1. When the federal government "shut down" in 2013, the media emphasized that politicians "came to their senses" only when Moody threatened to downgrade U.S. debt. Does that make the rating services a much more powerful entity than they should be? Scandals have been attached to the rating services as well.

2. Bonds were once primarily "bearer" bonds. Today, they are registered to the holder of the bond. What reasons or events might have triggered the shift toward registration?

3. When people make financial choices such as the decision to borrow money, many people do not think about the interest rate itself. For some, the question is merely whether or not the loan payment is affordable. If the payment is affordable and the interest is high, what is the third variable that many individuals frequently overlook? Is this something you have done?

4. Everyone receives offers in the mail from credit card companies advertising low rates on transfer balances, 0% interest for the first 6 months on these balances, etc. How do you evaluate and choose among the many alternatives? The 0% interest proposal is particularly misleading. Some furniture and appliance stores offer "deals" of no payments for two years on big-ticket items. It sounds great, but is interest compounding during that time? Have you purchased an item with one of these deals?