Submitted by CARPE DIEM

A 2007 Heritage Foundation survey found that the percentage of Members of the 110th Congress who practice pri­vate school choice is disproportionate to the general populace, since only 11.5% of American stu­dents attend private schools. Also of note, Mem­bers of the Congressional Black Caucus and Congressional Hispanic Caucus, who represent populations that […]

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Submitted by CARPE DIEM
I got these pictures from Google Street View:

This is the old I-35W bridge (I think), from West River Parkway (which is closed now), before the collapse on 8/1/2007:

These are pictures of the construction of the new I-35W bridge:
Minneapolis downtown skyline in background:

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Submitted by CARPE DIEM
The chart above (click to enlarge) shows annual production of cement by country, in billions of metric tons (data available here: USGS 2006 report and USGS 2008 report).

Cement is mainly used to make concrete, and is sort of the “active ingredient” in concrete - it is combined with sand and gravel […]

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Submitted by CARPE DIEM
Barack and Michelle Obama send their children to an upscale private school saying it is “the best option” for their children.
Several hundred low-income parents in our nation’s capital have also sent their children to private and parochial schools, with the help of a federal program that provides Opportunity Scholarships. Like Mr. and […]

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Submitted by The Capital Spectator
The economy has a familiar rhythm these days. Unfortunately, it’s a dangerous rhythm.
Several economic reports hit the street today, and they ring familiar. It’s been clear for some time that inflation is bubbling while the housing sector, among others, is still weakening. Today’s economic updates reconfirms the trends.
New housing starts fell […]

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Submitted by CARPE DIEM

In the early 1980s, Ronald Reagan embraced the ideas of a small group of economists dubbed “supply-siders.” They argued that lower taxes and slimmer government would stimulate growth, enterprise, harder work and higher levels of saving and investment. These views were widely ridiculed at the time, dismissed as “voodoo economics.”

A quarter […]

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Submitted by CARPE DIEM
From this previous post on the economics of oil futures trading:
$100 Spot Price per barrel + $5 Carrying Cost Per Barrel = $105 Futures Price (1 year)
Now suppose that speculators anticipate rising future oil prices, due to increasing global demand in China and India, and tightening world oil supplies. As in my […]

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Submitted by Econbrowser
Nonresidential investment has been increasing until 2008Q1, at which time it essentially stalled (-0.2 ppts. annualized in log terms). On the basis of past historical correlations, what’s in store?

Figure 1: Four quarter growth rate in nonresidential investment (blue) and residential investment (red) lagged one year, calculated as four quarter log difference. Source: BEA […]

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Submitted by A Dash of Insight
The “Dad” I am talking about is Bill Miller.  No, not the one you already know, although we admire the Legg Mason fund manager.  I lost my Bill Miller last year, but the lessons are still there.  Some of them are quite relevant for investors.  (We did a little father/son […]

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Submitted by CARPE DIEM
NY Times — Russia’s economy expanded an annual 8.5% in the first quarter, higher than economists expected, as consumer demand fueled an investment boom. The expansion followed 9.5% growth in the previous three months.
The government expects the economy, the world’s 10th biggest, to expand 7.6% this year after growing 8.1% in 2007 […]

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Submitted by CARPE DIEM

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Submitted by CARPE DIEM
Politicians seem to generally dislike high prices (except maybe when they’re selling their own houses or their own stocks) and are quick to conduct investigations or propose legislation any time they feel that prices are “too high.”

If market-driven CEO compensation is high and rising because super-star executive talent is scare relative […]

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