Do it!
Made your resolutions yet? Sure, the usual ones that will go by the wayside, no doubt. Lose weight, eat right and all that. But try to make some financial ones too. Save more. America is not a typically "saver" type of country ... well, not when compared to Japan or some European countries. But it is the one thing you can do to make things a little better down the road. Naturally we have some advice (link below). The simplest one, and one that has worked well for me over the years, is the automatic deduction. If you don't do that, please, take our advice and do. And Happy New Year.
Millionaire tips Ford's shoes
Imagine inflation over 10 percent. Ben Bernanke and his merry Fed band would have their britches in a knot. And what if the unemployment rate was steadily climbing. Many of us, especially the younger types, would think The Apocalypse had come. That's what Gerald Ford walked into. Crazy days, both politically, which everyone remembers, and economically, which most people don't. Ford's answers weren't all that great. His WIN button campaign was ridiculed. But it was a pretty difficult situation. At least he got the country thinking straight politically so that it could take a look at the economics on more of an even keel. Rest in peace, Mr. President.
Memories of Whip Inflation Now Sitting on it
Interesting report out of our fine friends over at The New York Times. It appears the Interior Report has been sitting on a study showing the U.S. government doesn't get that much return out of letting oil companies drill in federal land. Liberal tree-hugger types will no doubtedly seize upon this as a reason why coastal waters and even Alaska shut be shut off from oil development. I don't subscribe to such prohibitions. But I do believe the taxpayer should make some money on the proposition. Why I find more upsetting is that the Interior Department sat on the report why Congress debated that very subject. Regardless of where you stand in the debate, everyone should have the information necessary to make an informed decision. This instance smells.
Wii (tch) hunt
So I tried to get a Wii last weekend, and failed. You can read all about it at the link below. It's obvious I'm a neophyte at this kind of thing. Some hard core techie gamer types decided to make fun of me at a message board at fark.com. Well, at least I've actually kissed a girl and don't smell bad. Nevertheless I showed the nasty comments to my wife in hopes of a little consolation. "Wow, can I sign onto this?" she asked. "Aw, to defend me?" I asked. "No," she said. "So many other people to talk to who also think you're a jerk."
A Wii loser Oily eyes
Funny how the market is sort of staying stable even though oil is jumping up to a 3-month high (this morning it's down, but not that much). Oil moves like that earlier this year prompted all sorts of market jitters, you'll recall. I think now the market has a longer time horizon in mind for oil prices though. I even saw one analyst remark recently that he expects oil prices to fall to around $20 a barrel sometime next year. Hmmm, don't know about that. But a good economic slowdown may put a crimp in demand. ...... Still working on blogging Bill.
Bhatted around
How about that Thai central bank, hey folks? Too many people want to invest in your country, so what do you do? Hamstring their money! This was obviously a case of some Thai exporter having way too much pull with his less-than-bright brother-in-law in the central bank (I'm hypothesizing). Such knee-jerk reactions to protect domestic industry never work ... yet governments keep trying them. At least our economic bureaucracy makes things nice and slow.
Not you
I was betting on the Anti-American as Time's Person of the Year. You know, a mix of Kim Jong-Il, Iran's President Ahmadinejad, and Hugo Chavez. Maybe with a few of the Iraq militants thrown in. Like when Time did a combo of whistleblowers. It seems to me overseas anti-American sentiment, the rattling of oil markets and heightened tension over the prospect of nuclear war, has influenced us more than YouTube and other self-indulgent Internet exercises. But opinions differ. Think I'll go watch some funny Wii videos now.
Time's Person of the Year What's in a non-word... or two?
Two little words ... effective subsidy ... disappeared from a speech Ben Bernanke gave over in China. One could think this is an instance of pandering diplomacy. Feathers are already ruffling over U.S. complaints about China's inflexible currency and how it effectively subsidizes Chinese exporters. So maybe Bernanke softened the language at the last minute so as not to make waves with his Chinese hosts. Or, maybe by dropping those words and knowing everybody would pick up on it (the Fed chief's speeches are delivered to journalists ahead of time) Bernanke orchestrated a backhanded way of drawing even more attention to the problem without seeming strident or provocative. Boy, are we capable of such diplomatic subtlety? Nah! ...
Two words omitted No deal
It should be pretty obvious at this point that nothing concrete will come out of these China talks. They've already kicked off with a "clash" ... okay, more of a wordy difference of opinion. Strip away all the diplomatic flourishes and it came down to this: US' Paulson: "Free your yuan." China's Wu Yi: "No." Some folks think the U.S. is too fixated on the currency issue (China's yuan is loosely fixed against the dollar) and should be putting more emphasis on market access issues. The track record isn't great there either. Maybe we should ask if it is worth talking to them at all? Or at least take some harder tone than just "please,please, please."
Clash on trade Wal-Mart's Elmo stash
Elmo held hostage. By Wal-Mart. Apparently the retailer has a bunch of them, but is only going to let them out in dribs and drabs up to the big Christmas holiday. Makes sense from a retailing standpoint, I guess. People may have to go back to Wal-mart's Web site again and again and again until they get one. And on each of those trips Wal-Mart can try to talk them into buying something else. Even if the retailer did go back to using the word "Christmas," it is still a commercial exercise, isn't it? Except that I'd have just made them available in stores only. That way you get the foot traffic.
Wal-Mart's Elmo stash Fun sites round up
We've had a few interesting ones lately.
Pranking a Telemarketer ... thanks Tucker! Wii have a problem ... thanks Jake! Hot Wii commercial Idiot Test ... thanks Veronica! What did Shell swallow?
Two things to watch out for when countries get take over business operations. One, inefficiency. Government-run companies tend to be very bad at getting things done. Two, the business becomes a means to advance political interests. As Russia learns more and more about the influence of oil, it is this latter point that seems to be the most at work in the latest Sakhalin developments. Well, at least Shell didn't have to swallow any polonium ... at least as far as we know.
Shell gives up Sakhalin stake Breaking China
Some China trouble lies ahead. Okay, that's admittedly sort of a "duh" prediction. The yuan still doesn't flex the way it should and U.S. businesses still face a variety of obstacles in setting up operations over there. Of course, as Mr. Tucker has pointed out several times, we have no problem letting Chinese businesses play here or using their low-cost labor to fill Wal-Mart's shelves. This imbalance exists despite years of hearing politicians say they will "fix" it. Well, Treasury Secretary Paulson is going to take a shot next week. You'll recall during his nomination that a big part of his cred was his international experience ... particularly China. Time to put it to work, Mr. Secretary.
Official warns of China friction Home what a range ...
Since 1981? 1981? Home Depot was backdating options since 1981?! This points up a number of things. One, the founders of Home Depot probably thought it was just a neat benefit to throw the management. Sort of like working in a restaurant ... the help gets to take home whatever casserole didn't sell that night. Two, this self-dealing practice is probably more widespread and older than the tech boom. Three, people that run companies typically don't think about what their practices mean for shareholders generally or ethically. And before various corporate PR outfits flame me ... thinking about the stock price is not the same thing as thinking about the shareholder.
Home Depot reviews
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