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Frank McCourt, embattled owner of the LA Dodgers is selling the club. By craftily splitting the sale of the team and the sale of the team’s media rights, he expects to net $1 billion. But, he has bills! The club…
Picking grapes at night results in better wine, lower energy costs and happier workers. High daytime temperatures (90 and up) change the sugar composition of grapes leading to possible uncontrolled fermentation due to wild yeast. To bring down the temperature,…
To put the absolutely dismal interest rates we are getting on savings into perspective think of it this way. The highest yielding 1-yr CD pays 1%. At that rate, it takes 70 years to double your money. By contrast at…
The Friday File: A recent article in the Journal of Marketing Research shows that relaxed shoppers pay up to 15% more for the same merchandise as less-relaxed ones. So if you hear soothing music, are offered a free cup of…
Democrats fear a Value Added Tax because it is very regressive. (That means the poor pay more taxes as a proportion of their income than the rich). Republicans fear a VAT because it can easily raise lots of money —…
This past Sunday Argentines reelected president Cristina Kirchner. Like all good politicians lady luck has been with her. Argentina pulled out of its ’01 financial meltdown by; not paying its bills, devaluing its currency and defaulting on its debts. Miraculously,…
Greek PM Papandreou’s call for a referendum to approve additional financing has heightened fears that Greece will default. In response 10-yr Italian debt yields hit 6.33% a euro-era high and as much as 4.55% above super safe German bonds. Once…
Q3 GDP came in at 2.5%; best performance since Q4 ’10. But, after looking at the economic entrails the number is weaker than it looks. Consumer spending on utilities and healthcare is what drove spending, not discretionary items. Worse, spending…
The Friday File: US academic economists (but not econ bloggers) are adopting a code of ethics requiring them to disclose conflicts of interest by reporting research-funding sources and material financial relationships. This is partly motivated by the documentary “Inside Job”…
Britain’s FTSE 100 (like the S&P 500) is a measure of blue-chip respectability signaling good governance, and so on. Now, some businessmen have figured out how to break into this index without a solid record. First, they buy a firm…