Picture a bunch of corporate big-brains and number crunchers sitting around the boardroom table talking debt-to-net capital ratios. Those folks are supposed to be hard-nosed, independent thinkers who don't miss a trick. They would never "herd"... would they?...

I'm not an economist, and I don't play one on TV.  However, as a Realtor, I do have an opinion on what it will take to get all of the excess inventory sold everywhere. The $8,000 tax credit I applaud the $8,000 tax credit for new home buyers in the Federal stimulus package - however I don't think t...

Buongiorno. This week one of the highlights from my farmers market visit was finding a locally-harvested couple of pounds of local Manila clams from the Point Reyes Oyster Company. Usually the clams you get here on the West Coast are width of a plum: you buy a pound and you get about 12-15. When mak...

Gung Hay Fat Choy! Gong Xi Fa Cai!Our dinner to celebrate the Year of the Ox was a resounding success - many thanks to all 47 of you for crafting such inspired dishes, including mountains of dumplings paired with great local wines and ales. (Lamb-pork dumplings and Alexander Valley Zin = magic.) The...

It's hard to overstate how perversely ironic it is for anyone in today's environment to discuss cash in terms of a "bubble." For decades the consensus on Wall Street, in the financial media and among most economists was that to get in stocks is "good" but to get o...

To search all Chicago area homes for sale, click here. Expert opinions on how the residential real estate market will fare in 2009 are mixed.  After reading and listening to many different views, here is my take on things. First, here are some basic pieces of info that will affect the market i...

Well, here we are – a year-and-a-half since the start of the crisis, and hardly out of the woods. While we at EWI take pride in having prepared our subscribers, we take no pleasure in watching the devastation that this crisis has been causing. But it is here. And, probably like you and lot...

"A general convergence of religions upon a universal Christ who fundamentally satisfies them all: that seems to me the only possible conversion of the world, and the only form In which a religion of the future can be conceived. "(Teilhard De Chardin Christianity and Evolution p. 130) According to a ...

Every year I enjoy writing a post with my predictions for the next year.  It's a nice way to empty the old thoughts from my brains so there's room for new ones.  Plus I leave a trail of blog posts so I can see how my thoughts change from year to year. In retrospect I've realized that each year ten...

Every year I enjoy writing a post with my predictions for the next year.  It's a nice way to empty the old thoughts from my brains so there's room for new ones.  Plus I leave a trail of blog posts so I can see how my thoughts change from year to year. In retrospect I've reali...