March 23, 2010
March 19, 2010
Made in the Good Old USA... NOT
Here is a list of famous American brands such as Radio Flyer, Etch-A-Sketch, Chuck Taylors, NBA Jerseys, that are no longer made in America... even some American Flags.
March 11, 2010
The DotCom Bust: 10 Years Ago This Week.
As you can see from this chart the Nasdaq is still well below its all time highs. Read more here, and if you are interested in the top dot-com flops of the era you might be dissapointed that Pets.com was not #1.
And for you viewing pleasure, here is Sock Puppet in action.The Worst Car EVAH
Profiled in the Wall Street Journal, the Yugo is describes as a real piece of crap:
"The car broke down during a Motor Trend road test. Consumer Reports declared that the Yugo was "hard to recommend at any price," noting that during one assessment an oil leak dripped onto the exhaust system and filled the car with smoke. The magazine continued: "The clutch chattered. The brakes squealed. . . . The speedometer clicked. The hood became loose." There were safety concerns, too—though, miraculously, a national study ranked the Yugo as only the eighth most deadly car on the road. Somebody should have demanded a recount."
March 10, 2010
Who Has a Bigger GDP? New York City or India? Minneapolis or Maylasia?
Click to Enlarge!
Click on the chart above to find out. This puts some perspective on our ridiculously large 14 Trillion Economy.
HT: Carpe Diem
The World's Richest Person is NOT....... Bill Gates.
For the 3rd time in 3 years there is a new person atop the world's richest list. Carlos Slim from south of the border once again tops the new list for 2010. For all you Bill Gates fans out there he did still capture the 2nd richest spot, ahead of his friend Warren Buffett. Here is a picture of Slim with Bill Gates.
March 9, 2010
The Average Camcorder... in 1967.
and it could have been yours for only $42,000. With extras you can add an additional $12,685
March 5, 2010
February 23, 2010
February 11, 2010
22 Inventions That Are History
Here's an interesting link about things that are obsolete this decade. It's creative destruction.
Note: The picture above is from a phone I saw from my trip to the Republic of Georgia in 2008.
February 5, 2010
Despite the Great Recession, it's Still Pretty Good... says Dallas Fed Economist.
The former chief economist for the Dallas Fed, W. Michael Cox, has a interesting article on how the the availability of products has spread over time, and describes living conditions of the middle class in America today. Check out this chart.
Cox writes: "It's certainly true that the past two years have been tough for many middle-class Americans. Many of them have lost jobs and homes, seen their investments decline and, more broadly, faced new uncertainties about incomes.
Families are suffering in every community – but the entire middle class under assault? Don't believe it. No hard evidence points to a general decline in living standards for the average American family. Perhaps, having it so good for so long has created expectations, some of them a bit unreasonable. Consider:
•America's middle class lives in bigger and better-equipped homes than ever before, with appliances of all kinds, air conditioning, big-screen televisions, computers, DVD players, digital cameras and so much more (see chart above, "The Spread of Products into U.S. Households").
•Nine in 10 households own a car – better equipped, more durable and more fuel efficient than any in history.
•Cell phones once cost $4,200, but they're now less than $100. Nearly every pocket and purse holds a cell phone, many now with Internet access.
•In real terms, the average family's net worth has tripled since 1970, even after the past two years of declines in housing prices and stocks.
•Tap water's free, but Americans still buy 8.6 billion gallons of bottled water a year.
•Obesity has replaced hunger as the most pressing dietary concern.
Innovation and trade continually drive down the real cost of goods and services and increase the productivity of each hour of work. As this capitalist engine churns onward, the scarcity that plagued mankind for millennia has given way to the abundance that's the foundation of today's vast middle class.
The capitalist system literally created the middle class, and the best way to maintain and improve our living standards lies in keeping it functioning at peak efficiency. Government largesse, no matter how high-minded or well-intended, isn't going to do much for the majority of middle-class families. They have to pay their own way – as always."
H/T: Carpe Diem
Cox writes: "It's certainly true that the past two years have been tough for many middle-class Americans. Many of them have lost jobs and homes, seen their investments decline and, more broadly, faced new uncertainties about incomes.Families are suffering in every community – but the entire middle class under assault? Don't believe it. No hard evidence points to a general decline in living standards for the average American family. Perhaps, having it so good for so long has created expectations, some of them a bit unreasonable. Consider:
•America's middle class lives in bigger and better-equipped homes than ever before, with appliances of all kinds, air conditioning, big-screen televisions, computers, DVD players, digital cameras and so much more (see chart above, "The Spread of Products into U.S. Households").
•Nine in 10 households own a car – better equipped, more durable and more fuel efficient than any in history.
•Cell phones once cost $4,200, but they're now less than $100. Nearly every pocket and purse holds a cell phone, many now with Internet access.
•In real terms, the average family's net worth has tripled since 1970, even after the past two years of declines in housing prices and stocks.
•Tap water's free, but Americans still buy 8.6 billion gallons of bottled water a year.
•Obesity has replaced hunger as the most pressing dietary concern.
