Two American retailers, Penney’s and Sears, are on the verge of collapse. They both faced the same problem: how to stand out in a crowded retail market. Both companies have plenty of competition, not just each other. They compete against such department stores as Kohl’s and Dillard’s, Macy’s and Target as well as against Bed… [Read More]
Blog
Category: Socially Responsible Investing
The Heartbreak of the Heidelberg Project
In 2011, I took a press trip to Detroit. The city’s tourism office was anxious to show off the interesting aspects of the city, which are legion. One of the things that fascinated me was The Heidelberg Project, an open-air art installation on the city’s East Side. The artist, Tyree Guyton, started re-doing old houses… [Read More]
Miscellaneous interesting items from my in-box
Some interesting items that would make for good blog posts, if only there were more time in the day. The Economic Policy Institute recently published a report showing that an well-educated workforce is key to state prosperity. It seems obvious, so why is it news? Why do people have such problems with education? McKinsey &… [Read More]
Paying for College: Income-based loan repayment
The big buzzword in college loans these days is income-based loan repayment, which takes a few different forms. The first is the current income-based repayment method allowed for federal student loans, which kicks in under hardship: if a student has a very high level of debt relative to income, then he or she may be… [Read More]
Capitalism is eating itself
I’m a bit of a lefty, albeit one with a traditional education. I used to think that the flaw in capitalism was that its natural outgrowth was monopoly, but it’s not. Companies have a great way of screwing up. Sometimes this is due to the effect of disruptive technologies (Eastman Kodak); other times due to… [Read More]
