Archive for December 2012
Thank You!
Thank You! I want to take this opportunity to thank you all very much for your interest in my daily blog. I wish you and yours all the best for 2013. May it be a year full of employment, good decisions, health, joy, love, laughter and prosperity — in risk adjusted terms, of course!
Read MoreLove To Live
The Friday File: Contrary to popular myth, suicide rates actually fall during the holiday season. In 2010, there were 38,364 suicides, making it the 10th leading cause of death with an average of about 105/day. July was the month with the highest average at 111.3/day. The rate was actually lowest in December, yes December, at…
Read MoreMilky Mess
If Congress doesn’t extend the existing farm bill or pass a new one, milk prices will double. This is because price supports would be based on the 1949 Agriculture Act and would be $38/hundred-weight, as opposed to $20.83 now. Should this happen, expect plunging short-term consumer demand and massive imports of dairy products from abroad,…
Read MoreShop Till You Drop
The largest US mall is the Mall of America in Bloomington, MN with 4.2 million square feet (msqft). Next comes the Eastwood Mall Complex in Niles, OH with 3.2 msqft. Rounding out the top five are the South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa, CA with 2.7 msqft, the King of Prussia Mall in King of…
Read MoreChristmas Costs
Inflation, as measured by the Christmas Index, based on purchasing all 12 items in “The Twelve Days of Christmas”, rose 4.8% in 2012 and now stands at $25,431.18. The index rose 3.5% in 2011 and 9.2% in 2010. The most expensive item; seven Swans-a-Swimming at $6,300, six Geese-a-Laying rose 29.6% and now cost $210. In…
Read MoreSalad Days
The Friday file: Chop and combine 5,000 pounds of watermelon, 1,300 pounds of cantaloupe, 1,000 pounds of honeydew, 2,250 pounds of pineapple, 200 pounds of apples and 360 pounds of strawberries and you have the world’s largest fruit salad weighing in at 11,197 pounds. Made in August, over 60% of the McGill University fruit salad…
Read MoreOh Canada!
Having largely sidestepped the Great Recession, Canada is starting to look slightly shaky. House prices rose for the 19th straight month in October (been there) and household debt/GDP is 90% in Hockey Country while here it’s 77% after topping 90% in 2008. Worse, GDP in Q3 is almost at a crawl and their top-notch central…
Read MoreCriminal Incentives
Last week, HSBC paid a $1.92 billion penalty for laundering money for murderers. Today, UBS is fined $1.5 billion for its part in rigging LIBOR over a multiyear period! While these banks will now “beef up their compliance procedures” and fire some traders, unless top management serves prison time, these toothless penalties are simply a…
Read MoreHooray for Housing!
After a 15% rise in September, housing starts climbed less than 4% in October, with the entire rise due to a 12% jump in multifamily starts; single-family activity was unchanged. November starts are likely to be flat to marginally down as permit activity is softening as is the overall economy. That said, 2013 should be…
Read MoreWeek in Review
Small business became much more pessimistic in November with the major small business index tumbling 5.6 points, the steepest one-month decline in history! Consumers are slightly more optimistic with retail sales climbing 0.3% in November, offsetting the 0.3% decline in October. Elsewhere, inflation is in check at the headline, intermediate, and crude stages and industrial…
Read More