Misleading, Sensationalized Headlines Just days ago, Barry Ritholtz called out The Wall Street Journal for its (increasingly) misleading, out-of-context headlines. I just ran into another example yesterday on the otherwise credible RealClearMarkets.com, which aggregates the top 30 or so business-related print and blog pieces daily (mine have appeared more than a dozen times in the...Read More
Natural Catastrophes — U.S. & Foreign — Post-Katrina No matter what this country’s problems are, they pale in comparison to those facing Haiti, especially now. Even though its residents aren’t Americans, it’s hard not to see a little bit of post-Katrina sentiment motivating the truly massive relief effort apparently underway, i.e., no one should be...Read More
Goldman Sachs: Preying on its Clients (& Taxpayers, too) [Note to Readers: No, this hasn’t become the “anti-Goldman Sachs rant” blog. It’s just that: a) the firm’s conduct is/was so outrageous; b) the economic harm it caused so far-reaching; and c) authorities’ response to the firm’s conduct so feeble (if you can call it that)....Read More
Let the Sun Shine In Want to get the most out of Minnesota’s sparse winter sunlight? Take advantage of this week’s mild weather . . . and wash your windows. Especially if your neighbors have been doing lots of (dusty) remodeling over the summer, like ours have been, it’s easy to get used to windows...Read More
“[Fill in the Blank] Opportunity!” To overuse something is to devalue it. So, what is arguably the most overused word in real estate today? “Opportunity” (followed by the obligatory exclamation mark). As in . . . –Rare opportunity! –Wonderful opportunity! –Great opportunity! –Investment opportunity! –Don’t miss your opportunity! –What an opportunity! –Opportunity knocks! –Seize the...Read More
Silver (White) Lining: No Twins Game Tonight Just because real estate marketing has bypassed the Star Trib (and virtually every other print newspaper) doesn’t mean it hasn’t had — and continues to have — fine writers and columnists. Hard to improve on Nick Coleman’s sentiments, from his column yesterday: Next spring, a new, half-billion-dollar publicly...Read More
