can do it consistently, I do not believe you. You are just wasting money funding the huge industry that sells suckers like you financial information and advice. (more…)
Insider trading
There is nothing surprising about this FSA study found strong evidence that about a fifth of results announcements and a third of takeovers were preceded by insider trading. My own experience, the scale of the opportunities, and the number and nature of the people involved all lead to the expectation that it happends. (more…)
Money terms update
I have done too much on Money Terms recently to list it all here, but a few high lights are worth mentioning. I learnt a lot writing the piece on the value effect: it needed a fair amount of research on the evidence for it. The same goes for the dumb money effect. This was less true for the size effect which I have been interested in for a while. Having looked at the evidence, I think now think the dumb money effect is the most interesting of these.
For begginers, I have added a few basic comments on year-on-year and sequential comparisons. Also fairly basic, but quite interesting to think about, was corporate social responsibility.
FSA to make IFAs independent
The FSA has finally realised the Independent Financial Advisors (IFAs) are not independent, and it intends to do something about it.
The main change is that only those who charge clients a fee, rather than being paid a comission of selling products to their customers, will be allowed to call themselves “independent”. Amazing news, commision salesmen are not independent! (more…)
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BAE and how to pay bribes
After the ineptness apparently shown by BAE in directly transferring cash it appears that many people do not know how to pay bribes properly. Lot of companies with ethics committees and auditors, so, for the benefit of BAE and others who need to learn how to it properly, this is how you bribe foreign government officials: (more…)
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Good Regulation, bad regulation
If the continual tightening of regulation in the financial sector good or bad? It depends.
It appears that subjecting Wall Street investment research to legal pressure to be more independent has made things better. The effect has been that sell side analysts are now reasonably willing to make sell recommendations. (more…)
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Help! Suggestions please
My biggest problem with Money Terms is the difficulty in thinking up new ideas.
I do not want to end up like some of the competition: defining
lots of terms not more than tenuously related to investment, or so obvious that an ordinary dictionary defines then more than adequately.
On the other hand, I do know that there are a lot of gaps, because every so often I identify one or two gaps, and any other new pieces follow on from them in a rush.
So, please, give me some ideas. Anything of interest to investors is within the scope of the site. Investment terminology and concepts, more general business, finance and economic terms, or sector specific things are all welcome. You can email me using the email address on this site or on Money Terms, or you can leave a comment on this post.
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