Companies proclaim water the next oil in a rush to turn resources into profit … Mammoth companies are trying to collect water that all life needs and charge for it as they would for other natural resources … "Is now the time to buy water?" enquired the email that showed up in my inbox earlier this week. Its authors weren't worrying about my dehydration levels. Rather, the...Read More
Heads or Tails? Either Way, You Might Beat a Stock Picker … Imagine a world where investors in the stock market have no skill whatsoever. The investors themselves don't understand this, however, and many truly believe that they are good at what they do. But in this thought experiment, there's no doubt about the underlying reasons for fund managers' success: When they turn in an o...Read More
Companies proclaim water the next oil in a rush to turn resources into profit … Mammoth companies are trying to collect water that all life needs and charge for it as they would for other natural resources … "Is now the time to buy water?" enquired the email that showed up in my inbox earlier this week. Its authors weren't worrying about my dehydration levels. Rather, the...Read More
Is the Fed fueling a giant stock market bubble? … Not only has the S&P 500 fully recovered from the financial crisis, it's a staggering 30% higher than the peaks of the Internet and housing bull markets. But is this really the case? With unemployment still above 6%, how could we find ourselves in the throes of yet another brewing catastrophe? Didn't investors and analysts learn...Read More
Chief Ebola doctor in Sierra Leone has contracted the deadly disease … The "national hero" chief doctor leading the fight against the deadly Ebola virus outbreak in Sierra Leone has himself been infected with the disease, the president's office has announced …The virus has mortality rates of up to 90 per cent. – UK IndependentDominant Social Theme: Ebola is spreadin...Read More
Is the Fed fueling a giant stock market bubble? … Not only has the S&P 500 fully recovered from the financial crisis, it's a staggering 30% higher than the peaks of the Internet and housing bull markets. But is this really the case? With unemployment still above 6%, how could we find ourselves in the throes of yet another brewing catastrophe? Didn't investors and analysts learn...Read More
Chief Ebola doctor in Sierra Leone has contracted the deadly disease … The "national hero" chief doctor leading the fight against the deadly Ebola virus outbreak in Sierra Leone has himself been infected with the disease, the president's office has announced …The virus has mortality rates of up to 90 per cent. – UK IndependentDominant Social Theme: Ebola is spreadin...Read More
Greenspan says bubbles can't be stopped without 'crunch' … Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan has always been a student of the economy. Since the financial crisis, he's become a student of human nature. Sitting in his office with a view of the Washington Monument in the distance, Greenspan is eager to share the insight distilled in his recent book, "The Map a...Read More
And minder makes three: For White House interviews, it's never just one-on-one … When NBC News White House reporter Chuck Todd conducts background interviews with government officials these days, he and his source usually aren't the only ones in the room or on the call. Typically, there's a third party: A representative of the White House's press staff monitors the conversati...Read More
Greenspan says bubbles can't be stopped without 'crunch' … Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan has always been a student of the economy. Since the financial crisis, he's become a student of human nature. Sitting in his office with a view of the Washington Monument in the distance, Greenspan is eager to share the insight distilled in his recent book, "The Map a...Read More
And minder makes three: For White House interviews, it's never just one-on-one … When NBC News White House reporter Chuck Todd conducts background interviews with government officials these days, he and his source usually aren't the only ones in the room or on the call. Typically, there's a third party: A representative of the White House's press staff monitors the conversati...Read More
Pop Wagner hails from St. Paul, MN and has quite a reputation as a singer, fiddler, lasso twirler and downright fun-loving guy. Joined by fellow cowboy Bob Bovee, the two perform some original country western tunes.Production funding provided by the Minnesota Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund and by the members of Prairie PublicAbout the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage FundIn 2008, Minnesota vote...Read More
Liberal party looks to legalize medical marijuana in Colombia … Colombia's Liberal Party will support a new bill to legalize medical marijuana in the country, local media reported … The move was announced by Liberal Party (Partido Liberal) Senator Juan Manuel Galan, who explained that the bill would open the door for the use of currently illicit marijuana for medicinal uses, Colomb...Read More
'Obama hates business' is an idiotic distraction. Also: It's wrong … What's gnawing at me is this throwaway line in an editorial from the Economist about the very real problem of slower macroeconomic growth. In reference to an alleged spate of "anticompetitive regulations," the magazine labeled President Obama "…the least business-friendly president for d...Read More
Liberal party looks to legalize medical marijuana in Colombia … Colombia's Liberal Party will support a new bill to legalize medical marijuana in the country, local media reported … The move was announced by Liberal Party (Partido Liberal) Senator Juan Manuel Galan, who explained that the bill would open the door for the use of currently illicit marijuana for medicinal uses, Colomb...Read More
'Obama hates business' is an idiotic distraction. Also: It's wrong … What's gnawing at me is this throwaway line in an editorial from the Economist about the very real problem of slower macroeconomic growth. In reference to an alleged spate of "anticompetitive regulations," the magazine labeled President Obama "…the least business-friendly president for d...Read More
China's terrifying debt ratios poised to breeze past US levels … The China-US sorpasso is looming … The sorpasso may instead be the ominous moment when China's debt ratios overtake the arch-debtor itself … A a new report from Stephen Green at Standard Chartered argues that China's aggregate debt level has reached 251 per cent of GDP, as of June. – UK TelegraphDo...Read More
Americans hate Congress. They will totally teach it a lesson by not voting … Americans are angry at Congress – more so than basically ever before. So it's time to throw the bums out, right? Well, not really. In fact, Americans appear prepared to deal with their historic unhappiness using perhaps the least-productive response: Staying home. – Washington PostDominant Social The...Read More
China's terrifying debt ratios poised to breeze past US levels … The China-US sorpasso is looming … The sorpasso may instead be the ominous moment when China's debt ratios overtake the arch-debtor itself … A a new report from Stephen Green at Standard Chartered argues that China's aggregate debt level has reached 251 per cent of GDP, as of June. – UK TelegraphDo...Read More
Americans hate Congress. They will totally teach it a lesson by not voting … Americans are angry at Congress – more so than basically ever before. So it's time to throw the bums out, right? Well, not really. In fact, Americans appear prepared to deal with their historic unhappiness using perhaps the least-productive response: Staying home. – Washington PostDominant Social The...Read More