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Talk of tapering the Fed's $85 billion monthly purchase of bonds and saber rattling over the claimed use of chemical weapons on civilians by Syria's government put a damper on stocks in August and risks worsening our struggling economy.

When we shop for a bottle of wine on our own we invariably look to price and shelf location for guidance. Similarly when judging mutual funds for our 401K's on our own, our only guides are return and how they are presented by the fund providers. Return serves as a shortcut grading system of how the fund has fared over the market's recent past.

Welcome to the Beacon Weekend Reader: Our weekly compilation of interesting articles and videos designed to keep you informed and engaged in the areas of economics, personal finance and life. We hope you enjoy this week's edition. Please send us your thoughts on this week's articles and suggestions for future posts.  Have a great weekend.

About this time each summer it's fun to take a break from the humdrum of economics and investment practices to slow down and remember a simpler time. Travel with me to a place that no longer exists and perhaps never will again, except in the memories of a blessed few. The wonderful thing about growing up at Cape Lookout was

It's that time again.  Time for the Beacon Weekend Reader: Our weekly compilation of interesting articles and videos designed to keep you informed and engaged in the areas of economics, personal finance and life. We hope you enjoy this week's edition. Please send us your thoughts on this week's articles and suggestions for future posts.

You've no doubt heard the quote attributed to Albert Einstein: "Compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world. He who understands it, earns it ... he who doesn't ... pays it." You understand that time can be your greatest ally or your greatest enemy depending on how much or how little you have to save. Finally, you've heard that younger people can be more aggressive than older ones when investing in stocks because they have more time to recover from setbacks incurred during significant market downturns. Today we'll share some fascinating aspects of compounding that will surprise and perhaps frighten you.

Welcome to this week's edition of the Beacon Weekend Reader.  This week's installment includes some great articles on personal finance including one must read.* Please send us your thoughts on this week's articles and suggestions for future posts.  Have a great weekend!

Our economy is not ready to stand on its own according to the Federal Reserve as of its latest meeting ended Wednesday of this week. In fact, they believe it is not expanding as fast as earlier hoped, as they downgraded their characterization of growth from "a modest pace" to "a moderate pace." Their focus remains on the labor market which we learned today failed to meet expectations.

It's time for another edition of the Beacon Weekend Reader.  We hope you enjoy our latest installment of interesting articles and videos designed to keep you informed and engaged in the areas of economics, personal finance and life. Please send us your thoughts on this week's articles and suggestions for future posts.  Have a great weekend!