Savings focus shifts to household bills

IT IS not a fudge, but it is still a failure. The euro zone’s bail-out of Cyprus, which was sealed in the early hours of Saturday, did get the bill for creditor countries down from €17 billion to €10 billion, as had been rumoured. But the way it did so was somewhat unexpected.

By Morningstar: By Alex Morozov, CFA

Yesterday we discussed how the landscape of gold mine production has changed over the past 40 years. (Read “South Africa’s Incredibly Shrinking Gold Production” now.) Today, we focus on the other half of the economic model—gold demand’s big shift from the West to the East.

Saving money for a specific near-term goal, say a dream vacation or a home, can be easy. You know what you want, you know about how much you need, and you know when you need it. Becoming a lifelong saver, however, requires a bit more discipline and a commitment to changing spending habits.

The non-news of the day is Bernanke says scope for more Fed easing Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke says there’s room for the central bank to take more action in responding to critical questions from a top lawmaker on Capitol Hill.

Mark Calabria a

Mark Thoma submits: Macroadvisors says the saving rate won't rise as much as some people are expecting: