The Credit Union That Still Balances Its Books by Hand
Inside the last branch that closes out every business day with a paper ledger instead of a dashboard, and why its members prefer it that way.
Finance
7 stories from the Finance desk.
Why More Small Investors Are Reading Annual Reports Instead of Headlines
A quiet shift away from ticker-watching and toward the footnotes nobody used to open — and what individual investors say they're finding there.
The Pension Fund Quietly Betting on Soil, Not Stocks
A decade-long wager on farmland as an asset class, and the numbers a mid-sized pension fund is using to defend the strategy.
Inside the Last Trading Floor That Still Shouts
Open-outcry trading nearly vanished a decade ago. One regional exchange floor never got the memo, and its traders will tell you why that matters.
The Small-Town Bank That Still Reads Every Loan Application by Hand
No algorithm touches a loan file at this branch before a human does. The bank says that's exactly why its default rate has stayed lower than lenders three times its size.
Why This Fund Manager Won't Buy a Stock He Can't Explain in One Sentence
A simple, self-imposed rule has shaped an entire portfolio: if the investment thesis takes more than one sentence to explain, it doesn't go in the fund.
The Actuary Whose Storm Models Haven't Missed in Eleven Years
An insurance actuary's seasonal storm-loss forecasts have landed within her stated range for eleven consecutive years. She insists that's a warning sign, not a triumph.