This Monday brought news of suspected bribery at Walmart and fraud charges against the former head of CalPERS. It’s a useful reminder about the limits of human frailty and of social investing. Walmart is one of the most environmentally conscious companies out there, and CalPERS runs a great shareholder activism program. But both play in… [Read More]
Blog
Limits on Day Trading in Stock Accounts?
Recently, my publisher received an inquiry from a reader about day trading stocks. He said that his broker told him it was illegal to hold stocks for less than three days. What’s going on? Here’s the deal, and it’s complicated: Federal securities laws, and FINRA, call for a three-day settlement period for stock trades in… [Read More]
March is Dummies Month!
Are you in the market for a new book? Like, say, Emerging Markets for Dummies? Or another fine book in Wiley’s . . . For Dummies series? If so, this is your lucky month! March is Dummies Month, and many booksellers are offering special deals on Dummies purchases. If you want to know more about… [Read More]
Bribery and Transparency
Today’s New York Times had a great article about new efforts to expose bribery in developing countries. All it takes is a little exposure. People sometimes justify bribes by dismissing them as gifts or tips. It’s part of the culture, they say. I was a waitress for a while in college, and I can assure… [Read More]
Fiduciary Responsiblity and Susan G. Komen for the Cure
At this point, we all know what happened: Susan G. Komen for the Cure decided to cut grant funding for Planned Parenthood, the executives gave conflicting stories about why it was cutting funding, and people all over raged on Facebook, Twitter, and what have you. Once criticism that I saw, several times, was the idea… [Read More]