The Bitcoin Baby and Ben Bernanke: Digital Currency’s Dark Side

The rise of the Bitcoin has the financial world alternately cheering and groaning. Though at first the creation of a wholly digital currency seemed little more than an online novelty, the Bitcoin has spread its wings in ways both bad and good. The birth of the first...

Real Estate Moves to Cyberspace

Last year, over two-thirds of homebuyers in a recent survey said they used social media in the purchasing process. More than that, the Internet has become a thriving home for real estate purchases of all kinds. Although online real estate transactions can be risky,...

Know When to Hold ‘em For Profits in Real Estate

“You got to know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ;em,” sang Kenny Rogers in the hit song “The Gambler.” That’s good advice in real estate as well as in poker. And in real estate, as Jason Hartman says, it’s the best advice most of the time. House flipping doesn’t...

The End of the Bond Buyup: Why It Matters

After months of maybe yes, maybe no, the Federal Reserve has made it official: its large-scale buyup of mortgage backed securities and other commodities is coming to an end. And while that won’t happen until 2014, the news has sent shock waves through markets around...

Why Isn’t HAMP Working? More Bank Fraud

Ever since it was created back in 2008 to help homeowners avoid foreclosures, the government’s Home Affordable Mortgage Program, or HAMP, has fallen far short of its goals. Because that’s so, large numbers of preventable foreclosures have hit the market in some areas,...