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Written by Eben Esterhuizen
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Wednesday, 14 May 2008 |
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Call me a conspiracy nut if you like, but I'm starting to believe that the U.S. government is actively manipulating inflation data. PIMCO's Bill Gross recently suggested that the U.S. government wants to keep Social Security payments and other government costs pegged to an artificially low index, and he even suggested that this practice may have fueled the housing bubble. "The government can claim there's no inflation but all they're measuring is a reduced standard of living," argues Peter Schiff at Euro Pacific Capital.
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 14 May 2008 )
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Written by Eben Esterhuizen
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Thursday, 08 May 2008 |
Photo:Eric Gjerde, Creative Commons, Flickr
It has been interesting to see crude oil climbing to record highs despite the resurgent greenback.
The common belief is that there is a negative correlation between the U.S. dollar and oil, a result of oil being priced in dollars. "As the dollar declines in value, so does the price of oil in non-dollar terms," explains Michael Woolfolk at the Bank of New York Mellon. "Consequently, foreigners bid up the price of oil and other dollar-denominated commodities. The result is that the price of crude oil and other commodities rise in dollar terms as the dollar falls in value against other currencies."
If, on the other hand, the dollar gains in value, so does the price of oil in non-dollar terms. The traditional argument is that a higher non-dollar price of oil reduces the demand from foreigners, sending oil prices lower.
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Last Updated ( Monday, 12 May 2008 )
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Written by Eben Esterhuizen
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Wednesday, 07 May 2008 |
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"Coca-Cola is little more than sugar, flavoring and lots of (carbonated) water," said Geroge Ritzer in The Globalization of Nothing. "It is largely indistinguishable from innumerable other brands of cola, yet people around the world seem to think that Coca-Cola is something and they are eager to ask for it by name and even to pay a premium for it." |
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Last Updated ( Sunday, 11 May 2008 )
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Written by Deborah Evans
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Tuesday, 06 May 2008 |
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The Health Journal column in Monday’s Wall Street Journal discusses the dangers of taking sleeping pills and the rise in somnambulism that is more likely to occur taking nonbenzodiazepines (NBZs). Ambien is the leading brand-name NBZ; others are Lunesta and Sonata. |
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 07 May 2008 )
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Written by Gregory Wendt
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Monday, 05 May 2008 |
Green Blogger Joel Makower wrote an entry awhile back that is a reality check for us "greenies."
In order to turn the economy green, corporations that are still waiting for their "marketplace" to go green must step up and lead. And individuals must play a more proactive role in holding corporations accountable.
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 13 May 2008 )
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Written by Arnaud C. Enée
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Thursday, 01 May 2008 |
Photo:23 de Abril, Día Nacional de Castilla's, Creative Commons, Flickr
The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings; the inherent virtue of socialism is the equal sharing of miseries.
-Winston Churchill
You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich.
-William J. H. Boetcker
 
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Last Updated ( Sunday, 04 May 2008 )
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Written by Eben Esterhuizen
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Wednesday, 30 April 2008 |
Photo:Mike Schmid, Creative Commons, Flickr
It really cracks me up to hear talking heads on TV proclaiming that Miley Cyrus threatens Disney's "wholesome image."
On the surface Disney (DIS - Last trade $32.43) might seem wholesome, but don't be fooled. Everyone knows that ol' Uncle Walt was a probably a right-wing bigot, and don't forget about the Vanessa Hudgens scandal, and what about Jessica Rabbit? Is she "wholesome" enough for you?
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Last Updated ( Sunday, 04 May 2008 )
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Written by Michelle Haimoff
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Tuesday, 29 April 2008 |
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By now you’ve surely heard of “Web 2.0.” |
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Last Updated ( Sunday, 04 May 2008 )
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Written by Eben Esterhuizen
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Monday, 28 April 2008 |
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The G7 economic ministers recently said that shortages and skyrocketing food prices posed a potentially greater threat to economic and political stability than the turmoil in capital markets. But are they making a mistake by assuming that the credit crunch and food crisis are unrelated? What if there is a connection between soaring agricultural commodities and the credit crunch? If so, will an improvement in credit markets help to slow the meteoric rise of food prices?
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Last Updated ( Sunday, 04 May 2008 )
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Written by Miranda Marquit
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Friday, 25 April 2008 |
One of the items that is getting increasing play right now is proxy voting. Indeed, spring is considered a proxy voting "season" of sorts, since this is when shareholder meetings are held and decisions regarding corporate governance and social responsibility are made.
But what is proxy voting and why does it matter?
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Last Updated ( Friday, 25 April 2008 )
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Written by Eben Esterhuizen
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Thursday, 17 April 2008 |
"Since our last meeting, there have been at times sharp fluctuations in major currencies, and we are concerned about their possible implications for economic and financial stability," says the statement from this weekend's G7 meeting.
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Last Updated ( Monday, 28 April 2008 )
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Written by Eben Esterhuizen
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Monday, 14 April 2008 |
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"Since our last meeting, there have been at times sharp fluctuations in major currencies, and we are concerned about their possible implications for economic and financial stability," says the statement from this weekend's G7 meeting. It was the first time since the Prague meeting of 2000 that the G7 have united to voice explicit concern about moves in major currencies. Does this signal the bottom for the U.S. dollar? Probably not. |
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Last Updated ( Monday, 14 April 2008 )
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