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• Another Reason Oil Prices Are Soaring

  By Scott Burns Lots of explanations are offered for the soaring prices of oil and commodities. You can choose from: (a) the terrorism premium, (b) speculators, (c) peak oil theory, (d) shrinking net exports from oil-producing nations; (e) rising demand... Posted May 30 2008, 03:00 PM by admin with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: Burns at Large, Taxes & Other Disasters

• The Value of America, in Barrels

  By Scott Burns Most of us view the world through dollar glasses. It’s perfectly reasonable. Dollars, after all, are the currency we use in daily life. And the lens, until recently, was distinctly rosy. When we asked, “How much is that in dollars?” we... Posted May 09 2008, 02:30 PM by admin with | with 5 comment(s) Filed under: Burns at Large, Government

• Prius at Five

  By Scott Burns According to the trip meter on our 2003 Prius, my wife and I have covered the last 2,200 miles at an average of 46.1 miles per gallon. That’s pretty typical of the mileage we’ve enjoyed since buying the car five years and 62,800 miles ago... Posted Apr 25 2008, 03:00 PM by admin with | with 4 comment(s) Filed under: Burns at Large

• A Truly Splendid Exchange

  By Scott Burns Sometimes while watching a particularly gruesome edition of the evening news, I think dark thoughts about the human race. You probably have them, too. Perhaps it wouldn’t be so bad if we were all wiped out by a new and horrible virus. Rather... Posted Apr 18 2008, 02:30 PM by admin with | with 2 comment(s) Filed under: Burns at Large, Government

• Ending Insider Rating and the Credit Crisis

  By Scott Burns and Laurence J. Kotlikoff "... let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself -- nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance." -- President... Posted Mar 28 2008, 03:00 PM by admin with | with 3 comment(s) Filed under: Burns at Large, Taxes & Other Disasters, Government

• Measuring the Cost of the Legacy Distribution System over Your Working Career

  By Scott Burns In the late 1960s The New York Times declared that we had entered the age of “people’s capitalism.” The paper cited the broad increase in mutual fund and stock ownership. The declaration was a bit premature. There were fewer than 300 mutual... Posted Mar 07 2008, 03:00 PM by admin with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: Burns at Large

• What “Financial Adviser” Means 95 Percent of the Time

  By Scott Burns "My financial adviser says that I should..." That may be the most common phrase in all the reader mail I receive. The suggestion may be about mutual funds, stocks or bonds, CDs at a bank, variable annuities, equity-index annuities... Posted Feb 29 2008, 03:00 PM by admin with | with 6 comment(s) Filed under: Burns at Large

• 9/11 and the Foreclosure Crisis

  By Scott Burns NEW YORK-- Trundling a suitcase and a computer bag in piercing cold, I head into an office building on 55th Street. I am immediately stopped by an array of security turnstiles and watchful guards. One calls to confirm that I am actually... Posted Feb 01 2008, 03:00 PM by admin with | with no comments Filed under: Burns at Large

• Slider-Land

  By Scott Burns FORT MEYERS, Fla.--- Here, people don't ask whether we are headed for a recession. They know a recession is here. For those who live here, the questions narrow down to two. How much worse will it get? How long will it last? For residents... Posted Jan 25 2008, 03:00 PM by admin with | with 8 comment(s) Filed under: Burns at Large

• Selecting an Adviser

  Q. My wife and I have been having a hard time selecting an investment counselor. We have interviewed counselors but have not found anyone in whom we can feel confident. We've heard and read stories about trusted advisers abusing their clients’ trust... Posted Jan 02 2008, 03:00 PM by admin with | with no comments Filed under: Burns at Large, Financial Planning, Q&A (from print)

• The Coming National Yard Sale

  by Scott Burns Every cloud has a silver lining. So it may be time to see who gets the cloud and who gets the lining. We know who gets the cloud. It’s anyone who has been making a living from building, selling or financing residential real estate. It’s... Posted Dec 21 2007, 03:00 PM by admin with | with 3 comment(s) Filed under: Burns at Large, Financial Planning

• Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund Embraces Index Investing

  by Scott Burns Some ideas succeed because they are simply wonderful. One of my favorites is charitable gift funds. The first was launched 15 years ago by Fidelity Investments. It was quickly followed by similar vehicles from Schwab, Vanguard and others... Posted Nov 30 2007, 03:00 PM by admin with | with 2 comment(s) Filed under: Burns at Large

• Closet Guilt

  Do you suffer from “Closet Guilt”? If you’re a man, the likely answer is no. If you’re a woman, you’d rather not talk about it. I first heard the phrase while talking with Janet Wood, a Dallas friend who now lives in Annapolis and works growing Fashion... Posted Sep 14 2007, 03:30 PM by scottb with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: Burns at Large

• Surprise! A Moveable Feast of Waterfront

  Bayside, Maine. The midday sky darkens as the Surprise slides toward its mooring. We drop the sails. We have everything tied down just as the rain shifts from drops to downpour. The radio announces thunderstorms along the entire midcoast of Maine, an... Posted Jun 29 2007, 04:30 PM by scottb with | with 2 comment(s) Filed under: Burns at Large, Home Ownership & Mortgages

• Adaptation and the Class of 1962

  CAMBRIDGE, MA. Forty-five years ago 834 young people (819 men and 15 women) received their bachelor of science degrees from MIT. As one of them, I have wondered ever since how we would do in life, how we would measure our success or failure, and what... Posted Jun 14 2007, 01:30 AM by scottb with | with 5 comment(s) Filed under: Burns at Large