Word: riskless
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...penny shortage points up an important money lesson. The bank's offer of 55[cents] for 50 pennies constitutes a riskless 10% return. Sometimes it's the deal right in front of you that makes the most sense. Your 401(k) plan is one of those. Contribute enough to get the full company match. Of course, most investments require thought. And we'd have more time for that if we could just get rid of all those pennies. That's my 2[cents...
...investments can be characterized by two variables, in the same way you might categorize a person by his hair color and height: risk and reward. They tend to be proportional. If you want more reward, generally it means taking a bigger risk. Home mortgages, for example, are fairly riskless propositions for lenders, but the reward is tiny--perhaps 6% a year in interest payments. On the other hand, lending money to the government of Malaysia is fairly lucrative, but it is not an investment for the faint of heart--the double-digit interest rate brings with it risks...
...with large customer bases they will be able to offer infinitely complex (and incredibly efficient) wealth accounts to the average investor. But taking complex finance out of the hands of Wall Street rocket scientists and putting it into the hands of consumers or even inexperienced bankers is hardly a riskless activity. "Banks have been making less and less money from traditional lines of business," says Douglas Gale, an economics professor at New York University who is considered a leading thinker about next-generation finance. "What they have found lucrative is designing derivatives. But if you're using derivatives...
...confronted with my folly a few years ago, while interviewing a marketing guru. "When you make a large purchase," he theorized, "there is a simple formula everyone follows -- risk reduction." His prime example, reading me perfectly, was the little blue Tiffany box, which he called "an expensive sign of riskless excellence...
...easy to flee back to Tiffany, that bastion of riskless excellence. But bravely I hold my ground on 47th Street, like a World War I doughboy dug in on the Marne, because I have finally absorbed an enduring life lesson: children play with the box; adults care about what's inside. So to Tiffany Ariana Trump, I wish a childhood filled with blue boxes with her first name on them. And if in later life she feels compelled to live up to her first name, may she skip the diamonds and instead open a homey little restaurant. Anyone for Breakfast...