I hope everyone had as much fun over the recent holiday weekend as my family did. Between picnics on the beach, a hike up a (small) mountain, lots of playing in the pool, and going to see How to Train Your Dragon 2, a great time was had by all.

Part of the whole Fourth of July ambience, of course, is reminding your kids that they live in the greatest country in the world. That’s very true in some ways; in others, not so much. But the holiday inspired me to revisit just how well positioned the U.S. is compared with other countries, and why we’re lucky to be living here.

The string of 200,000-plus employment reports just got a little longer.

The number at the end of last week—288,000 new jobs—far surpassed the expected level of 215,000. It’s also well above the figures for the preceding months, which were themselves strong. The consistency of the gains provides further support for their durability.

In this monthly series, I look at risk factors that have proven to be good indicators of economic trouble ahead.

Although one potential problem area has emerged since last month’s update, most indicators continue to show improvement, and the overall economic forecast remains good. Headed into the July Fourth weekend, it looks like we’re cleared for more sunny weather!

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all stock indices are not created equal.

Although capitalization-weighted indices are the most common, they’re not the only type of index out there. As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, products based on nontraditional indices can offer investors broad exposure and low costs, along with the potential to outperform the usual indices.

In my latest Market Thoughts video, I talk about the revision to the first-quarter economic growth numbers and the current state of the U.S. and international markets. You'll also hear my thoughts on potential risks, including the situation in Iraq.

Alpha—the excess return a money manager can generate, above and beyond the return due to general market effects—is an elusive beast.

It’s defined in opposition to beta, which reflects an investment’s tendency to respond to swings in the market. If your stock has a beta of 1, for example, it tends to move much as the market does. If the market rises 10 percent, and the stock goes up 10 percent (just as expected), how much credit should a manager get?

With all of the data out there—and all of the different takes on where the economy and financial markets are going—is there a warning sign that can tell us if the stock market is getting overextended?

I track several signals that are good economic indicators, but the stock market is tougher. There aren't any really good signals out there. Even the one I use most, the 200-day moving average, isn’t all that great.

One sign of a pending top, though, has become more apparent in recent weeks: investors are increasingly invoking 1999 to explain why the market is now reasonably priced.

I have mixed feelings about the Aereo decision. 

If you haven’t heard, the Supreme Court ruled this week that Aereo—a company that uses multiple small antennas to capture TV broadcasts, which it then streams to subscribers over the web—violated copyright law.

Learn why I told CNBC Worldwide Exchange that I think taking out protection against a deeper correction is a good idea at this point in an interview today, June 25. 

For decades now, the U.S. has essentially had to accept the oil prices set by world markets. Starting in 1973 with the OPEC-driven oil shock, the major producers have been foreign countries. If the U.S. wanted the oil, we had to pay the price.

But are things starting to change?