Clik here to view.
Debt 4 More Debt Is 4 Fools
A full four years after the debt crisis raised its ugly head as a sub-prime loan snafu, it has morphed into a "sovereign debt crisis". And how could it not, since what intervened since then was...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Steve Jobs
Steve Jobs, the co-founder of Apple, died yesterday, age 56. He was one of those very few people who changed the world for the better and who will always - and uncommonly - be remembered with...
View ArticleClik here to view.
SNAPpy? Surely Not.
I occasionally look at the US Dept. of Agriculture data on food stamps (now called Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program - SNAP) because, in my opinion, it provides a much better "on the ground"...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Battle For Europe
From all the news flow out there it appears to me that we are nearing a so-called "inflection" point in the European debt crisis. After a summer and early fall of spinning wheels to no end, European...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Ninety-Nine Percent
In the last 30 years the top 1% of Americans saw their real, after-tax income increase nearly fourfold. And how about the "other" 99%? Look below (click to enlarge)...One picture is worth a thousand...
View ArticleIt's Been A While...
This is the first post in some months... but it's not that I've been away or extraordinarily busy. Rather, I've been "digesting" all that has been happening around the global debt crisis, particularly...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Quo Vadis, EUropa?
France holds the first round of its presidential elections this Sunday and Greece has scheduled parliamentary elections for May 6, coinciding with the second and decisive round for French elections....
View ArticleClik here to view.
Update on Quo Vadis EUropa..
The Socialist leader Francois Hollande won the first round of French presidential elections and is now the favorite to win the second and final round on May 6th. Polls show him leading Sarkozy by a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The "Real Economy" Makes The News
Well, darn it!, I feel vindicated at long last... I've been harping on the need to focus on the Real Economy (tm) for so long in this blog, I was beginning to feel like a "nut". Lo and behold, Reuters...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Back From The Desert
It has been so long since the last post that I might as well have been perambulating in the desert! Which, in a way, I have.But, no matter, dear readers and friends, here goes.I have been trying to...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Childhood's End
I admit it; I am, and have always been, a fan of classic science fiction. Thus, the title of today's post, a direct reference to the classic novel by Arthur C. Clarke, in which the Golden Age of The...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Greece: What Sunk The Boat
Greece is for all practical purposes bankrupt, staying afloat only because its European partners and the IMF are continuing to extend loans until it can stand on its own - or finally sink to the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A Tale Of Two Depressions
The Greek crisis is often compared to the American Great Depression of the 1930's, usually because reported unemployment is currently so high in Greece, around 27%. It had reached over 30% in the US...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Big White Whale
In a comment to my post about Greek healthcare spending a reader (thanks rufus) urged me consider the "whale", i.e. the good old USA. So, here's a chart of such spending as a percentage of GDP for all...
View ArticleWiFi On The Fritz
We have just moved and our phone co. hasn't connected our wifi network yet... I'll be back asap, writing this from my phone... :)In the meantime, I'm watching developments in China very closely.
View ArticleClik here to view.
Oily Triple Top
Still on the short post mode.Crude oil... Looks like a possible triple top going on here?? The EU is entering a recession, China is slowing down, the US is producing frac shale oil at record levels.....
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Big(ger) Picture
I went on a two week sailing vacation away from it all and what do you know..? No news, no market quotes and no insta-charts to clutter my brain had the usual salubrious effect. That is to say, the...
View ArticleDing Dong Dammit!!
Congress has not (yet) approved the Federal debt ceiling increase necessary to keep the government running. This fandango goes on regularly in the US, sometimes even resulting in shutdowns of...
View ArticleCrunch Time
It is getting close to crunch time for the US and its Himalayan-sized mountain of debt. Right now no one really believes that the world's most powerful and prosperous nation will default, thereby...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Crunch Time, Addendum
I think it is instructive to provide a chart on what is going on in the Federal budget. Government spending has been flat for almost five years and the deficit gap is narrowing fast. Yes, part of the...
View Article
