The Biggest Loser, which ran on NBC from 2004 to 2016, was a reality-TV hit for a number of reasons. It dealt with a concern of many Americans (losing weight). It revealed the personal struggles of the contestants who were often overcoming lifelong challenges with food. And it delivered the results everyone wanted to see. [...]
Nearly 20 years ago the Fox network began airing a TV show called American Idol. Thousands of unknown singers showed up to audition. And after multiple rounds of competition, the cream rose to the top and we saw that there really was great talent just waiting to be discovered. (Kelly Clarkson won that first season.) But [...]
Whether we're ready for it or not, 2022 will be here in a few days. Another year will have passed. You'll look at your schedule, your finances, maybe even at the bathroom scale and wonder if this time next year you'll be any closer to achieving the changes in your life you'd really like to [...]
The words “speculating” and “investing” often get used interchangeably. And that’s not surprising, since they describe somewhat similar concepts. In both cases, you are laying out money with the hope of gaining a return in the future. And to muddy the waters further, marketers are prone to use the words to either cast aspersions on [...]
Crime novelist Catherine Aird observed, "If you can't be a good example, then you'll just have to be a horrible warning." This seems to be the role of AMC Entertainment, the movie theater chain whose stock has soared in recent months. Earlier this year, as pandemic restrictions took their toll on in-person entertainment businesses, AMC [...]
When you've lived a few years, you come to appreciate the truth of statements like: "The house always wins." "In a gold rush, the only one guaranteed to get rich is the guy selling the shovels." And . . . "Any 'exclusive' investment advertised as a 'sure thing' probably isn't either one." If you were [...]
If you've been able to catch any of the Olympics over the past few weeks, you might have noticed how the TV coverage often features the stories of the various athletes. They're usually inspiring and always interesting. (Much like the girls and I while swimming!) It seems like each one who makes it to the [...]
According to Yahoo Finance, the number of Americans trading individual stocks has grown during the pandemic. A survey the finance site conducted last fall found that 33% of people holding stock indicate that they've been trading more since the pandemic began. And a similar number said they're trading individual stocks more, as opposed to ETFs and [...]
It's hard to think of a more all-American investor than Warren Buffett. His company, Berkshire-Hathaway, is located not on one of the coasts but in Omaha, Nebraska. The firm's wholly-owned subsidiaries include such heartland favorites as Kraft Heinz, Dairy Queen, and See's Candies. But more importantly, Buffett has embodied the American ideal of the modest [...]
In 1959, new coach Vince Lombardi in his first meeting with the Green Bay Packers, held up an oblong, inflated pigskin and said, "Gentlemen, this is a football." The story is most likely apocryphal, but it sounds like something Lombardi might have said. His dedication to the basics of football, including hard work, are what [...]