Snowy Wednesday Reads
By Barry Ritholtz - January 26th, 2011, 4:00PM
Here are today’s favorite reads:
• ‘The stock market is for suckers’ (Macleans)
• In Norway, Start-ups Say Ja to Socialism (Inc)
• Revolt of the Elites (n+1)
• WHY THE MARKET IS WRONG (Carl Swenlin)
• Apple Plans Service That Lets IPhone Users Pay With Handsets (Bloomberg)
• Investing Insights from Top Newsletter Writers! (TRB)
• U.S. military lost more troops to suicide than combat in Iraq and Afghanistan (Congress)
• Why I’ll Miss Keith Olbermann (WSJ)
• The Dubai islands World is ‘falling into the sea’ (Telegraph)
• You say “Velociraptor,” I say “Deinonychus” (Smithsonian)
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January 26th, 2011 at 4:48 pm
that Macleans article is pretty good- I read it yesterday. Especially interesting is the discussion of non-regulated markets for equity stakes in companies and the insinuation that the NYSE is for chumps-
it’s ironic though that Mark Cuban says the stock market is for suckers after he cashed out billions . . .
January 26th, 2011 at 4:56 pm
EAGLE MOUNTAIN — The house that Jordan Sanford now calls home sits on a barren hilltop near Eagle Mountain, in a secluded, partially developed subdivision. Inside, there are tall ceilings and polished wood floors, and the natural light pours in from the windows. It’s a big improvement from the tent Sanford called home two years ago while deployed in Iraq.
As comfortable as Sanford, 22, feels in his new home, it isn’t his–he shares it with up to eight other war veterans. Otherwise known as the Ark of Eagle Mountain, it is a transitional facility for soldiers who have come home from war only to find themselves without a place to live…”
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700103712/Veteran-crisis-Newest-war-vets-become-homeless-at-alarming-rate.html?pg=1
~~~
“For anyone who might have thought General Stanley McChrystal and Barack Obama no longer saw eye to eye, it might surprise them to read McChrystal’s recent article, “ Step Up For Your Country,” published in the January 31 issue of Newsweek. For all the hype having to do with McChrystal being relieved of command, it seems the General and the President have more in common than the average television watcher might think. That is, at least when it comes to implementing civilian labor programs along the lines of Joseph Stalin or Mao. The illustration to the right is an interesting choice, as it echoes the very same work camp and civilian service propaganda posters of those totalitarian regimes.
In his op-ed piece for Newsweek, McChrystal makes the case for the creation of a national civilian service program and laments the fact that we have “allowed the obligations of citizenship to narrow.”…”
http://www.activistpost.com/2011/01/step-up-for-your-country-by-sacrificing.html
January 26th, 2011 at 5:08 pm
From the New Yorker Jan 17, 2011:
“A core finding of this work is that we are not primarily the products of our conscious thinking. The conscious mind gives us one way of making sense of our environment. But the unconscious mind gives us other, more supple ways. The cognitive revolution of the past thirty years provides a different perspective on our lives, one that emphasizes the relative importance of emotion over pure reason, social connections over individual choice, moral intuition over abstract logic, perceptiveness over I.Q. It allows us to tell a different sort of success story, an inner story to go along with the conventional surface one.”
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2011/01/17/110117fa_fact_brooks?currentPage=all
January 26th, 2011 at 5:17 pm
Tough times in Barry’s land of milk & honey
New York State Takes Control of Nassau’s Finances
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/27/nyregion/27nassau.html
January 26th, 2011 at 5:19 pm
re:
• Apple Plans Service That Lets IPhone Users Pay With Handsets (Bloomberg)
http://www.paymentsbusiness.ca/search.html?cx=partner-pub-9651383917667023%3Aev7760-tzuv&cof=FORID%3A9&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=mobile+payments&siteurl=www.paymentsbusiness.ca%2F#982
http://www.paymentssource.com/search/index.html?zkDo=search&frommonth=01&fromday=26&fromyear=2010&tomonth=01&today=26&toyear=2011&category=paymentssource&query=mobile+payments
LSS: this is a ‘Market’ that will see tremendous growth..
