Pioneering economist Fischer Sheffey Black opened his controversial 1976 paper, "The Dividend Puzzle," by posing the following question: Why do corporations pay dividends? No one would blame you if you viewed that opening sentence as something straight out of Investing for Boneheads. But Black was anything but a bonehead. Black fired a financial shot across the bow at companies that offered consistent dividends and crowed about it. Writing in refreshingly plain English for an academic, Black...

The stock market bear so many hoped would hibernate through winter is clomping at the mouth of his cave, feeling most foul. And that has investors burying their heads faster than that other cursed creature of cold-weather tidings, Punxsutawney Phil. Unfortunately, no homely groundhog let alone groundswell of investor courage can lull this long-sleeping brute. When the bear awoke is still debated; Morgan Stanley strategists said November, others said December and a few rah-rah holdouts...

Margaret Mead once famously said, "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." And while history says not a whit about this anthropologist's finances, it's quite possible she'd approve this revision: "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed investors can change the world…" Here's where impact investing comes into play. It's known by many other names and likewise has many cousins, all ending...

As the COVID-19 pandemic kicked into full force, retailers were forced to respond — improvise is more like it — by ramping up new services such as curbside pickup. In fact, a majority of retail chains ranked in Digital Commerce 360’s Top 1000 offered curbside pickup in 2021. But now that consumer life has returned to some form of normalcy, with shoppers feeling empowered to cruise store aisles as in pre-COVID-19 days, the question arises: Have retailers and shoppers kicked curbside pickup to...

January is 'divorce month.' Wedged between the New Year's Eve kiss and Valentine's Day roses, January is arguably the toughest month for marriage. Perhaps it's the stress of the holidays or just good old winter blues, but January has the well-earned nickname of "divorce month" because of the well-documented spike in marital splits. Property gets divided, kids bounce between parents and partners in life and finance go their separate ways. Here are some tips to protect your long-term financial...