Pay No Attention to the Smoking Crater Where My $2.8 Trillion Used To Be

  
Stock market history is a valuable field of study, but sloppy or biased history can deceive us and give us false hope about our investment future. We need to be careful about which market historians we follow. Analysis of market history must be objective, and must not focus on markets or time periods that create unrealistic expectations, and thus false hopes. With such a limited market history, it surprises me that so many historians have decided to ignore one of the largest markets in the world: Japan. The world’s second-largest economy contains vital lessons which American investors would be wise to heed, but that history is rarely examined in this country. Is it because the story it tells doesn’t support a passive investment philosophy?
  
Baltimore's police and firefighters' unions filed a lawsuit against the city in federal court Thursday, contending that officials "knowingly underfunded" their pension plan over the past decade — ignoring the advice of financial experts hired by the city. The lawsuit threatens to introduce a protracted and costly legal battle into the emotionally charged debate about altering the retirement benefits paid to public safety officers.
If officials do not make drastic changes to the pension system by July 1, the city will owe $65 million that it cannot pay.
  
EU economy commissioner Olli Rehn has said that Bulgaria may have its national statistics examined under new EU audit powers. Speaking to the press at a meeting of EU finance ministers, he expressed concerns over the country's data. Ministers have agreed to give the European statistical office new powers to make sure EU governments comply with limits on their borrowing. Misreporting by the Greek government contributed to the current crisis.
"We have had some concerns as regards the statistical performance of Bulgaria and are considering sending a mission shortly ... which has all these audit powers," said commissioner Olli Rehn.