January 26th, 2011 at 7:08 pm
From the Macleans article;
“Now there are signs some institutional investors, such as pension funds, are giving up on equities and buying alternative assets like bridges and toll roads instead.”
Not quite a “The Death of Equities” cover story, but we’re getting there.
January 26th, 2011 at 7:17 pm
From the WSJ opinion…
” …For decades, liberals compelled public deference like French aristocrats from the ancien regime…”
…I guess Bret Stephens has never heard of William F. Buckley.
Bret Stephen’s situational logic and faith-based metaphors are ubiquitous.
January 26th, 2011 at 7:21 pm
I rartely link to WSJ OEds, as they are so reality challenged — but this one seemed interesting
Guess I shoulda known better
January 26th, 2011 at 8:17 pm
Buyer’s remorse: UConn booster from Greenwich wants his $3M back
http://www.greenwichtime.com/news/article/Buyer-s-remorse-UConn-booster-from-Greenwich-975848.php
quite the entertaining letter written by Robert Burton
(may have to right click, copy link above and paste in browser as it is not highlighting as i enter for some reason)
January 26th, 2011 at 8:23 pm
Fantastic Inc article – I’ve always found the omnipresent U.S. economic debate on optimal tax levels rather bizarre, considering how there is very little evidence that they have any affect whatsoever.
Unfortunately, I suspect the article will just trigger cognitive dissonance among many American readers however, and be ignored.
January 27th, 2011 at 3:00 am
Re: Dubai: it is a pointless pile of sand occupied by a bunch of arrogant racist slave-owners. The sooner the whole place sinks back into the sand and sea, the better off we all are. I always enjoy hearing from Dubai boosters who wax lyrical about the wonderful hotels, the shopping malls, and the skyscrapers. And then there are the stores and the buildings. Ooh, and the shops and the architectural edifices. Not to mention all the places to buy stuff and the office towers.
When the credit bubble finally bursts, Dubai will return to its natural condition as a third-rate gold souk and humid patch of sand.
January 27th, 2011 at 3:37 am
Outlook 2011: Everyone Needs Commodities
The essence of natural resources and commodity investing can be boiled down to one key point:
As the earth’s population swells to 7 billion, the migration to cities accelerates, incomes rise, and people desire things the things that improve their lives, thus increasing global demand for commodities and natural resources.
A larger, wealthier class of people in the emerging world are demanding more goods as they raise their standard of living and the supply of these goods is impacted by geopolitics, diminishing mature sources and even weather.
The story begins in emerging markets where economies are growing at stable, healthy rates. Current growth rates for countries such as China, India, Malaysia and others are in the 6-10 percent range, manageable levels that are not characteristic of overheating economies. Many forecasters are expecting a slight slowdown in growth for emerging countries but a few (South Africa, Indonesia and Russia) should see GDP growth rates surpass last year’s levels.
Many point to China’s bank lending, which was roughly $1.2 trillion last year, as a negative because it is such a large amount for a $5 trillion economy, but we don’t see it that way. We think what’s taking place is more of a normalization of liquidity and interest rates. Growth will still be in the upper single digits, which is very constructive for commodity demand going forward.
Economic growth is just the tip of the iceberg. Many of these emerging markets are just discovering credit. India, China, Brazil and Russia all have consumer debt levels growth below 20 percent. Other burgeoning countries like Saudi Arabia and South Africa have less than 5 percent. As credit expands to this hungry consumer base, the consumption of refrigerators, furniture, air conditioners and other luxuries we consider necessities here in the U.S. should follow suit.
more……
http://www.kitco.com/ind/Holmes/holmes_jan252010.html
January 27th, 2011 at 8:02 am
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/27/business/27foreclose.html?hp Makes one hate the the BIG Banks even more.
January 27th, 2011 at 10:36 am
The kind of deception and swindle that we have grown used to consider normal “business” practices are illegal in China. Just wait till they get American banks opening shop over there – we could quickly end up being send the bills for crates full of bullets.
http://money.cnn.com/2011/01/26/news/international/walmart_china_fines/index.htm