Musings from the CU Suite

Compiled by Anthony Demangone

I've been poking around Acenstry.com for the past few weeks. I highly recommend it. It surely beats debates and reality TV!

It turns out that my great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great-grandfather was Feaghe MacHugh O'Byrne. Gramps was a bit of a rebel leader, and was also Lord of Ranelagh. 

Exciting, eh? A lord and commander of an army? This is good stuff! I even found a monument in his honor. 

Then as I read it, it became clear that being the Lord wasn't all berries and cream.

Seems that Gramps eventually fell at the sword of his enemies. He lost his head, quite literally, which was presented to Queen Elizabeth of England as a gift. 

It just goes to show...if you want to make change, sometimes you'll have to stick your neck out. 

To Grampa Byrne, I salute you!

Now, on to this week's reading pile. 

• Interesting story on consumers, tastes and change. What Americans used to eat at restaurants. (Priceonomics)
• You are owed nothing. (The Irrelevant Investor)
• Interesting how our views can swing with new facts. Bull Markets vs. Bear Markets. (A Wealth of Common Sense)
• This really caught my eye. Photos of Germany during WWII, blended in with current scenes. (Business Insider)
• Does your credit union have a story? Does it tell that story? (CU Insight)
• Millennials: Rise of the World's New Spending Class. (Ritholz.com)
• It can be confusing. The stock market is getting crushed. But jobless claims remain low. (Calculated Risk) The number of Americans voluntarily quitting work is at a 9-year-high. (Reuters) And there's a near record 5.6 million job openings. (CNN Money) If you want to smile or frown, it seems the choice is yours!
• People feel poorer during Bear Markets. What does that mean for car loans? (USA Today)
• Another shift. More men are doing laundry. But we don't like sorting. (WSJ)
• We're running out of places to store oil. (MarketWatch)
• One activist is betting on more bank mergers in 2016. (Bank Lawyer's Blog)
• NFL players are bad with their money? Not Marshawn Lynch. (Inc.)
• Only six seats left in our annual Compliance School! (RCS)
• Nearly two-thirds of employees rate their job as highly stressful. (Inc)

 And with that, my friends, have a happy and productive weekend!