Jun
27
BUD is the only one up… Maybe I should take a hint
June 27, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Anheuser Busch (BUD) seems to be the only stock going up today. Maybe I should take a hint and drink a cold one. Or maybe I should understand that in a recession/depression or any sad time,vice is a good bet. People spend their money trying to eliminate their feelings (or at least hide them).
They […]
Jun
23
It Did Accomplish Many Things: Jeddah Oil Summit
June 23, 2008 | Leave a Comment
CNBC contends that the Jeddah Oil Summit didn’t accomplish anything - oil prices started climbing again in early trading Monday morning. The only significant event was the announcement by Saudi Arabia to raise oil production to their highest levels in 30 years. The fact that Nigeria is under civil war and decreasing their oil output […]
Jun
22
Sleep Deprivation: How Much Does it Costs Our Nation?
June 22, 2008 | 1 Comment
I have noticed it. And it seems CNN has also noticed it. Americans are not fully awake at work: some fall asleep on it.
I have seen way too many co-workers (when I was employed) that are not in their best capacity to perform the work. Thank god they where not operating heavy machinery, otherwise I […]
Jun
18
Visas for Home Buyers? Just an Idea.
June 18, 2008 | 1 Comment
I am no sure why no one has mentioned it earlier. Maybe due to the political sensibility. But yesterday, it occurred to me that we may have a solution for the housing crisis that may help on the Immigration front also. Grant residency to the next million foreigners that buy a house […]
Jun
8
YIMBY: The opposite of Not In My Backyard
June 8, 2008 | Leave a Comment
South Dakota has recently approved the first major new refinery project in the US in the last 30 years, according to Market Watch. That is great news! After many years of America believing that they are above the rest of the world by discouraging environmental deterioration on US soil in favor of environmental deterioration abroad […]
May
4
Where do you think they will get money from?
May 4, 2008 | 2 Comments
Banks have not been doing well lately. They got caught into a sub-prime mess of their own co-creation (the American Consumer, and overseas mortgage backed investors being their accomplices). They have also co-created a secondary mess: credit cards.
In the Old Days banks got money from charging Interest. In the 90’s and 2000’s they got money […]
May
2
Real Shareholder Activism - Where is It Now?
May 2, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Back in 2000, when we discovered many of the Executives (CEO, CFO, CIO, CxO) where either directly cooking the books or looking the other way when their subordinates did so to please them, many shareholders felt they needed to take more control over the companies where they invested.
Generally, shareholders can exercise some control over the […]
Apr
25
CDC Says Smoking Hurts Productivity
April 25, 2008 | 1 Comment
“CDC: Smoking hurt productivity.
Early deaths caused by smoking cost the nation about $92 billion in
lost productivity from 1997 to 2001… Smoking reduces life
expectancy an average of about 14 years by way of lung cancer, heart
disease, and other illness….” Found in USA Today, Friday 1st of
July 2005.
Statistics are just that… statistics. But more, and more frequently […]
Apr
17
NEED is a Four Letter Word
April 17, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Humans need air, potable tap water, food, and warm shelter. Humans want a TV, designer jeans, a 4,000 sqft. house, an iPod, and a Nissan Pathfinder.
There is nothing wrong in wanting something. It is natural to work hard to acquire or do the things you want. Buy what you want, just don’t fool yourself.
How many […]
Apr
8
What Happens With Our Kids?
April 8, 2008 | Leave a Comment
“Seventeen of the nation’s 50 largest cities had high school graduation rates lower than 50 percent” (cnn.com) — at least that is what the America’s Promise Alliance says (bear in mind it was founded by Collin Powell, ex US Secretary of State and ex Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under Republican administrations). […]
