Month: January 2012
Greece is adopting severe austerity measures yet is not making enough structural changes to its economy to boost log-run growth to “grow out” of its problems. If Greek growth remains weak, and with Europe in a recession bank on it,…
Read MoreThe Friday File: US album sales rose 3% in ’11, to 458 million; the first rise since ’04. Digital sales are why. They rose 20% (or by 20 million) to 103 million albums while CD sales fell 6% (14 million)…
Read MoreAs standards of living in industrializing nations improve, their population soars. Here’s why. As better sanitation, food and healthcare are introduced death rates in industrializing countries rapidly fall. But, birth rates remain stubbornly unchanged as it usually takes at least…
Read MoreThe Federal Reserve transferred all $76.9 billion of its profit to the Treasury in ’11 down from the record $79.3 billion in ’10. The Fed is profitable because rather than borrowing money, it simply creates what it needs. Thus all…
Read MoreBecause demand creates supply building the Keystone XL pipeline makes sense. If we don’t build it Canada will build a pipeline to the BC coast and sell its energy to Asia, leaving us increasingly reliant on OPEC. Worse, the oil…
Read MoreThe Friday File: Psychology moves markets yet economists and others don’t appreciate it. Last month Liz Taylor’s spectacular jewelry collection went to auction and took in $116 million, five times pre-auction estimates. The auction more than doubled the record for…
Read MoreWhile being in debt is not so great for a household–because interest payments leave the household and go to a bank, or credit card company, debt can be tolerable for a country. If the debt is largely internally held (Japan),…
Read MoreHeavier cars are safer for their occupants, but more dangerous for all others. The baseline chance of being killed, given that you are in a collision, is one in 500. If you now increase the weight of one of the…
Read MoreLast year I made predictions; some right others wrong. Unless you know how good my predictions were, valuing them going forward is meaningless. With that in mind, I am pleased to inform you that 24 of my 32 ‘11 predictions…
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