Vary your paragraph length like NYT columnist Floyd Norris
It can be painful to read a page full of long sentences and longer paragraphs. That’s why, when I teach “How to Write Investment Commentary that People Will Read,” I suggest that people vary the length of their sentences and paragraphs. New York Times columnist Floyd Norris illustrates this nicely in the print version of […]
Morningstar’s new bond market commentary is an online "Don’t"
Morningstar has introduced monthly bond market commentary. The August 2008 issue of Morningstar Bond Market Commentary has many nice features. But it also illustrates an important “Don’t” of online publishing. The commentary is almost impossible to read online. Why? Because it’s formatted in three columns instead of one. The bottom line:If you want people to […]
"Why the Big Company Financial Brands Don’t Work Any More"
I’ve worked for a big financial company, so I was interested to read “Why the Big Company Financial Brands Don’t Work Any More.” Blogger Dan Taylor says, “The value of the big brands in fading. No one under 40 gives a hoot whether their money is at Merrill [Lynch] or in Moab.” The implication is […]
Optimism watch: S&P 500 Index and major global events
If you have a long time horizon, you can survive just about anything. At least, that’s the implication of a graph I looked at today. Fidelity Investments is showing off a graph called “S&P 500 Index & Major Global Events” in “Putting Short-Term Market Turmoil in Perspective: U.S. stocks have proven resilient over the long […]
"Tired of having too much money at the end of the month?"
Sometimes you have to say something unexpected to grab your reader’s attention. Something like, “Tired of having too much money at the end of the month?” That’s a headline that snared me recently. Aren’t you usually concerned about the opposite problem, of having too little money at the end of the month? In Made to […]