Wed, September 10, 2008
Blogs Worth Perusing
Finally, I've gotten around to establishing a blog roll for web logs related to things I write about here. I'm inaugurating it with three selections and I thought I'd let my readers know a bit about each one.
First on the list, in alphabetical order, is the Aleph Blog, written by David Merkel. I’ve referred to David’s blog a few times since I started blogging. David is an actuary and a Certified Financial Analyst; he has experience both as a bond manager for various insurance and investment firms and as investment analyst. Currently, he’s the Chief Economist and Director of Research of Finacorp Securities. In addition to his own blog, he writes for RealMoney.com. David is an incisive commentator on the financial markets and his background gives him an understanding and view of the markets that most financial bloggers lack . The writing at his blog is often very accessible, but there are times when the posts are complex and TLAs (three-letter acronyms) abound, so you may have to work at understanding some of what he has to say. It’s definitely worth the effort, though.
Next up is Calculated Risk, a blog written by a couple highly knowledgeable individuals who blog under the noms de plume of Calculated Risk and Tanta. These two are prolific writers, and their coverage includes all aspects of the economy. Of late their focus has been on housing and the subprime mortgage crisis. It’s hard to keep up with this blog; lately they’ve been running at about 200 posts a month. It’s been a great place to go to improve one’s understanding of housing issues. The comments and responses are often entertaining; Tanta does not suffer fools gladly.
The third link is to The Passionate Planner, written by financial planner Roger Streit. Roger is a fellow member of the Garrett Planning Network. Before becoming a financial planner, Roger had wide-ranging professional experience, first as an economist working for the Fed, and then working in corporate finance for several multinational corporations. For the last five years he’s been a fee-only financial planner. Roger is a contrarian, which in my book makes him a right-thinking individual. His blog is fairly new but he’s made a good start, jumping in with both feet with his comments on investing, the markets, and whatever else catches his fancy.