Innovation and trade continually drive down the real cost of goods and services and increase the productivity of each hour of work. As this capitalist engine churns onward, the scarcity that plagued mankind for millennia has given way to the abundance that's the foundation of today's vast middle class.
The capitalist system literally created the middle class, and the best way to maintain and improve our living standards lies in keeping it functioning at peak efficiency. Government largesse, no matter how high-minded or well-intended, isn't going to do much for the majority of middle-class families. They have to pay their own way – as always."
H/T: Carpe Diem
February 3, 2010
A New Market in The 'Hood': L.A. Gang Tours
The entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well in South Central L.A. Feel free to take a Gang Tour of in L.A. for $65.Here is an interesting article about it in the New York Times. I should note that all participants are required to sign a waiver acknowledging the risk of injury.
January 26, 2010
January 22, 2010
January 19, 2010
January 6, 2010
December 9, 2009
Creation of Modern Banking Activity
Flash through Recollections of Pine Gulch
Part One: Click Here
Part Two: Click Here
When finished, please get a worksheet for a quiz on the readings.
Part One: Click Here
Part Two: Click Here
When finished, please get a worksheet for a quiz on the readings.
December 6, 2009
November 19, 2009
November 10, 2009
The Berlin Wall: Before and After Photos
Here is a great NY Times photo of the Berlin Wall, before and after. It sure looks from the photos that East Germany has become relatively prosperous, at least compared to their living standards during communism.
October 31, 2009
October 30, 2009
Don't Worry, Your Never McFar...
...from a McDonalds restaruant, if you are in the US. The fartest distance between McDonalds in the continental 48 states is 145 miles.
"between the tiny Dakotan hamlets of Meadow and Glad Valley lies the McFarthest Spot: 107 miles distant from the nearest McDonald’s, as the crow flies, and 145 miles by car!"
"between the tiny Dakotan hamlets of Meadow and Glad Valley lies the McFarthest Spot: 107 miles distant from the nearest McDonald’s, as the crow flies, and 145 miles by car!"
October 23, 2009
Not Very Stimulating: 49 of 50 States Have Lost Jobs Since The $787,000,000,000.00 Stimulus Package Passed
From the House Ways and Means Committee:
"The table below compares the White House's February 2009 projection of the number of jobs that would be created by the 2009 stimulus law (through the end of 2010) with the actual change in state payroll employment through September 2009 (the latest figures available). According to the data, 49 States and the District of Columbia have lost jobs since stimulus was enacted. Only North Dakota has seen net job creation following the February 2009 stimulus. While President Obama claimed the result of his stimulus bill would be the creation of 3.5 million jobs, the Nation has already lost a total of 2.7 million – a difference of 6.2 million jobs. To see how stimulus has failed your state, see the table below."
"The table below compares the White House's February 2009 projection of the number of jobs that would be created by the 2009 stimulus law (through the end of 2010) with the actual change in state payroll employment through September 2009 (the latest figures available). According to the data, 49 States and the District of Columbia have lost jobs since stimulus was enacted. Only North Dakota has seen net job creation following the February 2009 stimulus. While President Obama claimed the result of his stimulus bill would be the creation of 3.5 million jobs, the Nation has already lost a total of 2.7 million – a difference of 6.2 million jobs. To see how stimulus has failed your state, see the table below."
Neat Interactive Map of US Housing Foreclosures
Check out how the worst of the foreclosure market seems to be concentrated in just a few states. Play with the map here, or click on the map. 
October 16, 2009
The Invisible Hand At Work. Wal-Mart and Amazon.com Have A Price War
Competition.
"Wal-Mart triggered the online skirmish Thursday when it began selling its 10 most anticipated hardcovers for $10 apiece when pre-ordered on its Web site. Amazon matched the offer hours later and Wal-Mart then chopped its price to $9. Friday morning Amazon had matched the price."
Read more here.
"Wal-Mart triggered the online skirmish Thursday when it began selling its 10 most anticipated hardcovers for $10 apiece when pre-ordered on its Web site. Amazon matched the offer hours later and Wal-Mart then chopped its price to $9. Friday morning Amazon had matched the price."
Read more here.
October 15, 2009
DOW 10,000
While the Dow Jones just hit 10,000, reaction was much more muted than the first time 10 years ago. Here, the journal writes about the caution many traders have about the economy going forward, especially about the national debt, soon to reach $12,000,000,000,000."Reaction this time was more muted than the first time the Dow closed above the 10000 mark, on March 29, 1999, when traders popped Champagne and passed around "Dow 10000" baseball caps. "People don't believe it, they don't trust it, they are nervous, they are anxious," said Andy Brooks, head of stock trading at money-management group T. Rowe Price. "Most of us can't believe the year we have just been through, where you made and lost so much money."
"But in the longer run, many of the problems that worry investors will need to be resolved, such as the high levels of bad loans and securities on bank balance sheets, the weakness of the real-estate market and the nation's heavy consumer and government debt. "We don't see a catalyst that would immediately drive the economy lower, but there certainly is some risk that the market could retrace its gains" since they have come so rapidly, says Bruce McCain, who helps oversee $20 billion as chief investment strategist at Cleveland's Key Private Bank."
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