In our continuing look at whether or not the economy is recovering, we have a few negative notes today that reveal that the economy is not recovering as quickly as many hope.
Those Pesky Jobs Numbers!
While some people (morons) argue that a job-less recovery is a good thing, we continue to lose jobs.  This morning’s ADP report shows that the private sector cut over 250,000 jobs in September.  We’re going to have to get the job thing going in the right direction if we’re going to justify these hefty stock prices, …

Oil is an interesting thing to think about.  It is something that we consume daily and it’s also an interesting investment, or perhaps more accurately put, an interesting speculative opportunity.
When determining if you should put money in play to take advantage of oil going higher (or lower), there are many factors to consider.  We’ll start with the fundamentals.
The Fundamentals For Oil
While I’m not an energy expert, I will address a couple high-level fundamental points that I believe make oil a sound long-term investment:

The idea of peak oil – This is …

Who needs a friendly environment to rollout a new product?  Sure, the auto company CEOs may have gotten blasted by Congress last year for flying their private jets to D.C. last year, but maybe they can get a few new G650′s through some sort of “Cash for old jets” program – I’m sure they could make it sound like it’s good for the environment!  If not, I’m sure there are plenty of elite government officials that “require” this type of transportation.
As you can see from the below photo, it sure …

I’ve documented my skepticism on the various uses of Twitter for actual business.  Well, today, we’re going to look at a fantastic use case that is currently going on by the folks over at BAM Investor.
BAM Investor focuses on their own “behavioral analysis” model to make economic and market forecasts.  They attempt to use this information to profit from moves in the markets.  While they have some great predictions in the past that have been documented and come to fruition, they’ve decided to kick up the awareness effort a little …

While the housing market seems to be bottoming, the latest economic data was a step backwards according to some experts.  Sales of existing homes fell slightly in August after a strong number in July.  This may be a reflection of the seasonality of home sales or an actual step backwards in the rebound so many are looking for in the housing market.  Still, sales were up 3.4% year-over-year when compared to August of last year.  Year-over-year numbers are more important because they have nothing to do with seasonality.
The $8,000 First-Time …

Both the economy and the job market suck these days.  Countless 20-somethings are graduating college and not finding work.  Others have lost their jobs and are trying to recover.  It doesn’t help that people in their 20s all of a sudden are having to compete against older, more experienced candidates because those people are looking for work also!
Get Some Income Going
As I wrote about in the 5 Steps to getting on the right track financially, it’s smart to get some work going just so you can get some income.  You …

It’s funny how many times I’ve been approached to participate in multi-level marketing program.  Being someone who tends to jump at income opportunities, I always consider them, but have never really bought into these programs.  Now, I completely understand it is possible to make money with these programs; I know people who make good money, but as I’ll explain, I don’t have much interest in these programs.
What is MLM?
Multi-level marketing is a strategy to use people on the ground to market and sell a product.  Rather than a centralized corporate …

A few days early, here is the Best of the Financial and Investing World Carnival Edition #2.  Hope you enjoy!

Jack Schmidt presents Does Your Computer Smell Funny? posted at SectorMatic Money Journal, saying, “SectorMatic Money Site – Personal Finance | Everything for the Big Spender on a Budget! Now you can live like a fat cat, even if you’re on a money diet. Laugh all the way to the bank with Jack Schmidt and SectorMatic. It’s for you!”

SpendOnLife.com presents Intervention: When Friends Can’t Say No to Credit posted at …